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

    Drinking green tea and the risk of depression

    Green tea reportedly has various beneficial effects (eg, anti–stress and anti-inflammatory).

    Japanese researchers conducted the first study designed to assess the relationship between green tea and depressive symptoms in a community population.

    First, the details.

    • 1058 community-dwelling elderly Japanese individuals completed a questionnaire.
    • Depressive symptoms were evaluated using the 30-item Geriatric Depression Scale.
    • Participant taking antidepressants were considered to have depression.

    And, the results.

    • Mild-to-severe and severe depressive symptoms were reported in 34% and 20%, respectively.
    • After adjusting for confounding factors, higher green tea consumption was significantly associated with a lower prevalence of depressive symptoms.

    The bottom line?

    The authors concluded, “Consumption of green tea may have a potentially beneficial effect on the prevention of depressive symptoms.”

    More studies are needed to support these findings.

    12/24/10 20:31 JR

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