Issue 128 LAFFERTY and co-workers, Department of Health Services, School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of Washington, Box 357660, Seattle, WA 98195, USA, have investigated how people with health insurance use complementary and alternative medic... more Issue 127 GARROW and EGEDE, Department of Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, 135 Cannon St., Suite 403, Charleston, South Carolina 29425, USA, have investigated the use of CAM by patients with diabetes.... more Issue 126 LONROTH and EKHOLM, Videns- og Forskningscenter for Alternativ Behandling (ViFAB), Arhus, Denmark, have surveyed the use of CAM therapies in Denmark and the motivations of users.... more Issue 125 HANA and colleagues, Quality Improvement Unit, Rambam Medical Center, Haifa, Israel, have surveyed the use of CAM therapies by cancer patients in Israel.... more SCOTT and others, Department of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Stirling, Stirling, Scotland FK9 4LA, UK, julia.scott@stir.ac.uk, have surveyed the use of complementary and alternative medicine amongst cancer patients in the UK.... more Issue 119 MIZRACHI and SHUVAL, The Gershon H. Gordon Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, P.O.B. 39040, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel, nissimm@post.tau.ac.il, have investigated the mechanisms by which conven... more WILSON and colleagues, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, kumanan.wilson@uhn.on.ca, have characterized the children and adolescents who attend a naturopathic clinic in Canada.... more Issue 117 TINDLE and co-workers, Division for Research and Education in Complementary and Integrative Medical Therapies, Osher Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA Division for Research and Education in Complementary and Integrative Medical... more UPCHURCH and CHYU, UCLA School of Public Health, University of California-Los Angeles, 650 Charles Young Drive South, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1722, USA, upchurch@ucla.edu, have assessed the use of complementary and alternative therapies by American women.... more WAHNER-ROEDLER and colleagues, Department of Internal Medicine and Division of General Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minn 55905, USA, wahnerroedler.dietlind@mayo.edu, have reported on the use of complementary and alternativ... more Issue 116 HULME and LONG, Health Care Practice R&D Unit, University of Salford, Frederick Road Campus, UK, c.t.hulme@salford.ac.uk, have reviewed (51 references) economic evaluation of complementary and alternative medicine.... more RASCHETTI and co-authors, Center of Epidemiology, Surveillance and Health Promotion, National Institute of Health, Rome, Italy, roras@iss.it, have reviewed (21 references) complementary and alternative medicine in the scientific literature.... more Issue 114 HONDA and JACOBSON, Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA, h2086@columbia.edu, have looked at the relationship between the use of complementary and alternative medicine and the psychological profile of patients.... more TINDLE and co-workers, Division for Research and Education in Complementary and Integrative Medical Therapies, Osher Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, have described trends in the use of complementary and alternative medicine i... more WAHNER-ROEDLER and colleagues, Department of Internal Medicine and Division of General Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minn 55905, USA, wahnerroedler.dietlind@mayo.edu, have investigated the use of complementary and alternati... more Issue 113 HAMMER and JONAS, International Peace and Conflict Resolution Program, School of International Service, American University, Washington DC, USA, have studied the management of conflict in complementary and alternative medicine research in the case of the a... more ZICK and BENN, University of Michigan, Department of Family Medicine, CAM Research Center, USA, have designed a course to teach complementary practitioners about scientific research methodology.
Abstract: Complementary and alternative medicine providers... more Issue 112 GUTHLIN and colleagues, Department of Evaluation Research in Complementary Medicine, Institute of Environmental Medicine and Hospital Epidemiology, Freiburg University Hospital, Hugstetter Str. 55, D-79106 Freiburg, Germany, guethlin@ukl.uni-freiburg.de, h... more MACKERETH, Rehabilitation Unit, Christie Hospital, Wilmslow Road, Manchester M20 4BX, UK, has reported on the complementary therapy service at an NHS hospital in Manchester.
Abstract: The Christie Hospital started providing complementary therapies 7 yea... more Issue 110 CLARKE and colleagues, School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK, have researched the process of regulation and professionalization of complementary and alternative medicine in the UK.
Abstract: Complementary and alternative medicine (... more Issue 109 BARRETT and colleagues, Department of Family Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison Medical School, Madison, Wisc. 53715, USA, bbarrett@fammed.wisc.edu, have investigated what complementary practitioners say about health and health care.... more LIE and BOKER, Department of Family Medicine and the CAM Education Task Force, College of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, USA, dalie@uci.edu, have developed and validated a CAM Health Belief Questionnaire and used it to survey attitudes among m... more Issue 108 LECKRIDGE, Enable Health and Learning Ltd., Stirling, Scotland, United Kingdom, bob.leckridge@virgin.net, has reviewed (8 references) the future of alternative and complementary medicine and models of integration.
Abstract: The current definitions of co... more Issue 107 O'BRIEN, Department of Medicine, Monash Medical School, Alfred Hospital, Prahran, VIC, Australia, has commented on the use of complementary and alternative medicine in Australia and its move into mainstream health care.
Abstract: the use of CAM in Austr... more SIMON and colleagues, Center for Health Studies, Group Health Cooperative, Seattle, WA, USA, simon.g@ghc.org, have studied visits of mental health patients to complementary and alternative practitioners.... more Issue 105 BENSOUSSAN and co-workers, The Centre for Complementary Medicine Research, University of Western Sydney, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith South DC, NSW 1797, Australia, a.bensoussan@uws.edu.au, have surveyed the practice of naturopathic and Western herbal medicine... more CURTIS and HURTAK, The Academy of Future Science, Los Gatos, CA, USA, brucedcurtis@earthlink.net, have reviewed (77 references) consciousness and quantum information processing to uncover the foundation of a medicine of light.
Abstract: In recent years,... more REIN, Quantum Biology Research Lab, Northport, NY 11768, USA, grein@estee.com, reviews (109 references) bioinformation within the bioenergy field.
