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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  • Recent Comments

    The risk of taking a calcium supplement without taking vitamin D

    Researchers in the US, UK, and Australia reviewed the evidence and tell us that taking calcium supplements without also taking vitamin D is associated with an increased risk of heart attack.

    First, the details.

    • In 15 studies, 20,072 patients were randomly assigned to take placebo or calcium supplements (at least 500 mg/day).
    • The average age was more than 40 years, and study duration was longer than one year.
    • Data on the incidence of cardiovascular outcomes were obtained from self-reports, hospital admissions, and death certificates.

    And, the results.

    • 143 people assigned to take calcium had a heart attack compared with 111 who took placebo — there was a modest but statistically significant difference.
    • There was no increased risk of stroke or the combined events of heart attack, stroke, sudden death, and death.
      • Sudden death is an unexpected death that occurs within 1 hour of the onset of symptoms.
    • A meta-analysis of combined data showed the same results.

    The bottom line?

    The results are important because calcium supplements are widely used, and “these modest increases in risk of cardiovascular disease might translate into a large burden of disease in the population.”

    The authors would like to see “a reassessment of the role of calcium supplements in the management of osteoporosis.”

    8/13/10 21:17 JR

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