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

Archive for the 'Black/Blue Cohosh' Category

Review: CAM options to induce labor

Sunday, December 4th, 2011

Researchers at Monash University, in Victoria, Australia, examined the scientific evidence for the use of CAM to stimulate labor. (more…)

Combining black cohosh with tamoxifen in breast cancer therapy

Thursday, August 4th, 2011

Anti-hormonal therapy of breast cancer patients with the anti-estrogen tamoxifen (Nolvadex) often induces or aggravates menopausal complaints.

Researchers at the University Hospital, in Zurich, Switzerland measured the response to black cohosh. (more…)

CAM options to treat menopausal symptoms

Friday, June 17th, 2011

Prof. Ernst has reviewed the evidence.

Here’s what we know. (more…)

Review: CAM to treat menopausal vasomotor symptoms

Thursday, April 21st, 2011

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic, in Rochester, Minnesota, reviewed allopathic and CAM options.

Let’s focus on CAM. (more…)

Little evidence that herbals relieve menopause symptoms

Monday, October 4th, 2010

Drugs and Therapeutics Bulletin, which is published by the British Medical Journal, has published their review of the evidence. (more…)

CYP2D6-mediated herb-drug interactions

Monday, August 2nd, 2010

Cytochrome P450 2D6 (CYP2D6) is a liver enzyme responsible for the metabolism of approximately 30% of all drugs.

Researchers at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock studied the effect of CYP2D6 on the metabolism of several herbal supplements and the risk of drug interactions. (more…)

Fish oil lowers risk of breast of cancer

Monday, July 12th, 2010

Researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, in Seattle, Washington tell us, “There have been no prospective studies of the association between the long-term use of these supplements (omega-3 fatty acids and others] and breast cancer risk….” until now.

This and other recent breakthroughs are summarized below. (more…)

Re-evaluating the risk of liver toxicity from black cohosh

Saturday, April 17th, 2010

Researchers from Johann Wolfgang Goethe University of Frankfurt/Main, in Hanau, Germany, reviewed the evidence and believe the risk is less than suspected. (more…)

Risk of taking herbals in people with heart disease

Monday, April 5th, 2010

Researchers from the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota and Arizona collaborated to review the risks of herbal:drug interactions.

The abstract is a bit skimpy on details, but the American Pharmaceutical Association has a nice summary, which will be summarized further here. (more…)

The Training and Cimicifuega racemosa Erlangen study

Friday, March 12th, 2010

Researchers from the University of Erlangen, in Germany studied the effect of adding black cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosa) to exercise.

They were looking for evidence of greater benefit with black cohosh over exercise alone in bone mineral density and coronary heart disease risk during early post menopause. (more…)

Another review of black cohosh

Thursday, January 21st, 2010

Warning. Others have drawn similar conclusions, as noted here and here.

Now, researchers from McGill University, in Montreal have reviewed the evidence for black cohosh to treat menopausal symptoms, again. (more…)

Thomas Jefferson’s menopause recommendations

Wednesday, October 28th, 2009

To manage vasomotor symptoms, researchers from Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia recommend “lifestyle changes in all women.” (more…)

Black cohosh to manage menopausal symptoms

Monday, August 10th, 2009

Reviewers from the University of Florida, College of Medicine in Jacksonville assessed the evidenced. (more…)

Safety review of popular herbal products

Saturday, July 25th, 2009

Dr. Darrell Hulisz from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio reviews popular herbals.

Let’s focus on safety issues. (more…)

Herbals vs hormones to treat cognition in menopause

Monday, July 13th, 2009

Dietary herbal supplements, such as black cohosh, have shown mixed and inconclusive results in placebo-controlled studies of menopausal symptoms.

Researchers from Northwestern University, in Chicago, Illinois compared black cohosh and red clover to hormone therapy for their effects on cognition (reasoning). (more…)

Key points about commonly used herbals

Sunday, July 5th, 2009

Dr. Darrell Hulisz from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio has written a continuing education article on herbals.

Here are the author’s take-away points, with additional references added. (more…)

Herbals and lead levels in Americans

Saturday, July 4th, 2009

The relationship between supplements and lead levels in blood has been an ongoing project for researchers in Boston.

In this study, researchers from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center report specific herbal supplements are associated with higher blood lead levels among women. (more…)

The changing view of black cohosh and liver toxicity

Saturday, April 4th, 2009

 This is the third review in the past year that has come to the same conclusion.

This time, researchers from the Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University, in Hanau, Germany evaluated the relationship between suspected liver toxicity in 9 patients treated with black cohosh (Actaea racemosa and Cimicifuga racemosa). (more…)

Black cohosh not associated with liver disease, again

Thursday, November 20th, 2008

This is the second review published this year, and the second to conclude “there is no evidence for a causal relationship between treatment by black cohosh and the observed liver disease.” (more…)

Safety of black cohosh

Friday, November 7th, 2008

Black cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosa) is used to treat symptoms of menopause.

Prof. Ernst and a colleague from the University of Naples Federico II in Italy delve into the scientific literature on its safety. (more…)