Abstract: This paper extends previous scientific definitions of the bioenergy field ('The Aura') to includ... more SCHWARTZ and others, Center for Frontier Medicine in Biofield Science and Department of Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson, AR 85719, USA, gschwart@u.arizona,edu, have measured people's ability to detect bioenergetic fields in response to training.... more WOLSKO and colleagues, Division for Research and Education in Complementary and Integrative Medical Therapies, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, pwolsko@hms.harvard.edu, have surveyed the use of mind-body medical therapies in the USA.... more Issue 104 CHO and TSAY, Department of Nursing, National Taiwan Institute of Nursing, report on a randomized trial on the effects of acupressure with massage on fatigue and depression in patients with kidney disease.... more WALLMAN and co-workers, School of Human Movement and Exercise Science, University of Western Australia, Stirling Highway, Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia, kwallman@cyllene.uwa.edu.au, have tested a programme of graded exercise in patients with Chronic Fatigue... more Issue 101 BRUNELLI and GORSON, Division of Neurology, St. Elizabeth's Medical Center, 736 Cambridge Street, Boston, MA 02135, USA, have surveyed the use of complementary and alternative medicines by patients with peripheral neuropathy.... more VEAL, Urarstekkur 5, 109, Reykjavik, Iceland, lowanaveal@hotmail.com, has reviewed (11 references) the problem of misleading information in alternative and complementary medicine research.
Abstract: Orthodox medical practitioners usually demand evidence... more Issue 100 AUNG, Alberta Medical Clinic, 9904 106 Street, Edmonton, AB T5K 1C4, Canada, proposes that loving kindness is the essential Buddhist contribution to primary care.
Abstract: Loving kindness (metta), a traditional Buddhist concept, implies acting with com... more WILSON and co-workers, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont. M5G 2C4, Canada, kumanan.wilson@uhn.on.ca, have conducted a survey of attitudes towards childhood vaccinations amongst Canadian naturopathy students.... more Issue 99 BETTS, Birmingham University Seizure Clinic, Queen Elizabeth Psychiatric Hospital, Birmingham B15 2QZ, UK, t.a.betts@bhem.ac.uk, has published the results of a follow-up study on the use of aromatherapy in the treatment of intractable epilepsy.... more Issue 98 DAVIDSON and colleagues, School of Nursing, Family and Community Health (SNFCH), College of Social and Health Sciences (CSHS), University of Western Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia, have reviewed (68 references) Traditional Chinese Medicine and heart diseas... more GALLOB, University of Rochester School of Nursing, Loving Touch Center of East Rochester, NY, USA, has reviewed (13 references) the literature on Reiki.
Abstract: Reiki is a form of energetic healing that is uniquely suited to nursing practice. Reiki tr... more Issue 97 CREAMER and colleagues, Complementary Medicine Program, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA, report on a pilot study of non-pharmacological intervention in fibromyalgia.... more Issue 96 BREFEL-COURBON and colleagues, Service de Pharmacologie Clinique, Laboratoire de Medecine Thermale, University Hospital, Toulouse, France, brefel@cict.fr have conducted a trial of spa therapy in Parkinson's disease.... more HOLLIDAY, Department of Public and Social Administration, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong, ian.holliday@cityu.edu.hk, writes about traditional medicines in modern societies, exploring integration options from East Asian ex... more THORGRIMSEN and colleagues, No. 2 Cottage, Cotbank of Barras, Stonehaven, UK, AB39 2UH, have reviewed (46 references) aromatherapy for dementia.... more Issue 94 LEWIS and co-workers, Center for Palliative Studies, San Diego Hospice, San Diego, California, USA, have reviewed (38 references) the integration of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) into palliative care.
Abstract: In the USA there are 629 mi... more Issue 93 PHIPPS, Division of Behavioral Medicine, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 332 N. Lauderdale, Memphis, TN 38105-2794, USA, sean.phipps@stjude.org, has reviewed (64 references) complementary health promotion interventions in the reduction of distress a... more Issue 92 RAWLINGS and MEERABEAU, School of Health and Social Care, University of Greenwich, London, UK, report on the implementation of aromatherapy in Nursing and Midwifery.... more Issue 91 KELNER and colleagues, Institute for Human Development, Life Course and Aging, University of Toronto, ON, Canada, have found that complementary and alternative therapists contemplate the need for research into effectiveness, safety and cost-effectiveness.... more SARRELL and co-workers, Pediatric and Adolescent Ambulatory Community Clinic of the General Health Services, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel, have conducted a trial on naturopathic treatment for ear pain in children.... more Issue 90 MACKAY, Thorne Research, PO Box 25, Dover, ID 83825, USA, duffy@thorne.com, has reviewed (115 references) complementary and alternative therapies and antibiotic resistance.
