Archive for February, 2008
Thursday, February 28th, 2008
But only if you remember to take it.
That’s the conclusion from researchers at the Oregon Health & Science University in Portland. (more…)
Alzheimer's Dementia, Elderly, Ginkgo | Comments Off on Ginkgo delays progression to dementia
Thursday, February 28th, 2008
NaturalNews.com reports that the BBC discontinued the complementary medicine section of its Health Website. (more…)
CAM Politics, Electronic Media | Comments Off on BBC cancels CAM website
Wednesday, February 27th, 2008
Researchers from Curtin University of Technology in Perth, Australia evaluated a milk product containing probiotics and prebiotics (Cupday Milk) on the incidence of diarrhea in children in daycare centers. (more…)
CAM Cost Effectiveness, Diarrhea/Constipation, Pre, Pro, Synbiotics | Comments Off on Probiotics reduce diarrhea in children
Sunday, February 24th, 2008
A recent review of the medical literature concluded that calcium supplementation is unlikely to reduce the risk of fracture, either in childhood or later life.
Now, researchers from the University of Sheffield in the UK take another look at the effects of calcium supplementation on bone growth in adolescent girls. (more…)
Bone Fracture, Calcium, Children | Comments Off on Lack of benefit from calcium supplements in young girls
Friday, February 22nd, 2008
Researchers from no fewer than 11 centers in the US report that music therapy helps with coping-related behaviors in hospitalized children receiving cancer treatment. (more…)
Art, Music, Dance, Cancer, Children | Comments Off on Benefits of music therapy in children with cancer
Thursday, February 21st, 2008
Black cohosh is an alternative to hormonal therapy to treat hot flashes, mood disturbances, sweating, heart palpitations, and vaginal dryness.
Apparently, this is accomplished in the absence of any “systemic or breast-specific estrogenic effects.” According to researchers from the University of Missouri in Columbia. (more…)
Black/Blue Cohosh, Cancer, Menopause | Comments Off on Black cohosh has no estrogenic effects on the breast
Thursday, February 21st, 2008
A large-scale study of elderly people reports that training to improve reasoning results in less functional decline in activities of daily living over 5 years of follow-up.
Here are the details from the Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly (ACTIVE) study.
(more…)
Alzheimer's Dementia, Elderly | Comments Off on Training the elderly to maintain their reasoning ability
Wednesday, February 20th, 2008
Dr. Paul White from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas has reviewed the medical literature and published a summary of the state of the art of acupuncture to manage pain. (more…)
Acupuncture/ pressure, Colonoscopy, Dental Health, Osteoarthritis, Pain, Pain-Back, Pain-Knee, Pregnancy, Surgery | Comments Off on Summarizing benefits of acupuncture
Wednesday, February 20th, 2008
Yoga instructor Janette Scott wrote in Yoga Magazine, “Yoga has been shown to give many positive benefits to people with the disease for maintaining balance and harmony in their lives.” She also knew, “there needs to be a lot of further research and verification of the effects and benefits of yoga for this condition.”
Now, 10 years later, here’s a study from the National Institute of Mental Health and NeuroSciences in Bangalore, India. (more…)
Exercise, Schizophrenia, Yoga | Comments Off on Adding yoga to schizophrenia treatment
Tuesday, February 19th, 2008
Hochu-ekki-to (TJ-41) is an herbal medicine that contains a mixture of 10 medicinal plants (listed below). It’s produced by Tsumura Co., Ltd. in Tokyo, which specializes in selling Kampo medicine — the adaptation of traditional Chinese medicine to Japanese culture.
In this study, the use of topical medicines (steroids and/or tacrolimus [Protopic]) decreased when patients with atopic dermatitis took Hochu-ekki-to. (more…)
Black/Blue Cohosh, Dermatitis, Ginger, Ginseng, Kampo, Licorice | Comments Off on Kampo medicine to treat atopic dermatitis
Monday, February 18th, 2008
If an elite athlete takes something that enhances the immune system, does that make it a performance enhancement drug? (more…)
Exercise, Pre, Pro, Synbiotics | Comments Off on The benefits of probiotics in endurance athletes
Sunday, February 17th, 2008
The Canadian Medical Association Journal has published all you really need to know about omega-3 fatty acids and heart health.
And, it took just one page to do it. (more…)
Heart Disease, Omega-3 Fatty Acids | Comments Off on The facts about fish oil and omega-3 fatty acids
Sunday, February 17th, 2008
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is an established treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). It is equal or perhaps superior to pharmacotherapy.
Now researchers from the University of California at Los Angeles and San Diego have identified changes in the brain that might explain how this happens. (more…)
Anxiety (Panic)/Depression, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, Obsessive Compulsive | Comments Off on Brain changes in OCD associated with CBT
Sunday, February 17th, 2008
According to researchers at the University of Queensland in Australia, music therapy is a promising approach to improving engagement in substance abuse treatment groups. (more…)
Anxiety (Panic)/Depression, Art, Music, Dance, Substance Abuse | Comments Off on The value of music therapy for substance abuse treatment
Saturday, February 16th, 2008
 This qualifies for mention here because this product contains menthol. (more…)
Consumer Alert, Menthol, Pain, Pain-Neck | Comments Off on Consumer alert: IcyHot
Saturday, February 16th, 2008
First published in 1966, CONSORT (CONsolidated Standards of Reporting Trials) is intended to improve the reporting of medical research. Authors use it as a checklist when they submit articles for publication. By standardizing the information that must appear in a research article, this should help assure that the studies are well designed and the results are useful to readers.
Has it helped improve acupuncture studies? (more…)
Acupuncture/ pressure, CAM Education | Comments Off on Improved quality of acupuncture studies
Friday, February 15th, 2008
A continuing education article on Medscape presents a nice summary on the use of black cohosh to treat the symptoms of menopause. (more…)
Black/Blue Cohosh, Breastfeeding, Evening Primrose, Flavonoids (Soy), Garlic, Infants, Pregnancy | Comments Off on What we know about black cohosh
Friday, February 15th, 2008
Medscape printed an article last year that was critical of CAM and any role it might have in the education of medical students. I summarized it here.
Now, a reasoned reply has been published. (more…)
Acupuncture/ pressure, CAM Education, CAM Politics, Diet-Nutrition, Heart Disease, Omega-3 Fatty Acids, Rheumatoid Diseases | Comments Off on More on teaching CAM in medical schools
Wednesday, February 13th, 2008
The results of a combined analysis of 3 studies of kava kava (Piper methysticum) to treat anxiety do not support the use of kava in DSM-IV generalized anxiety disorder.
Well then, where does the support for kava come from?
(more…)
Anxiety (Panic)/Depression, Kava | Comments Off on Should you consider kava to treat anxiety?
Wednesday, February 13th, 2008
Researchers from MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas focused on breast cancer information. (more…)
CAM Education, Cancer | Comments Off on The inaccuracy of CAM information on the Web