CAM is frequently used by children with pain in the USA and many parents report benefits for their child’s symptoms.

What we know

Chronic pain is reported by 15-25% of children. The objective of this study was to provide estimates of CAM use by children with pain in the United States.

The study revealed

CAM use among children with pain was associated with female sex, higher income, and presence of 4+ comorbidities.

The 2 most commonly used CAM were biologically-based therapies (47.3%) (e.g., special diets and herbal supplements) and manipulative or body-based therapies (46.3%) (e.g., chiropractic and massage).

Adulteration of herbal products is common and a threat to consumer safety.

Researchers from Canada and India are the latest to investigate the integrity of herbal products. (more…)

Alternative explanations are common in about 47% of suspected drug-induced liver injury.

Researchers in Germany raised the question of whether a similar frequency might prevail in cases of assumed herb-induced liver injury. (more…)

Prof. Ernst and colleagues reviewed the evidence and they aren’t sanguine. (more…)

Researchers at Texas Chiropractic College, in Pasadena, studied children in the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) in order to estimate their use of supplements. (more…)

Researchers at Mbarara University of Science and Technology, in Uganda evaluated the use of herbal medicines among patients at the HIV clinic of Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital. (more…)

Researchers at the University of Oslo, in Norway, studied the use of herbal supplements by pregnant Norwegian women. (more…)

That’s the editorial position of the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

Here’s their reasoning. (more…)

Dietary supplement use has steadily increased since the 1970s.

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health estimated dietary supplement use based on the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2003–2006, a nationally representative survey. (more…)

Researchers at the University of Rome, in Italy, report on adverse reactions associated with herbal laxatives reported to the Italian Medicines Agency and the Italian National Institute of Health over 9 years. (more…)

Here’s a look at the use of dietary supplements by physicians in 3 specialties in the US: cardiology, dermatology, and orthopedics. (more…)

Prof. Ernst and colleagues evaluated the evidence regarding the effects of herbal and dietary supplements on cognition (ability to reason) in menopause. (more…)

Researchers in Korea and the US studied EstroG-100 — a mixture of standardized extracts of Cynanchum wilfordii, Phlomis umbrosa and Angelica gigas. (more…)

Researchers at Midwestern University, in Glendale, Arizona, assessed the extent of appropriate counseling provided by pharmacists and nonpharmacists in retail settings. (more…)

Dr. Jennifer Strohecker at the Intermountain Medical Center, in Salt Lake City, Utah, tells us the safety of warfarin (Coumadin) use can be compromised by many popular herbal and nonherbal supplements.

Here’s what we know from her research. (more…)

Products derived from the black chokeberry, Aronia melanocarpa, are claimed to be beneficial in disorders or diseases associated with oxidative stress. But these claims are based primarily on laboratory and animal research.

Researchers at Hebrew University, Jerusalem reviewed the evidence in people. (more…)

The New York Times reports, “Nearly all herbal dietary supplements tested in a Congressional investigation contained trace amounts of lead and other contaminants, and 16 of the 40 supplements tested contained pesticide residue that exceeded legal limits.

Here are the details of what the Government Accounting Office found. (more…)

Today is Worlds Asthma Day.

So, researchers from the UK and China reviewed the evidence supporting the use of herbs and plant extracts to manage asthma. (more…)

A key outcome of early cancer drug studies is the toxicity of a new experimental drug. The use of CAM in patients with advanced cancer might make it difficult to make this determination.

Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, in Houston, studied the prevalence of CAM use in their patients participating in experimental cancer drug treatment studies. (more…)

During the American Heart Association meeting, Dr. Jennifer Strohecker, at the Intermountain Medical Center, in Salt Lake City, Utah, reported that documentation of supplement use in the medical chart is poor. (more…)