Abstract: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported the cons... more Issue 89 BOON, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, heather.boon@utorotno.ca, reviewed (10 references) the regulation of complementary and alternative medicine from a Canadian perspective. Increased use of CAM therapies in Canada has made the regulation of these... more EISENBERG and colleagues, Division for Research and Education in Complementary an Integrative Medical Therapies, Osher Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA, Osher_Institute@hms.harvard.edu, review (59 references) the credenti... more MOERMAN, University of Michigan-Dearborn, USA, writes about the ‘meaning response’ and the ethics of avoiding placebos. The concept of the placebo effect is often thought to imply a deception and therefore disparaged and despised. Rethinking th... more POWER and co-workers, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305-5718, USA, rpower@leland.stanford.edu, review (70 references) the effectiveness of complementary and alternative medicine in... more Issue 87 DUVAL and co-workers, Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Quebec, Canada, investigated the effect of Trager therapy on the level of evoked stretch responses in patients with Parkinson’s diseas... more STEURER-STEY and colleagues, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical Policlinic, University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland, claudia.stey@usz.ch, review (85 references) complementary and alternative medical treatments for asthma.... more STUTTART, Department of Nursing, Greenbank Building, University of Central Lancashire, Preston PR1 2HE, UK, writes about working in partnership to develop evidence-based practice within the massage therapy profession.... more Issue 85 QUINN and colleagues, Boulder College of Massage Therapy, 6255 Longbow Drive, Boulder, CO 80301, USA, cquinn@bcmt.org, studied massage therapy and the frequency of tension headaches .... more FURLAN and co-workers, Institute for Work Health, Toronto, Canada, afurlan@iwh.on.ca, review (41 references) the use of massage for low back pain .... more LE FOLL and co-workers, Unité de Neurobiologie at Phamracologie Moléculaire de l' INSERM, Centre Paul-Broca, 2ter, rue d'Alésia, 75014 Paris, France, lefoll@broca.inserm.fr, meta-analyze the use of cognitive and behavioural therapy for the cessation of smo... more Issue 84 RO and colleagues, College of Nursing, Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea, studied the effects of aromatherapy on pruritus [itching] in patients undergoing hemodialysis.... more WANG and co-workers, Department of Anesthesiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA, shu-ming.wang@yale.edu, surveyed the attitudes of patients undergoing surgery towards alternative medical treatment .... more Issue 83 SCOENBERGER et al., Kessler Medical Rehabilitation Research and Education Corporation, West Orange, NJ, USA, E: nancysholland@bellsouth.net, surveyed the opinions and practices of medical rehabilitation professionals regarding prayer and meditation .... more WILKINSON et al., Department of Psychology, Tennessee State University, Nashville 37209-1564, USA, E: dswilkinson@mindspring.com, evaluated the clinical effectiveness of healing touch .... more Issue 82 RATCLIFFE and colleagues, Health Economics Research Group, Brunel University, Uxbridge, Middlesex, UK, jratcliffe@rti.org, carried out a study to investigate the preferences of patients with asthma for characteristics associated with their treatment, and t... more Issue 81 HAID and HUPRIKAR, Northwestern University Medical School, Highland Park, Illinois, USA, investigated whether meditation on the water given to pea or wheat seeds with the intent to either stimulate or inhibit their germination and growth could in fact hav... more BRYGGE and colleagues, H:S Rigshospitalet, allergiklinikken, ortopaedkirurgisk afdeling, Koebenhavns Universitet, Biostatistisk Afdeling og oejenpatologisk Institut, Denmark, thorbrygge@dadlnet.dk, studied a group of asthma patients to determine whether re... more LUEDTKE and colleagues, Karl and Veronica Carstens-Stiftung, Essen, Germany, r.luedtke@carstens-stiftung.de, examined the test-retest reliability and validity of kinesiology muscle testing when used as a method of identifying a substance (wasp venom ) know... more Issue 80 HEMMILA, Folk Medicine Centre, Kaustinen, Finland, E: heikki.hemmila@pp.fimnet.fi, investigated quality of life, healthcare costs and use and effects of various therapies in patients with chronic back pain .... more HOGEBOOM and colleagues, Department of Epidemiology Biostatistics, University of California-San Francisco, 94118, USA, E: hogeboom@dnai.com, assessed the reliability of diagnosis and treatment of chronic low-back pain using Traditional Chinese Medicine (TC... more MCCARNEY and colleagues, Academic Unit, Royal London Homeopathic Hospital, London WC1N 3HR, UK, investigated whether dowsing homeopaths were able to correctly identify a homeopathic remedy using dowsing at a higher rate than would be expected by chance.... more Issue 79 BARBOUR, connienp@mindspring.com, investigated the use and effectiveness of alternative/complementary medical treatments for fibromyalgia.... more GAY and colleagues, Psychology Department, Universite de Paris X, 200 avenue de la Republique, Nanterre, 92000, France, marieclaire.gay@free.fr, explored the effectiveness of Erikson hypnosis and Jacobson relaxation in helping to reduce the pain of osteoar... more MACKERETH and colleagues, Marie Curie Cancer Care, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK, reviewed (24 references) recently published papers reporting on research into reflexology and healthcare, with a view to identifying optimal research methodology for future studies... more Issue 78 BROLINSON and colleagues, Sports Care Welltrack, Toledo Hospital, OH 43606, USA, aimed to identify nurses' perceptions of the effectiveness and safety of complementary and alternative medical (CAM) therapies, as well as their recommendations for and person... more NICOLAKIS and colleagues, University Department of Physical Medicine Rehabilitation, Vienna, Austria, Peter.Nicolakis@AKH-Wien.ac.at, evaluated the usefulness of jaw exercise, physical therapy techniques, postural correction and relaxation for relieving pa... more Issue 77 BEER and colleagues, Modellabteilung fuer Naturheilkunde, Klinik Blankenstein, Hattingen, Germany, wellbeer@cityweb.de, investigated the possible benefits of naturopathic treatment, and specifically a fasting therapy, on intestinal and general immune statu... more BRUE and OAKLAND, Department of Psychology and Philosophy at Texas Woman's University in Denton, USA, reviewed (107 references) the case for using complementary/alternative medicine (CAM) for treating attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).... more Issue 76 CHOPRA and DOIPHODE, Center for Rheumatic Diseases-Hermes Doctor House, Bharati Hospital and Medical College, Inlaks-Budhrani Hospital, Pune, India, archopra@pn2.VSNL.net.in, reviewed (37 references) the traditional concepts and therapeutic principles of A... more LI and colleagues, Institute of Qigong Research, Guangzhou University, People's Republic of China, explored the potential of Qi Gong