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

Archive for May, 2010

Traditional Chinese medicinal herbs to treat chronic fatigue

Sunday, May 30th, 2010

cochrane-symbolThis Cochrane review reports that flawed study design limits the usefulness of the data reported. (more…)

Patients’ health after 8 years of homeopathic treatment

Tuesday, May 25th, 2010

Researchers from Germany attempted to evaluate health benefits during long-term homeopathic treatment. (more…)

Reviewing the potential benefits of probiotics

Saturday, May 22nd, 2010

The British Nutrition Foundation reviewed the effect of probiotics on health. (more…)

May is arthritis awareness month

Thursday, May 20th, 2010

Researchers from Bethesda North Hospital Pharmacy, in Cincinnati, Ohio reviewed the evidence for using supplements to treat osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. (more…)

Intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids and the risk of bowel cancer

Wednesday, May 19th, 2010

Researchers at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina evaluated the relationship between distal large bowel cancer and omega-3 intake in Caucasians and African Americans. (more…)

Fish consumption, omega-3, and the risk of depression

Wednesday, May 19th, 2010

The evidence is conflicting.

So, researchers from the National Institute for Health and Welfare, in Kuopio, Finland surveyed their countrymen. (more…)

Reviewing the nutritional quality of organic foods

Wednesday, May 19th, 2010

There’s no difference in nutrient quality between organically and conventionally produced foods, according to reviewers at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, in the UK. (more…)

Music enhances memory in people with Azheimer’s disease

Tuesday, May 18th, 2010

Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine, in Massachusetts report that the benefits include greater understanding of the pathophysiology of dementia. (more…)

Thunder god vine for rheumatoid arthritis

Tuesday, May 18th, 2010

In this study by researchers in the US and the Netherlands it was better than sulfasalazine (Azulfidine).

Thunder god vine (Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F; TWHF) has been used in China for centuries to treat a spectrum of inflammatory diseases. (more…)

Is there a role for exercise to treat schizophrenia?

Monday, May 17th, 2010

In this Cochrane Library review, researchers from the University of Toronto, in Ontario evaluated the mental health effects of exercise/physical activity programs for people with schizophrenia or schizophrenia-like illnesses. (more…)

Chromium picolinate does not produce weight loss

Monday, May 17th, 2010

Researchers at Yale University School of Medicine, in New Haven, Connecticut conducted a study with this essential trace element and nutritional supplement. (more…)

Hoodia from a Canadian perspective

Sunday, May 16th, 2010

Researchers from Dalhousie University, in Halifax, Nova Scotia reviewed the evidence in response to a request from women who was looking for advice. (more…)

Oleic acid associated with lower risk of ulcerative colitis

Saturday, May 15th, 2010

Getting more oleic acids from olive or peanut oils for instance, might lower the risk of this inflammatory disease of the colon and rectum by as much as 90%, reported researchers at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England, during Digestive Disease Week. (more…)

Ranking diet and exercise to manage high cholesterol

Saturday, May 15th, 2010

Dr. Robert Kelly (photo) is associate director and curriculum coordinator for the Fairview Hospital /Cleveland Clinic Family Medicine Residency Program.

He lists aspects of diet and exercise that are most and less effective in controlling cholesterol. (more…)

Cold therapy to manage cough pain after heart surgery

Thursday, May 13th, 2010

Coughing is the most painful experience following heart surgery.

Researchers at the University of Ottawa, in Canada used cold therapy to help manage sternal incisional pain. (more…)

Benefits of yoga for lowering blood pressure in cardiac-rehab pateints

Thursday, May 13th, 2010

Just don’t call it yoga!

Klinik Roderbirken der Deutschen Rentenversicherung, in Germany reported their findings during the EuroPREVENT 2010 meeting. (more…)

Negative response to a single very high dose of vitamin D

Thursday, May 13th, 2010

Lots of research points to the need to increase our intake of cholecalciferol (vitamin D).

Here’s a study by researchers at the University of Melbourne, in Australia that cautions against giving too much at once. (more…)

Telephone therapy for depression

Wednesday, May 12th, 2010

Researchers at Brigham Young University, in Provo, Utah studied cognitive behavioral therapy–telephone treatment (CBT-TT) as a stand-alone treatment for adult depression. (more…)

Obesity and health-risk behaviors in children

Wednesday, May 12th, 2010

Researchers at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, in Bethesda, Maryland examined the association of overweight and obesity with health-risk behaviors among US youth. (more…)

A review of Spirulina in clinical medicine

Wednesday, May 12th, 2010

Spirulina has been promoted as “the food of the future” with “exceptional constituents” that contribute to high energy levels.

In 2008, researchers from the UK and Greece reviewed the evidence, and it’s still relevant. (more…)