The C.A.M. Report
Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Fair, Balanced, and to the Point
  • About this web log

    This blog is intended as an objective and dispassionate source of information on the latest CAM research. Since my background is in pharmacy and allopathic medicine, I view all CAM as advancing through the development pipeline to eventually become integrated into mainstream medical practice. Some will succeed while others fail. But all are treated fairly here.

  • About the author

    John Russo, Jr., PharmD, is president of The MedCom Resource, Inc. Previously, he was senior vice president of medical communications at www.Vicus.com, a complementary and alternative medicine website.

  • Top topics on The CAM Report

    * Animal-assisted Therapy * Birth Defects * Blog archive: Comparing mindfulness and cognitive behavioral therapy * Multiple Sclerosis * Anemia
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    • Common sense considerations

      The material on this weblog is for informational purposes. It is not medical advice or counsel. Be smart, consult your health professional before using CAM.

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    Should we add CAM to Rx treatments?

     Researchers from the University of Queensland, in Australia evaluated the evidence for adding nutritional and herbal medicines to antidepressants, mood stabilizers, and benzodiazepines.

    First, the details.

    • Encouraging evidence exists for using omega-3 fatty acids, SAMe, folic acid, and l-tryptophan (an amino acid) in combination with antidepressants to enhance response and improve efficacy.
    • Various nutrients also appear to be effective when used with antipsychotics and mood stabilizers.
    • Less evidence supports an advantage of combining nutrition with various psychopharmacotherapies.
    • Combined use of herbals with Rx therapies hasn’t been sufficiently studied to warrant routine use.

    The bottom line?
    The abstract is short on details. You’ll have to read the article to get more information.

    7/21/09 19:26 JR

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