to aid in the detoxification of individuals addicted to heroin .... more TOVEY, School of Healthcare Studies, University of Leeds, UK, p.a.tovey@ac.uk, carried out what he believed to be the first [published] study on the effectiveness of reflexology in managing symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).... more Issue 75 BARROWS and JACOBS, Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA, kbl@onebox.com, reviewed (91 references) mind-body medicine (MBM) in relation to its role in modern integrated healthcare .... more BENOR, db@WholisticHealingResearch.com, reviewed (66 references) the role of energy medicine in integrated healthcare.... more MERRELL and SHALTS, Continuum Center for Health and Healing, Beth Israel Medical Center, New York, USA, eshalts@bethisraelny.org, reviewed (50 references) the main reasons why homeopathy, especially in the USA, has not become integrated into mainstream med... more NESTLER, Department of Complementary-Alternative Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA, Nestlerg@musc.edu, reviewed (10 references) the practice and philosophy of traditional Chinese medicine with a view to its fut... more SMITH and LOGAN, Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, msmith@ccnm.edu, reviewed (39 references) naturopathic medicine in relation to its integration into mainstream healthcare.... more Issue 74 CHEZ and colleagues, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of South Florida, Tampa, FLA, USA, assessed the opinions and knowledge of medical students on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in a medical school with no course on the su... more LA VAQUE and ROSSITER, Clinical Psychophysiology Center, Rogers Memorial Hospital, Wilwaukee, Wisconsin 53704, USA, tlavaque@gbonline.com, discuss the problems of designing clinical trials with meaningful control groups, particularly in relation to investi... more LINDE and colleagues, Institute for Social Medicine, Epidemiology, Charite, Humboldt-University, Berlin, Germany, Klaus.Linde@1rz.tu-muenchen.de, examined the quality of methodologies used in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in three areas of complement... more WHITING and colleagues, National Health Service Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, University of York, York, UK, pfw2@york.ac.uk, evaluated available data (57 references) on the effectiveness of interventions used in treating or managing chronic fatigue... more Issue 73 JOHNSON and KURTZ, Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Osteopathic Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, 48824-1316, USA, investigated whether osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) is becoming a 'lost art' in the profes... more PLOTKIN and colleagues, Department of Microbiology, Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine of Midwestern University, USA, Bplotk@Midwestern.edu, assessed the impact of osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) as an adjunct to standard psychiatric treatme... more JACOBS and colleagues, Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, University Medical Center, Utrecht, The Netherlands, g.dekruyf@AZU.nl, analysed the characteristics of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who make use of complementary or alter... more Issue 72 ASHER and colleagues, Department of Surgery and Pediatrics, Dartmouth Medical School, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA, reviewed (89 references) current research on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) relating to rhinitis, sinusitis, tinnitus, vertigo... more VANDENBROUCKE and DE CRAEN, Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Building 1, PO Box 9600, 2300 RC Leiden, The Netherlands, vdbroucke@mail.medfac.leidenuniv.nl, review (31 references) evidence for a substantial subjective e... more Issue 71 CASLEY-SMITH, Lymphoedema Association of Australia, Malvern, SA, casley@enternet.com.au, describes pioneering work carried out by the author, using electron microscopy, on the pathophysiological changes that occur [in lymphoedema], and the transport from b... more KESSLER and colleagues, Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, 180 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA, kessler@hcp.med.harvard.edu, presented data on time trends in complementary and alternative medical (CAM) therapies in the USA ove... more MATTHEES and colleagues, Minnesota State University Moorhead, 56563, USA, aimed to describe complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use by lung transplant patients and to determine whether CAM users differ from non-users with respect to health status,... more MUR and colleagues, Universitaetsklinik fuer Innere Medizin, Innsbruck, Austria, investigated whether reflex zone foot massage therapy (FRZM) could bring about changes in intestinal blood flow .... more SANTA-ANA, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Virginia, USA, c_santa_ana@hotmail.com, defines complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) for the benefit of healthcare administrators, discusses its rising popularity, identifies its adoption in hospit... more WILES and ROSENBERG, Department of Geography, Queen's University, Ontario, Kingston, K7L 3N6, Canada, 7jlw@qsilver.queensu.ca, reviewed (46 references) literature seeking to explain the use of alternative medicines, therapies and practices in developed cou... more Issue 70 DIEGO and colleagues, Touch Research Institute, University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33101, USA, compared the effects of massage therapy with those of progressive muscle relaxation therapy in HIV-positive adolescents .... more DYSON-HUDSON and colleagues, Center for Research in Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Kessler Medical Rehabilitation Research and Education Corp, West Orange, NJ 07052, USA, tdyson-hudson@kmrrec.org, conducted a study to determine the effectiveness o... more KABOLI and colleagues, University of Iowa College of Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine, Iowa City 52242, USA, carried out a study to determine the prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use and to identify factors associat... more Issue 69 KEEFER and BLANCHARD, The University of Albany, State University of New York, Center for Stress and Anxiety Disorders, 12203, USA, tested the relaxation response meditation program (H. Benson, 1975) as a possible treatment for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS... more KIM and colleagues, Department of Ophthalmology, Kangnam St. Mary's Hospital, Medical College, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, South Korea, investigated the effectiveness of hand massage to reduce anxiety in patients undergoing cataract surgery un... more MAZUR and colleagues, Department of Pediatrics, The University of Texas-Houston Medical School, 6431 Fannin, Ste 3.138, Houston, TX 77030, USA, identified and compared alternative and complementary treatments used for asthma, and examined potentially effec... more WRIGHT and SLUKA, School of Medical Rehabilitation, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, reviewed (156 references) evidence for the usefulness of physical therapies in the management of musculoskeletal pain .... more Issue 68 RAMSEY and colleagues, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington 98109, USA, examined how frequently older adults with osteoarthritis used alternative therapies and how much they spent on them.... more Issue 67 LAVY and colleagues, Israel Ministry of Health, Pharmaceutical Policy and Economics Unit, reviewed the regulation and supervision of natural health products in Israel and other developed countries.... more MILLS, Department of Library Learning, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK, S.Y.Mills@ex.ac.uk, summarized the House of Lords report on complementary medicine .... more THOMAS and colleagues, Medical Centre Unit, School of Health and Related Research, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK, k.j.thomas@sheffield.ac.uk, have attempted to estimate the use of complementary medicine in the UK based on the population.... more WARDELL and ENGEBRETSON, School of Nursing, University of Texas Houston Health Science Center, Houston, Texas, USA, dwardell@sonl.nur.uth.tmc.edu, have investigated the relaxing effects of Reiki in order to establish a mechanism for the healing effect of v... more Issue 66 ADAMS and colleagues, Department of Psychiatry, Division of Clinical Psychology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, USA reviewed (63 references) recent compelling research on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) intervention... more BERK and colleagues, Center for Neuroimmunology, School of Medicine, School of Public Health, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, California, USA investigated the efficacy of mirthful laughter to modulate human neuroimmune parameters.... more GOOD and colleagues, Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA, mpg@po.cwru.edu investigated the effects of relaxation, music and a combination of the two on postoperative pain .... more MISHRA and colleagues, Southern California University of Health Sciences (SCUHS), SCUHS Whittier Health Center, Whittier, California, USA reviewed (28 references) the Ayurvedic approach to healthcare and disease management .... more Issue 65 ANDERSSON and LYTTKENS, Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Sweden, Gerhard.Andersson@psyk.uu.se reviewed the psychological treatment of tinnitus using meta-analysis .... more Comment: The amount mentioned above regarding the amount spent per month by users of CAM – £13.62 – is tiny when you consider that this is less than the price of a meal, about the cost of a CDROM, less than the cost of a massage or most other treatments, w... more ERNST and WHITE, Department of Complementary Medicine, School of Postgraduate Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Exeter, UK aimed to provide data on the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) by the general population in the UK .... more SUNG, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA examines the sources of shortcomings in the treatment of Asian American patients.... more VEERAMAH and HOLMES, Department of Continuing Care Nursing, Canterbury Christ Church University College, Canterbury, Kent, UK explore the increasing use of complementary therapies worldwide .... more Issue 64 GREENFIELD and colleagues, Department of Primary Care and General Practice, Medical School, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, UK aimed to describe the motivation, experience and attitude change of undergraduate medical students who chose a special study... more HEUSSER, University of Bern, Kollegiale Instanz fur Komplementarmedizin KIKOM, Inselspital, Switzerland commented on a study by Sommer et al, recently reported in Complementary Therapies in Medicine, that looked into the costs and effectiveness of compleme... more OMLOR and colleagues, Klinik fur Allgemeine, Viszeral- und Gefasschirurgie, Katholische Kliniken Essen-Nord gGmbH, Essen, Germany evaluated the effects of preoperative relaxation (visualization) therapy on postoperative outcome of patients who underwent su... more Issue 63 CURDA and colleagues, Krankenanstalt Gasteiner Heilstollen, Bad Gastein-Bockstein, Austria investigated the frequency of use of unconventional therapies by patients with ankylosing spondylitis presenting for treatment at a radon spa .... more EASTWOOD, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, h.eastwood@spmed.uq.edu.au reviewed (23 references) reasons for the apparent increasing provision or support of complementary and alternative medicine (C... more POKANEVYCH and colleagues, (No information re. affiliation/institution) investigated the effects of multimodal treatment including homeopathy on facial nerve neuropathy .... more ZIMPEL and WINDELER, Abteilung Medizinische Biometrie, Universitatsklinikum Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany investigated whether a publication bias could be shown for the results of medical theses on all kinds of complementary therapies and what factors in... more Issue 62 COOKE and ERNST, Department of Complementary Medicine, School of Postgraduate Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Exeter, UK, conducted a systematic review (28 references) of aromatherapy .... more Murugesan, Govindarajulu and Bera, Department of Physical Education, Pondicherry University, India, examined the effect of selected yogic practices on the management of hypertension.... more Issue 61 DE VISSER, EZZY and BARTOS, Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health, and Society, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia studied alternative and complementary therapy use among people with HIV/AIDS.... more EVRARD BRAS and colleagues, Service de Medecine B et Angiologie Hopital Saint-Eloi, Montpellier, France reviewed the effectiveness of manual physiotherapy (lymphatic drainage) for the treatment of chronic circulatory stasis of the lower limbs .... more FIELD and colleagues, Touch Research Institute, University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, Florida 33101, USA assessed the effectiveness of massage therapy for the treatment of burn injuries in comparison with standard treatment.... more VAN HASELEN and FISHER, The Royal London Homoeopathic Hospital, Great Ormond Street, London WC1N 3HR, UK compared the efficacy and safety of a homeopathic gel with those of a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) gel (piroxicam) in treating osteoarthriti... more Issue 60 CUCHERAT and colleagues, Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Hospitals of Lyon and University Claude Bernard, France. mcu@upcl.univ-lyonl.fr reviewed evidence of clinical efficiency of homeopathy from a meta-analysis of clinical trials .... more IRELAND and OLSON, College of Nursing, Rutgers, State University of New Jersey, Newark, USA reviewed the effect of massage therapy and therapeutic touch in children .... more TAYLOR and colleagues, University Department of Medicine, Glasgow Royal Infirmary, Glasgow, conducted a randomized controlled trial of homeopathy versus placebo in perennial allergic rhinitis .... more White and Ernst, Department of Complementary Medicine, School of Postgraduate Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK. a.r.white@ex.ac.uk systematically reviewed economic analysis of complementary medicine .... more Issue 59 Babichenko, (no address