Archive for February, 2009
Saturday, February 28th, 2009
Higher dietary intake of folate was associated with a lower prevalence of depressive symptoms in Japanese men but not women, according to researchers at the International Medical Center of Japan in Tokyo. (more…)
Anxiety (Panic)/Depression, Diet-Nutrition, Folic Acid | Comments Off on Effect of folate on depression in Japanese adults
Friday, February 27th, 2009
Pharmacy students view education about CAM as a core and integral part of their professional degree. (more…)
CAM Education | Comments Off on Australian pharmacy students rate CAM
Friday, February 27th, 2009
There’s an online newsletter, CAM at the NIH, posted by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) that you might want to check out.
This issue lists priorities for future acupuncture research. (more…)
Acupuncture/ pressure, NCCAM | Comments Off on Future directions for acupuncture research
Friday, February 20th, 2009
Despite negative results, researchers from Denmark think another, larger study is needed. (more…)
Osteoarthritis, Pain-Knee | Comments Off on Implanting gold beads to treat knee osteoarthritis
Thursday, February 19th, 2009
 NIHSeniorHealth is a website that features health and wellness information for older adults from the National Institutes of Health.
Now, it’s added a CAM link. (more…)
CAM Education | Comments Off on NIH starts CAM for seniors website
Wednesday, February 18th, 2009
 Researchers from Buddhist Tzu Chi General Hospital in Hualien, Taiwan report that long-term administration of Lactobacillus rhamnosus T cell-1 decreased the incidence of bacterial infection in children.
Well, maybe it did… but maybe it didn’t. (more…)
Children, Infection, Pre, Pro, Synbiotics | Comments Off on Using probiotics to protect kids from infection
Tuesday, February 17th, 2009
 Yes, it’s effective short term, according to researchers at Southern California University of Health Sciences at Whittier.
It’s the latest in a series of reviews (here, here, and here) on this topic in the past few years. (more…)
Acupuncture/ pressure, Pain-Neck | Comments Off on Another review of acupuncture for neck pain
Tuesday, February 17th, 2009
This study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill compared the response to each activity in high-risk women who were sedentary and had experienced pre-eclampsia previously. (more…)
Cochrane Library, Pregnancy | Comments Off on Walking vs stretching in high-risk pregnancy
Monday, February 16th, 2009
 There were significant gains in strength, according to researchers at the University of Florida in Gainesville. (more…)
Exercise | Comments Off on Resistance-training for Special Olympics athletes
Monday, February 16th, 2009
Back in 2004, Dr. John Chang from the David Geffen School of Medicine in Los Angeles reported, “Interventions to prevent falls significantly reduce the proportion of older people who fall at least once.”
Reviewers since then have disagreed. (more…)
Balance Training, Elderly, Exercise | Comments Off on Preventing falls in the elderly
Sunday, February 15th, 2009
The American Heart Association (AHA) advisory on the benefits of omega-6 fatty acids is summarized here. Considering all the press about omega-6 and the negative effects of the typical US diet on the omega-3:-6 ratio it was surprising to see.
Ms. Evelyn Tribole (photo), a registered dietitian from Newport Beach, California, emailed her thoughts about the AHA advisory. They’re reprinted below. (more…)
Diet-Mediterranean, Heart Disease | Comments Off on Rebuttal to the AHA omega-6 advisory
Sunday, February 15th, 2009
When a second antidepressant drug is added to an existing antidepressant, it’s called “combination pharmacotherapy.”
When a non-antidepressant agent is added, it’s “augmentation treatment.”
Examples of augmentation therapy… (more…)
Anxiety (Panic)/Depression, Omega-3 Fatty Acids, SAMe | Comments Off on Augmentation therapy for resistant depression
Saturday, February 14th, 2009
 “What’s really compelling is that we see the association between exercise and lower colon cancer risk regardless of how physical activity was measured in the studies,” say researchers at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. (more…)
Cancer, Exercise | Comments Off on Physical activity lowers colon cancer risk
Saturday, February 14th, 2009
 Yoga of Awareness is an 8-week program that includes gentle yoga poses, meditation, and breathing exercises.
Researchers from Oregon Health & Science University in Portland studied its effects on menopausal symptoms in breast cancer survivors. (more…)
Cancer, Yoga | Comments Off on Yoga of Awareness in breast cancer survivors
Saturday, February 14th, 2009
 ApoC-III is a risk factor for heart disease. The increased levels observed in marijuana users might explain, in part, the heart and cerebral abnormalities seen in tokers. (more…)
Cholesterol/Lipids, Heart Disease, Marijuana (Cannabinoids), Stroke | Comments Off on Heavy marijuana use leads to high triglyceride levels
Friday, February 13th, 2009
 Protection from prostate cancer may be associated with the type of soy foods consumed, according to this review by researchers at the Washington University in St Louis, Missouri. (more…)
Cancer, Flavonoids (Soy) | Comments Off on Soy and prostate cancer risk
Friday, February 13th, 2009
 For non-specific low back pain, what is the appropriate number of acupoints and how many acupuncture sessions are needed?
Researchers from the University of Ulster in the UK have documented wide variability. (more…)
Acupuncture/ pressure, Pain-Back | Comments Off on Lack of uniformity in acupuncture for back pain
Friday, February 13th, 2009
 Researchers from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis have reviewed the literature.
There’s good news and a challenge to future researchers. (more…)
Acupuncture/ pressure, Heart Disease | Comments Off on Effects of acupuncture on cardiac arrhythmias
Thursday, February 12th, 2009
 Researchers from the University of Missouri School of Medicine in Columbia reviewed the evidence. (more…)
Art, Music, Dance, Colonoscopy | Comments Off on Music during colonoscopy
Thursday, February 12th, 2009
 There are those who recommend substantial reductions in omega-6 fatty acid intake. Now, the American Heart Association (AHA) says, “enough already.” (more…)
Heart Disease, Omega-6 Fatty Acids | Comments Off on Benefits of omega-6 fatty acids