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

    An Ernst review: Qigong for diabetes

    Prof. Ernst and colleagues reviewed the evidence and found it insufficient.

    First, the details.

    • 9 studies were included in the review.
    • 3 randomized controlled studies compared qigong + usual care (including drug therapy) vs usual care alone.
      • A randomized controlled study randomly (by chance alone) assigns participants to receive one of several treatments. It’s the standard way to test drugs.

    And, the results.

    • The quality of the randomized controlled studies was poor.
    • The results suggested favorable effects of qigong on A1c, 2-hour blood glucose levels, insulin sensitivity, and blood viscosity.
    • 1 study that compared qigong to no treatment failed to show favorable effects of qigong on fasting blood glucose, 2-hour blood glucose levels, A1c, and insulin sensitivity.
    • Observational studies reported beneficial effects of qigong on fasting blood glucose, 2-hour blood glucose levels.

    The bottom line?
    The authors concluded the following about qigong for type 2 diabetes.

    • There are few rigorous studies of qigong for type 2 diabetes.
    • Studies that are available are of low quality.
    • Collectively the evidence is insufficient to suggest that qigong is an effective treatment for type 2 diabetes.

    The bottom line is that it’s not worth the time to conduct a poorly designed study. Ultimately, it’s results will be discounted.

    7/30/09 21:33 JR

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