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

    This blog ran from 2006 to 2016 and was 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.

  • 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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  • Recent Comments

    Reviewing CAM to treat Meniere’s disease

    Meniere’s disease is characterized by deafness, ringing in the ears, dizziness, and nausea. Because the precise cause is unknown, most treatments are limited to treating symptoms.

    Here’s a summary of CAM options from a review in The Internet Journal of Otorhinolaryngology.

    Acupuncture

    • Widely used
    • Support based on case reports and observational case series
    • Symptoms recur when acupuncture is stopped.

    Homeopathy

    • Recommended medicines: Salicylicum acidum, Natrum salicylicum, Nux vomica, and Chenopodium
    • Symptomatic relief of Meniere’s disease has been reported.
    • Homeopathic treatment (Vertigoheel; aka Ventigoheel) vs conventional treatment (betahistine) showed the therapeutic equivalence (more here) in patients with a mixture of Meniere’s and similar diseases.

    Herbal medicine

    • Among other supplements, ginger root (Zingiber officinale) helps reduce nausea, which might be beneficial for Meniere’s patients.
    • But a recent systematic review on the effect of Ginkgo biloba on tinnitus also showed that it is not effective.

    Other CAM options discussed in this article have little or no supporting evidence…

    Not that this is much to write home about.

    Illustration: Associated Content

    3/12/07 20:41 JR

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