Here is another in our ongoing series on recent marijuana-related medical research.
Cannabidiol (CBD) is a major product of the marijuana plant. It lacks marijuana’s psychological effects, and it has been suggested that CBD might be effective as an antipsychotic. The aim of this study was to investigate the response to CBD in treatment-resistant schizophrenia.
Continue reading Cannabidiol not effective in treatment-resistant schizophrenia
In a previous post I reviewed policosanol, which can lower LDL (bad) cholesterol levels by 20% to 30%.
The source of policosanol seems to influence its activity, with Cuban sugar cane-based policosanol being most effective. It’s available on the Internet and in stores. In fact, One-A-Day Cholesterol Plus contains sugar cane-based policosanol.
Now, a study conducted at the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy shows how it works.
Continue reading How policosanol lowers cholesterol and implications for your safety
This site has followed the growing safety concerns over black cohosh here and here.
Now, The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency of the U.K. will issue new labeling regulations with warnings. And the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) and its Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products have issued a public statement that warns of the potential connection between herbal medicinal products containing black cohosh root (Cimicifugae racemosae rhizome) and hepatotoxicity.
The statement includes the following advice.
Here’s a quote to consider. “From beta-blockers to magnesium [Mg], — serendipity has guided migraine research. We may seem to have come a long way but migraine therapeutics, particularly preventive or prophylactic therapy, remains purely empirical.”
OK, what is the status of using magnesium to prevent migraine?
CancerBlog reports that Starchild Abraham Cherrix, a 16-year-old cancer patient, will be permitted to avoid a second round of cancer treatment in favor of CAM. The court ruled that a board-certified radiation oncologist of his choice who is interested in alternative treatments must treat him.
The young man is taking the Hoxsey method, an herbal treatment that is illegal in the United States but can be obtained in Mexico.
Abraham got his legal victory. What he really needs is a medical victory. Don’t bet the farm on Hoxsey.
Cyclosporine (Sandimmune, Neoral) is used to prevent organ rejection following kidney, liver, and heart transplants. It may also be used to treat chronic rejection in patients previously treated with other immunosuppressive agents.
The information in this article should be valuable for people taking cyclosporine for its immunosuppressant effect, and for pharmacists and other healthcare professionals who are monitoring this therapy.
Interactions between cyclosporine and St. John’s wort and rosemary are discussed. In addition, it reviews the purported immunostimulating effects of certain herbals and herbal medicines that are potential nephrotoxins.
Illustration: University of Texas
8/11/06 20:38 JR
It’s called WellPatch Cough & Cold Soothing Vapor Pads.
It was intended to be applied to the throat or chest of children two years of age and older so they could inhale the vapors. Unfortunately, it was easy for the munchkins to remove the patch and place it in their mouths.
Continue reading Recall of a camphor, eucalyptus oil, and menthol patch product
Three of 16 products failed the content analysis test. One product did not release its ingredients and two others had less than half the expected ingredients.
That’s less than a 20% failure rate, which is better than often reported by this lab.
An article in Functional Foods & Nutraceuticals reports that the following supplements were tested: sterols, policosanol, guggulsterones, fish oil, garlic, niacin, soy protein, red yeast rice, and stanols. I highlighted the supplements discussed at this blog.
Continue reading ConsumerLab.com tests cholesterol-lowering supplements
Here is a list of herbal medicines with documented effectiveness as pain relievers. The source of this information summarizes the dose, route of administration, conditions treated, and safety information.
The advertisement claims that policosanol (or polycosanol) — a pure extract of sugar cane wax — has been the subject of many clinical trials, even more than most pharmaceutical drugs. And it has outperformed some of popular prescription drugs.
But the positive studies have been primarily sponsored by one company in Cuba and conducted by one research center in Havana.
Continue reading Know the source: Policosanol and cholesterol
Preliminary evidence, in the August issue of Diabetes indicates that “berberine displays beneficial effects in the treatment of diabetes and obesity at least in part via stimulation of AMPK [AMP-activated protein kinase] activity.”
Here’s some background.
Continue reading Berberine: A new (old) drug to treat diabetes?