given) investigated the use of acupuncture reflexotherapy in the treatment of hypertension patients . [Article in Ukrainian]... more Liu and colleagues, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, Department of Complementary Medicine Services, Presbyterian Hospital, School of Public Health, Columbia University, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA. ehl7@columbia.edu inve... more Huntley and Ernst, Department of Complementary Medicine, School of Postgraduate Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK. conducted a review of complementary and alternative therapies for treating multiple sclerosis symptoms.... more Perry and Dowrick, Department of Primary Care, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK. investigated the use of, and attitudes towards complementary medicine among urban general practices in a socioeconomically deprived urban area.... more Issue 58 CHARD, TALLON and DIEPPE, Department of Social Medicine, University of Bristol, UK. J.a.chard@bristol.ac.uk reviewed (20 references) the epidemiology of research into interventions for osteoarthritis of the knee.... more HALL and GILES-CORTI, Department of Public Health, University of Western Australia surveyed Perth GPs to identify their knowledge, attitudes and referral patterns towards 10 complementary therapies.... more KROUSE and KROUSE, University of Florida, Gainesville, USA. kroushj.valencia@shands.ufl.edu described the complementary therapeutic practices in patients with chronic sinusitis.... more SCHULZ, (no address given) volkschu@t-online.de r eviewed (21 references) the psychodynamic and pharmacodynamic effects of drugs.... more TALLON, CHARD and DIEPPE, Department of Social Medicine, University of Bristol, UK described the relation between agendas of the research community and the research consumer.... more Issue 56 BLOOM and colleagues, University of Pennsylvania, USA performed an evaluation of randomized controlled trials on complementary and alternative medicine.... more HEMMINGS and colleagues, Division of Sport Studies, University College Northampton, United Kingdom set out to describe the effects of massage on the performance of athletes.... more HUHTALA and colleagues, Department of Pediatrics, Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland. virpi.susanna.huhtala@utu.fi conducted a clinical trial comparing infant massage with a crib vibrator for colic.... more PITTLER and colleagues, Department of Complementary Medicine, School of Postgraduate Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom. MHPittler@exeter.ac.uk systematically investigated the location bias in controlled clinical tri... more RESCH, ERNST and GARROW, Forschungsinstitute fur Balneologie und Kuortwissenschaft, Bad Elster, Germany conducted a clinical trial of reviewer bias against an unconventional medicine.... more Issue 55 HAYES and COX, University of Hertfordshire, Centre for Research in Primary and community Care, Hatfield, Hertfordshire UK conducted a survey to determine the extent of integration of complementary therapies in critical care units in the North and South Tha... more KERSNIK, Slovenia, studied an array of characteristics of patients using alternative medicine.... more LODHA and BAGGA, Department of Pediatrics, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India reviewed (52 references) the MEDLINE database to identify clinical trials conducted using traditional Ayurvedic Indian medicines.... more WEINRICH and colleagues, Health Management Services, Center for Health Services and Policy Research, University of South Carolina, Columbia USA studied the benefits of therapeutic massage in older persons.... more | Issue 54 ASTIN and colleagues, Stanford Center for Research in Disease Prevention, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo alto, California 94304-1583 USA. astin@scrdp.stanford.edu surveyed the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in elderly per... more ESKINAZI and MUEHSAM, Rosenthal Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York 10032 USA. Eskinazi@helix.nih.gov write that bias expressed... more HILL and colleagues, (Address not supplied) conducted a preliminary investigation of the effects upon quality of life of floatation spa therapy in patients with osteoarthritis.... more LUSKIN and colleagues, Stanford University USA review (91 references) the literature regarding complementary and alternative treatments, specifically mind/body techniques for musculoskeletal diseases.... more PAPADOUPOULOS and colleagues, South Birmingham Mental Health NHS Trust UK evaluated an aromatherapy service for older adults with physical health problems and their carers in Birmingham.... more VAN HASELEN and colleagues, Royal London Homoeopathic Hospital, UK conducted a study to measure the marginal costs of providing complementary medicine services (mostly homeopathy) in outpatient clinics for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).... more Issue 53 PERRY and DOWRICK, Department of Primary Care, University of Liverpool, UK write that General practitioners (GPs) in more affluent areas of the UK have shown considerable interest in the use of complementary medicine. The authors investigated the use of an... more STRAUMSHEIM and colleagues, Arena Medisinske Senter, Sognsveien, Oslo, Norway evaluated the efficacy of homoeopathy in the prevention of migraine attacks and accompanying symptoms.... more Issue 52 COLLIS and colleagues, Department of Plastic Surgery, Bradford Royal Infirmary, West Yorkshire, England UK. nicollis@aol.com write that cellulite is a common phenomenon particularly affecting the thighs and buttocks of women, and that there is little scien... more MANIADAKIS and GRAY, Global Health Outcomes, Searle Division of Monsanto, PO Box 53, High Wycombe UK reports the results of a 'cost-of-illness ' study of the socio-economic costs of back pain in the UK .... more Issue 51 VALLBONA and RICHARDS, Department of Family and Community Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston Texas USA review (117 references) the use of magnetic therapy in rehabilitation medicine .... more BRAVERMAN and SCHULMAN, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia USA write that massage is an ancient practice which has been integrally incorporated into the management of disease and maintenance o... more COTTER, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Newark USA writes that complementary movement therapies, including dance, kinesiology and yoga have been developed by individuals who have been... more FARRELL et al, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Medical College of Ohio, Toledo USA write that Tai Chi, Qigong and Yoga represent a class of exercise which differs from the routine strengthening and stretching programmes currently used i... more McPARTLEND and MILLER, Department of Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine, College of Osteopathic Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing USA provide an overview (67 references) of various systems of bodywork for physical therapy .... more SHIFLETT, Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Kessler Medical Rehabilitation Research and Education Corporation, West Orange, USA describes the current use of alternative and complementary medicine in the US and