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

Archive for June, 2011

Vitamin D levels and adiposity

Thursday, June 30th, 2011

Researchers at the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor, investigated the association between vitamin D and BMI (body mass index). (more…)

Are psychological treatments effective for fibromyalgia pain?

Wednesday, June 29th, 2011

fibromyalgiaSome are effective, some are promising, according to researchers from the University of North Carolina, in Chapel Hill. (more…)

Does chiropractic improve sports performance?

Wednesday, June 29th, 2011

Dr. Andrew Miners is Assistant Professor at the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic Collage, in Toronto.

He reviewed the evidence. (more…)

Options to prevent colorectal cancer

Tuesday, June 28th, 2011

Colorectal cancer is strongly associated with a Western lifestyle.

Researchers at Harvard Medical School, in Boston, present an overview of the evidence. (more…)

Review: Black chokeberry

Saturday, June 25th, 2011

Products derived from the black chokeberry, Aronia melanocarpa, are claimed to be beneficial in disorders or diseases associated with oxidative stress. But these claims are based primarily on laboratory and animal research.

Researchers at Hebrew University, Jerusalem reviewed the evidence in people. (more…)

Adding tai chi improves antidepressant drug therapy

Saturday, June 25th, 2011

During the New Clinical Drug Evaluation Unit Meeting, researchers at David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, reported that adding tai chi to escitalopram (Lexapro, Cipralex, Seroplex) treatment further reduced the severity of depression. (more…)

TENS for patients using ankle-foot orthosis following stroke

Saturday, June 25th, 2011

Orthosis is a device applied to a human limb in order to control or enhance movement or prevent bone movement or deformity. An example is shown in the photo.

Researchers at Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, in The Netherlands, evaluated whether community-dwelling chronic stroke patients wearing an ankle-foot orthosis would benefit from changing to functional electrical stimulation of the peroneal nerve. (more…)

Kaiser points out the 800-pound gorilla

Thursday, June 23rd, 2011

“14 states and the District of Columbia have launched a medical experiment that doesn’t follow any of the rules of science. By approving the use of marijuana as a medicine, they are bypassing the federal government’s elaborate processes for approving medicines.”

It has happened only once before. (more…)

Wearing glasses decreases the risk of falls in active seniors

Thursday, June 23rd, 2011

After providing single lens glasses to wearers of multifocal glasses, researchers at the University of Sydney, in Australia found that active seniors were less likely to fall. (more…)

Acupuncture to treat hiccups in cancer patients

Wednesday, June 22nd, 2011

Researchers at the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), National Institutes of Health, in Bethesda, Maryland tell us acupuncture may be a clinically useful. (more…)

Is acupuncture safe for children with cancer and low platelet counts?

Wednesday, June 22nd, 2011

Acupuncture is frequently used to manage the side effects associated with cancer therapy.

Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center, in New York City, studied the safety of acupuncture in patients with cancer treatment-related thrombocytopenia. (more…)

Review: Hypnotherapy for smoking cessation

Wednesday, June 22nd, 2011

This Cochrane review reports on 6-month quit rates. (more…)

Does ginseng aid cognition?

Tuesday, June 21st, 2011

It’s suggested, based on laboratory and clinical studies, that ginseng may have beneficial effects on cognitive performance (reasoning).

This Cochrane review evaluated the evidence in healthy people. (more…)

Coffee and the risk of death in women with cardiovascular disease

Monday, June 20th, 2011

Studies of the association between coffee drinking and mortality in patients with cardiovascular disease have reported conflicting results.

Researchers in Boston assessed the association between filtered caffeinated coffee mortality during up to 24 years of follow-up in women with cardiovascular disease from the Nurses’ Health Study. (more…)

Risk of kidney stones with calcium and vitamin D

Monday, June 20th, 2011

The Women’s Health Initiative reported a 17% excess in urinary tract stone formation with calcium + vitamin D supplements.

Now, researchers in the US evaluated whether this risk might be modified by certain patient characteristics. (more…)

Cranberry juice to prevent catheter-associated urinary tract infection

Monday, June 20th, 2011

Catheter-associated bacteriuria is the most common healthcare–associated infection worldwide. It’s due to the widespread use of urinary catheterization.

An Expert Panel of the Infectious Diseases Society of America reviewed the evidence and made recommendations to minimize this risk. Here’s what they say about cranberry juice. (more…)

Cognitive effects of street cannabis in MS patients

Saturday, June 18th, 2011

Given that multiple sclerosis (MS) is associated with cognitive (reasoning) deterioration, researchers at the University of Toronto, in Ontario, determined the neuropsychological effects of cannabis use in these patients.

Listen up, Montel Williams. (more…)

Reviewing the value of music in pediatric healthcare

Saturday, June 18th, 2011

Researchers at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, Toronto, in Ontario, reviewed the evidence. (more…)

High use of CAM among people with diabetes

Saturday, June 18th, 2011

Would you believe that about 80% of people with diabetes use CAM?

Researchers at the University of California, in San Diego, surveyed patients attending the 6 Taking Control of Your Diabetes (TCOYD) educational conferences during 2004-2006. (more…)

Using diet to modulate Alzheimer’s disease

Friday, June 17th, 2011

Researchers at the University of Washington School of Medicine, in Seattle, compared the effects of a high–saturated fat/high–glycemic index diet with a low–saturated fat/low–glycemic index diet on markers of Alzheimer disease and cognition in adults with mild cognitive impairment. (more…)