The University of Pennsylvania Schools of Medicine and Nursing will sponsor a symposium on September 19th and 20th. It’s titled “Herbal Medicine: Perception, Practice, and Rational Use” Looks like an excellent program. Herbaphiles in the Philadelphia area might want to attend.
Earlier this year a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine reported, “saw palmetto did not improve symptoms or objective measures of benign prostatic hyperplasia.” The results were interesting in light of the fact that the weight of the medical literature supports the value of saw palmetto for this condition.
Do you have vacation time coming in 2006? Herbalgram.org has listed the 2006 events calendar. Rather than the same Caribbean vacation or week at the Jersey shore, consider linking your vacation to a CAM meeting.
Here’s one that makes my tastebuds tingle.
July 30-Aug 5: Wild Foods Mountain Retreat. A week-long program in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains. Forage for wild edible and medicinal plants, and prepare tasty and nutritional meals.
Hmm, Hmm, Hmm.
Other must attend meetings.
October 16-17: First International Symposium on Pomegranate and Minor Mediterranean Fruits. Adana, Turkey.
or
October 28-30: The 2nd Internatiomal Symposium on Saffron Biology and Technology (ISSBT). Mashhad, Iran.
Do you think CAM is becoming too specialized?
Want to see more? Go to the Herbalgram.org website.
7/18/06 13:20 JR
A newly published review in the Archives of Internal Medicine confirms what has been known since 1988. Epidemiological and clinical data do not show a direct cause and effect relationship between marijuana smoking and the development of lung cancer.
Possible reasons that studies detect lung damage but not cancer in marijuana smokers include the young age of the smokers studied, the small number of people included in each study, and the lack of long-term monitoring.
What was found in marijuana smokers included the following:
Since some bronchial cell changes appear to be precancerous, an increased risk of cancer among frequent marijuana smokers is possible.
7/15/06 14:20 JR
This site reported previously about the growing resistance to medical cannabis clubs in San Francisco. Apparently, it is having an effect.
Now, The New York Times reports, “Marijuana cannot be sold alongside the cracked crab and souvenirs of Fisherman?s Wharf, the San Francisco Planning Commission decided late Thursday.” One commissioner stated, “the neighborhood was adamantly opposed to the dispensary?.
The cracked crabs will appeal.
7/14/06 09:30 JR
Americans tend to assume that if a drug is sold either by prescription in a pharmacy or off the shelf in a convenience store that it is safe. Otherwise, the label would list the cautions that must be taken to use it safely.
In fact, this is not how the rest of the world views herbal medicines.
In April 2006 Schwabe Pharma (Australia) launched a marketing campaign promoting Tebonin for “tinnitus and vertigo relief.” Tebonin is an extract of Ginkgo biloba leaves called EGB761.
Now, the British Medical Journal reports that a federal court in Australia has granted an injunction sought by the company to temporarily suppress a report by a consumer watchdog group called AusPharm Consumer Health Watch that is critical of this product.
The advertisement for Tebonin states that it has shown “through clinical research to be an effective treatment for a range of conditions relating to microcirculation including tinnitus, vertigo, peripheral circulation and cognitive function.”
It continues, “Tebonin optimizes the flow properties of the blood through capillaries increasing the amount of oxygen supplied to all organs, tissues and individual cells throughout the human body, effectively reducing the amount of free radicals within cells and enabling optimum cell function.”
A detailed review published in The Journal of the American Botanical Association makes no mention of EGB research on tinnitus or vertigo.
7/13/06 21:36 JR
Several herbal remedies and other dietary supplements are promoted as effective treatments for Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders. The Alzheimer’s Association summarizes the supporting data for the following treatments.
A review of ginkgo biloba is also available here.
Illustration: Neurofibrillary tangles and fiberlike processes of neurons (black) surround an amyloid plaque. Source: Chemical and Engineering News
7/8/06 15:50 JR
The problem with available prescription drugs used to treat Alzheimer’s disease is that none of them reverse the process of dementia. This graph showing the response during treatment with Aricept (donepezil) is typical (see figure 1). Following initial improvement, the response to active treatments as well as placebo declines. Following discontinuation, the level of dementia rapidly declines (gets worse) until drug-treated patients and placebo-treated patients are about the same. Continue reading Status of ginkgo to treat Alzheimer’s disease