among chronically ill users o... more Issue 50 BARNES and colleagues, Department of Complementary Medicine, School of Postgraduate Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Exeter UK. jo.barnes@exeter.ac.uk studied the growth in interest in complementary and alternative medicine within the professio... more BOULDIN and colleagues, Department of Pharmacy Administration, The University of Mississippi 38677, USA. phacsb@olemiss.edu conducted a survey to document the market presence of herbal medicine products in community pharmacies throughout the USA.... more MANYAM and SANCHEZ-RAMOS, Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Clinic, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Springfield, USA write that Parkinson’s disease has existed in different parts of the world since ancient times, its fir... more WAGNER and colleagues, Department of Family Medicine, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta 30912-3500 USA. pwagner@mail.mcg.edu. write that the number of visits to practitioners of alternative medicine in the US is estimated at 425 million, more than the nu... more Issue 49 CAMPBELL, Royal London Homeopathic Hospital notes that homoeopathic writers frequently refer to classical homoeopathy, implying that this is the most complete and authoritative version of Hahnemann’s views, which the author claims do not correspond wi... more DRUSS and ROSENHECK, Department of Psychiatry, Yale University, West Haven, Conn USA benjamin.druss@yale.edu. write that the terms alternative and complementary medicine suggest 2 contradictory possibilities, including the use of unconventional therapies a... more LAFRENIERE and colleagues, University of Windsor, Psychology Department, Ontario Canada lafrenl@uwindsor.ca. studied the effects of therapeutic touch (TT) upon biochemical indicators and moods in women .... more ODA and colleagues, Department of Health and Physical Education and Research, Faculty of Education, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan studied the effects of underwater exercise upon relaxation .... more Issue 48 DATTA and colleagues, Kalyani University, Department of Zoology, India compared, in mice, the efficacy of Arsenicum Album 30C and 200C in protecting against genotoxic effects produced by Arsenic trioxide (As203) injection.... more GRANT and colleagues, Liberton Hospital, Edinburgh, UK. d.j.grant@btinternet.com conducted a randomised clinical trial comparing acupuncture with transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) .... more MACPHERSON and colleagues, Foundation for Traditional Chinese Medicine, York UK conducted a pilot study regarding the use of acupuncture for low back pain .... more RAO and colleagues, Roudebush Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Indiana University School of Medicine, and Regenstrief Institute for Health Care, Indianapolis 46202, USA write that people with chronic conditions commonly use complementary and alternative me... more SOMMER and colleagues, University of Basel, Health Economics and Social Policy Research Unit, Switzerland investigated the effects of including alternative medicine within the benefit package of health insurance in Switzerland .... more Issue 47 LI, Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Pharmacology writes that obesity manifests itself as derangement of qi and blood with disorder of the defensive qi in particular to be a causative factor of primary importance, with contributions f... more MANSOUR and colleagues, College of Nursing, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada. Mansour@duke.usask.ca write that Reiki is a popular alternative therapy, advocated as a precise method for connecting universal life energy with the body’s inna... more MEISTER and colleagues, Medizinische Klinik, Kantonsspital Glarus, Switzerland write that migraine and other functional disorders are common yet often difficult to treat, with alternative treatment modalities warranted and gaining more widespread acceptanc... more SUDMEIER and colleagues, Universitatsklinik fur Innere Medizin, Innsbruck, Austria studied the effects of reflexology upon renal blood flow.... more WYLIE and colleagues, Department of Neuropsychiatry, Bootham Park Hospital, York UK studied the efficacy of acupuncture and massage with relaxation upon chronic headache .... more Issue 46 CRIDER and GLAROS, Department of Psychology, Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts USA reviewed the literature of more than 2 decades regarding treatments incorporating electromyographic (EMG) biofeedback for temporamandibular disorders (TMD) in or... more JOHNSON and colleagues, Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Charlotte 28223 USA conducted a study to determine whether a course of Feldenkrais bodywork would improve physical, emotional and functioning in people suffering from multipl... more REISS and REISS, Department of Ear, Nose and Throat, University of Dresden, Germany write that tinnitus can rarely be cured . The authors review the literature (12 references).... more SMITH and colleagues, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center School of Nursing in Denver USA write that acute and long-term care facilities are implementing massage therapy programmes to support patients’ health, healing, and quality of life .... more Issue 45 ASTIN, HARKNESS and ERNST, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA. jastin@compmed.ummc.umaryland.edu conducted a systematic review (52 references) of the efficacy of any form of distant healing as treatment for any medical condition... more GOODYEAR, LEWITH and LOW, School of Medicine, University Medicine, University of Southampton, UK write that homoeopathic "drug" pictures are developed by recording the symptomatic effects of homoeopathic remedies given to healthy volunteers, call... more HOWARD, Bach Centre, Oxon UK reminisces about the different ‘types’ of people she met during her nursing career.... more Kraft , Medizinische Universitats-Poliklinik Bonn, Germany writes that herbal medicinal products are very popular in Germany, with patients and physicians. However, very little tends to be known regarding the effects of drug law upon herbal products .... more LEE, GEORGIOU and RAAB, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Iowa State University, Ames, USA examined the perceived knowledge and attitudes of dietitians regarding the effectiveness and safety of functional foods, nutrient supplements, and herb... more OLDENDICK and colleagues, South Carolina Complementary Medicine Program Baseline Research Team. Institute of Public Affairs, the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia 29208, USA conduc... more PRICE, Shirley Price International College of Aromatherapy, Leicestershire, UK writes that as the use of aromatherapy within the health care setting has grown so rapidly recently, and continues to so do, the requirement for suitable training has become obv... more RAWSTHORNE and colleagues, Department of Medicine, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada write that there appears to be a perception of an increasing and widespread use of alternative medicine for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) . The authors assessed... more SHENKMAN and colleagues, Department of