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

    Hypnosis to treat alopecia areata?

    Researchers from the Free University in Brussels used hypnosis to treat 28 patients who failed to respond to conventional treatments. It was either added to ongoing treatment or used alone.

    And, the results.

    • 21 patients were followed over 5 years.
    • Different forms of alopecia were represented, including 12 cases of alopecia areata (loss of hair in circumscribed patches).
    • All patients had a significantly less anxiety and depression.
    • Scalp hair growth of 75% to 100% occurred in 12 patients after 3 to 8 sessions of hypnotherapy.
    • Total growth occurred in 9 of these 12 patients.
    • In 5 patients, a significant relapse occurred when treatment ended.

    The bottom line.
    The authors concluded, “Hypnotherapy may enhance the mental well-being of patients with alopecia areata and it may improve clinical outcome.”

    Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease that targets hair follicles. Stress might contribute to it. So, there’s a potential link to hypnosis. However, considering that only 12 people had alopecia areata, it’s hard to come to any conclusions.

    In the meantime, here’s a detailed review from last year.

    10/7/07 21:20 JR

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