An international academic  conference on Mongolian medicine co-sponsored by the government of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and the State Administration  of Traditional Chinese Medicine opened Saturday in the regional  capital.

   Some 500 Chinese and foreign experts, scholars and health  officials from China, Mongolia, Russia and six other countries and regions showed up at the conference, far more than the organizing  committee expected.

   Mongolian pharmacology is said to be particularly effective for curing heart and brain vascular diseases, gastric diseases,  diabetes and hepatitis.

   Sources said that a network of Mongolian medicine outlets has  been built, and 39 specialized hospitals are currently serving  patients around China.