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

    Transendental Meditation in blood pressure control

    Researchers from Maharishi University of Management Research Institute, in Maharishi Vedic City, Iowa report.

    First, the details.

    • 298 university students were randomly assigned to a treatment group.
      • Transcendental Meditation
      • Wait-list control
    • After 3 months, changes in systolic/diastolic blood pressure (SBP/DBP), psychological distress, and coping ability were assessed.
    • The risk for high blood pressure was analyzed in a subgroup of 159 people.

    And, the results.

    • Changes in SBP/DBP were not significantly different.
    • Changes in SBP/DBP for the group at risk for high blood pressure were not significantly different.
    • Significant improvements were found in total psychological distress, anxiety, depression, anger/hostility, and coping.
    • Changes in psychological distress and coping correlated significantly with changes in SBP and DBP.

    The bottom line?

    The authors concluded there was decreased blood pressure in association with decreased psychological distress, and increased coping in young adults at risk for hypertension.

    OK. But is it significant when the factor — TM — that drives the change in blood pressure, results in a nonsignificant change in blood pressure?

    1/26/10 13:10 JR

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