The C.A.M. Report
Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Fair, Balanced, and to the Point

Archive for August, 2009

Parents as a risk factor for poor asthma control

Monday, August 17th, 2009

Telephone interviews conducted by researchers at Boston University in Massachusetts point to parents as a significant contributor to poor asthma control in their children. (more…)

Prompted voiding for urinary incontinence

Monday, August 17th, 2009

Researchers from the VA Medical Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota reviewed treatments for nursing home residents with urinary incontinence.

Prompted voiding used alone and combined with exercise were associated with modest short-term improvement in daytime urinary incontinence. (more…)

American Academy of Pediatrics’ position on CAM

Monday, August 17th, 2009

The Task Force on Complementary and Alternative Medicine has published a review of everything a pediatrician ever wanted to know about CAM.

Here are just a few of the highlights. (more…)

Supplements and prostate health

Sunday, August 16th, 2009

Is there benefit in prostate cancer, benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), and prostatitis? (more…)

Is it risky taking antioxidants during cancer treatment?

Sunday, August 16th, 2009

Researchers from Columbia University in New York City looked at the evidence in breast cancer patients. (more…)

No human evidence that aequorin prevents dementia

Friday, August 14th, 2009

A company called Quincy Bioscience sells a product containing aequorin (Prevagen) that it promotes as “the first supplement to address aging through the restoration of calcium-binding proteins.”

A reader asked what I’ve heard about this product, which contains aequorin (Aequorea victoria), a calcium-binding protein found in the jellyfish. (more…)

The role of exercise in migraine treatment

Friday, August 14th, 2009

Researchers from the University for Regensburg in Bayern, Germany reviewed the evidence. (more…)

Chest physiotherapy after upper abdominal surgery

Thursday, August 13th, 2009

 Researchers from the Universidade de São Paulo in Brazil evaluated the effectiveness of chest physiotherapy during the immediate postoperative period among patients who had elective upper abdominal surgery. (more…)

Short sleep duration and coronary artery calcification

Thursday, August 13th, 2009

Coronary artery calcification is the accumulation of calcified fatty deposits on the inside of the arteries that supply blood to the heart. Their presence  is a predictor of future coronary heart disease. Researchers from the University of Chicago in Illinois report that sleeping longer is associated with lower calcification.

Let’s review the research and reviews from 2008 that looked at CAM options to treat insomnia. (more…)

1 year on the Mediterranean diet

Thursday, August 13th, 2009

Researchers in the PREDIMED (Prevencion con Dieta Mediterranea) Study in Spain report a reduction in the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome in older adults who followed the traditional Mediterranean diet enriched with nuts for just 1 year. (more…)

Traditional Indian medicine for HIV/AIDS

Wednesday, August 12th, 2009

Reviewers from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland assessed the quality of scientific articles on traditional Indian medicine for HIV/AIDS treatment and care. (more…)

Caution: Moisturizing creams in breast cancer patients

Wednesday, August 12th, 2009

 Dr. Adrienne Olson of Breastlink in Rancho Palos Verdes, California reported during the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium that breast cancer patients might unknowingly expose themselves to estrogen by using certain skin moisturizers.

Yet, none of these products listed the estrogenic hormones among their ingredients. (more…)

Yoga benefits in healthy pregnant women

Tuesday, August 11th, 2009

 Researchers from Swami Vivekananda Yoga Research Foundation in Bangalore, India measured the effect of yoga on perceived stress. (more…)

Lack of evidence for aromatherapy in dementia

Tuesday, August 11th, 2009

 That’s the conclusion by reviewers from Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust in Kent, UK. (more…)

Ginkgo biloba interacts with midazolam

Tuesday, August 11th, 2009

In addition to interacting with midazolam (Versed for sedation and anxiety), researchers from the FDA and the NIH studied ginkgo’s effect on the combination of lopinavir/ritonavir (Kaletra, Aluvia for HIV/AIDS).

But only the midazolam interaction with ginkgo biloba appeared to be significant for patients. (more…)

Omega-3 and cardiovascular disease

Monday, August 10th, 2009

 Based on studies in tens of thousands of patients, researchers from New Orleans and Baltimore suggest daily targets for treatment with omega-3. (more…)

Cost-effectiveness of natural supplements

Monday, August 10th, 2009

  Researchers from the University of Toronto, in Ontario reviewed the evidence. (more…)

Black cohosh to manage menopausal symptoms

Monday, August 10th, 2009

Reviewers from the University of Florida, College of Medicine in Jacksonville assessed the evidenced. (more…)

Benefits of massage on pregnancy and infants

Sunday, August 9th, 2009

Researchers from the University of Miami Medical School, in Florida reported benefits in mothers and their offspring. (more…)

Does pomegranate interact with blood thinners?

Sunday, August 9th, 2009

  In this patient, it appears there was greater “blood thinning” effect when pomegranate was taken with warfarin (Coumadin), according to this report. (more…)