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

    CAM for insomnia?

    It’s probably one of the most popular uses of CAM.

    Researchers in Australia reviewed the evidence.

    First, the details.

    • The focus was on hypnotic CAM, including herbal and nutritional medicine, acupuncture, acupressure, yoga, tai chi, massage, aromatherapy and homoeopathy.
    • Many studies lacked rigor and included too few people
    • 64 studies were identified, of which 20 studies involving 8 CAM treatment were worth including.

    And, the results.

    • There was support for the treatment of chronic insomnia for the following treatments:
      • Acupressure
      • Tai chi
      • Yoga
    • There was mixed evidence for the following:
      • Acupuncture + L-tryptophan
    • There was weak and unsupportive evidence for herbal medicines such as valerian.
    • Surprisingly, studies involving several mainstream CAM therapies (eg, homoeopathy, massage, or aromatherapy) were not studied or didn’t meet basic inclusion criteria.

    The bottom line?

    The authors concluded, “If CAM interventions are to be considered as viable stand-alone or adjuvant treatments for sleep disorders, future researchers are urged.”

    And maybe we might include “untested CAM therapies such as massage, homoeopathy, or osteopathy, say the authors.

    3/16/11 20:46 JR

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