Saw palmetto (Serenoa repens) fruit extracts are used for treat lower urinary tract symptoms attributed to benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).

Researchers in the Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Urological Symptoms (CAMUS) Study Group report the response to increasing doses. (more…)

Researchers in the US reviewed the incidence and severity of potential interactions between prescription medicine and dietary supplements. (more…)

Researchers at the University of Washington, in Seattle, evaluated whether 13 vitamin and mineral supplements and glucosamine, chondroitin, saw palmetto, Ginkgo biloba, garlic, fish-oil, and fiber supplements were associated with total mortality.

The results with glucosamine and chondroitin are most interesting. (more…)

Real and hypothetical concerns exist.

Dr. Mark Moyad (photo), who is Director of Preventive and Alternative Medicine at the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor, puts it into perspective. (more…)

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…)

Prof. Ernst reviewed popular herbal medicines.

It’s a long list. (more…)

It depends on what’s being reported.

Researchers from the National Institutes of Health and Mayo Clinic reviewed sales of 5 popular supplements in light of emerging negative evidence. (more…)

Is there benefit in prostate cancer, benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), and prostatitis? (more…)

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

Let’s focus on safety issues. (more…)

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…)

STEP stands for “Saw palmetto for Treatment of Enlarged Prostates.” (more…)

Here’s a follow-up to an earlier post on the use of CAM in the US in 2007 as surveyed by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM). (more…)

Dr. Cathi Dennehy from the Department of Clinical Pharmacy at the University of California San Francisco has reviewed the evidence.

I was surprised by her assessment of black cohosh for menopausal symptoms.

Here’s a summary of her findings.

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A case of pancreatitis in a 55-year-old man with alcoholism who had been sober for more than 15 years was published in the Southern Medical Journal. The authors make a circumstantial case for his ongoing use of saw palmetto and the occurrence of pancreatitis.

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Dr. Mark Moyad (photo) is Director of Preventive and Alternative Medicine at the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor. His thoughts about the FDA’s plan to establish good manufacturing regulations for dietary supplements are published in Urology Times.

He also looks to the next big issue that will confront the supplement industry.

Once you know the issues, you can play the role of the pharmaceutical executive and decide if your product “Best Prostate Health” should be withdrawn from the market. (more…)

In 2003, Professor Edzard Ernst writing on the Cochrane Collaboration website concluded, “Compared with placebo, kava extract is an effective symptomatic treatment for anxiety although, at present, the size of the effect seems small.” (more…)

These data are from a telephone survey of more than 2500 randomly sampled noninstitutionalized Americans, which was published in 2002. The tables can also be found here. (more…)

In February, the Danish Ministry for Family and Consumer Affairs withdrew food supplements containing saw palmetto because of concerns about its effect on the hormone system coupled with a lack of data about its safety in long-term use.

Dr. Kirsten Pilegaard, PhD, senior advisor for the Danish Institute for Food and Veterinary Research stated, “On the basis of the information available, it is not possible to establish a dose that does not give rise to concern.”

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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.

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