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.

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    Chamomile extract therapy for generalized anxiety disorder

    Researchers at the University Science Center, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania report results from the first randomized controlled study of Matricaria recutita (chamomile) extract therapy for generalized mild to moderate anxiety disorder.

    First, the details.

    • 61 outpatients with mild to moderate generalized anxiety were randomly assigned to a treatment group for 8 weeks.
      • Chamomile extract
      • Placebo therapy
    • Total Hamilton Anxiety Rating (HAM-A) scores were recorded.
    • Other rating measures were also recorded.

    And, the results.

    • There was a significantly greater reduction in the average total HAM-A score with chamomile compared to placebo.
    • The other measures of improvement also showed improvement with chamomile.
    • There was no difference in side effects between treatments.

    The bottom line?

    The authors concluded, “Chamomile may have modest anxiolytic activity in patients with mild to moderate generalized anxiety disorder.”

    An earlier review concluded that chamomile lacked scientific support as an option to treat anxiety.

    More studies are needed to confirm these results.

    2/11/10 22:01 JR

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