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.

  • Recent Posts

  • Recent Comments

    New review of acupuncture safety

    A reader noticed that the link was bad, so I added a new link to the article. “Acupuncture is a very safe treatment in the hands of competent practitioners.”

    That’s the conclusion from 2 surveys of acupuncturists in the UK.

    More than 600 doctors, physiotherapists, and practitioners primarily trained in acupuncture reported more than 652 minor and significant side effects in 6733 patients for an adverse event rate of 10.2%.

    The most common events.

    • Tiredness (3%)
    • Bleeding or bruising (3%)
    • Aggravation of symptoms (2%)
    • Pain at the needling site (1%)

    One in a thousand treatments were associated with a “significant” event, though without persistent consequences for the patients’ health.

    There were no serious adverse events.

    The findings are similar to an earlier report from Japan and a literature search from the 1990s, here.

    2/21/07 20:22 JR

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