Anesthesia, Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts USA z.shenkman@ipc.co.il write that acupuncture or acupressure at the Nei-Guan (P6) point on the wrist produces anti-vomiting effects... more TREGUT and colleagues Zentrale Radiologische Abteilung, Stauferklinik Schwabisch Gmund, Mutlangen, Deutschland investigated whether corona electrography of Kirlian photography is an accidental pattern or an individual specific discharge pattern.... more Issue 44 KLEPSER and KLEPSER, Division of Clinical and Administrative Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, The University of Iowa, Iowa City 52242 USA. teresa-klepser@uiowa.edu discuss unsafe and potentially safe herbal therapies .... more NEVILLE-SMITH, Linton, Cleveland UK conducted a study to examine the activity of a new service providing a homoeopathic clinic at a community hospital .... more The NIH CONSENSUS STATEMENT presents the biomedical research and clinical practice communities with the results of the NIH Consensus Development Conference on Acupuncture, providing the latest information regarding the appropriate use of acupuncture, ident... more Issue 43 ALKAISSI and colleagues, Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, University Hospital in Linkoping, Sweden write that acupuncture and acupressure have previously been reported to possess antiemetic (anti-nausea) effect. The authors conducted a dou... more FALKENBACH and colleagues, Research Institute Gastein, Badgastein, Austria write that massage courses for medical students have been held at Frankfurt University Medical School from 1987. The authors surveyed students’ motives for participation and ch... more KESSELRING (No affiliation provided) conducted a study to investigate the possible usefulness of foot reflexology on recovery following surgical intervention .... more MAUDSLEY and KERR, Department of Microbiology, University of Leeds UK investigated the safety of plant essential oils .... more Issue 42 BERMAN and colleagues, Complementary Medicine Program, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore 21207 USA studied the effectiveness of acupuncture in the treatment of fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) .... more BIELORY and LUPOLI, Asthma and Allergy Research Center, UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School, Newark 071032499 USA review (235 references) the role of herbal-based medicines in the treatment of asthma and allergic rhinitis .... more ERNST and PITTLER, Department of Complementary Medicine, School of Postgraduate Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Exeter, UK write that although complementary/alternative therapies are used frequently for low back pain, expert opinion regarding t... more LUNDRGREN and STENSTROM, Department of Physiotherapy, Rosenhall, Uddevalla Sweden studied the effects of supervised muscle relaxation training in sufferers of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) .... more SIMPSON and colleagues, Department of Pharmacology, The Medical School, University of Birmingham UK write that tinnitus is a prevalent condition for which there is no practical and effective pharmacological treatment. The authors conducted a double-blind,... more TAYLOR and colleagues, Center for the Study of Complementary and Alternative Therapies, University of Virginia School of Nursing, Charlottesville 22903-3320 USA write that little is known regarding the use of complementary and alternative therapies in emer... more Issue 41 BLAND, HealthComm International, Inc, Harbor, Washington USA reviews (72 references) how the ageing population’s healthcare demands can be met by promoting healthy ageing.... more COTT and colleagues, Adult Psychopharmacology Program, National Institute of Mental Health, Rockville, Maryland 20857, USA write that St John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum) is a remarkably safe antidepressant with an apparently unique mode of action .... more JACOBSEN and COHAN, UOP School of Dentistry, San Francisco, CA 94115 USA write that complementary and holistic health care is a growing area in medicine and dentistry . The authors review (16 references) the variety of dental products promoted as an "... more JOHNSON AND BORDINAT Department of Family and Community Medicine, Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine, East Lansing 48824-1316 USA have been professionally associated with osteopathic medicine since 1972 and they have observed the pro... more WAINAPEL and colleagues, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, NY USA conducted a survey to document the prevalence, patterns of use of alternative medical therapies and their percei... more WEISER and colleagues, Biologische Heilmittel heel GmbH, Baden-Baden, Germany. Weiser.michael@heel.de. compared the efficacy and safety of the homoeopathic remedy Vertigoheel with betahistine hydrochloride (active control) in the treatment of patients with... more Issue 40 BITTINGER and colleagues, III. Medizinische Klinik, Zentralklinikum Augsbug Germany review the literature (34 references) regarding alternative treatments for functional gastrointestinal disorders .... more CHEN and CHEN, Department of Pathology, East Orange Veterans Affairs Medical Center, New Jersey 07018 USA writes that medical thinkers in China visualised the liver in microcosmal and macrocosmal terms, and because an anatomical tradition did not exist, th... more HAMMERSCHLAG, Yo San University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Santa Monica, California 90401 USA reviews (48 references) controlled clinical trials of acupuncture .... more REUTHER and ALDRIDGE, Faculty of Medicine, Universitat Witten Herdecke, Witten, Germany conducted a pilot study to investigate the efficacy of Qigong Yangsheng for the treatment of asthma . Qigong Yangsheng is a health-promoting method of traditional Chine... more Issue 39 BREWER, University of Plymouth, Faculty of Human Sciences, Institute of Health Studies, Taunton UK explores Guzzetta's (1988) notion that musical vibrations which are in tune with our human vibratory pattern may have a profound healing effect upon the enti... more DAVIS and colleagues, Department of Internal Medicine, University of California at Davis, USA write that, despite advances in the diagnosis and treatment of asthma, the incidence of mortality is increasing throughout the developed world. A variety of compl... more DRIVDAHL and colleagues, Department of Family Practice, Madigan Army Medical Center, Tacoma, Wash USA conducted a study which examined the characteristics of family practice patients who used alternative medicine, the health problems which preceded this us... more NORLANDER and colleagues, Department of Psychology, Karlstad University, Sweden. at.norlander@mailbox.swipnet.se investigated the possible psychological effects of the physioacoustic chair, an application of low-frequency sound waves, regarding deductive t... more Issue 38 BOON, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Ontario Canada, describes naturopathic practitioners with 2 distinct world views - holistic and scientific and explores the relationship of practitioners' socialisation experiences and practice patterns wit... more BUCKEL, Boehringer Mannheim GmbH, Penzberg, Germany writes that "natural medicine" treatments have recently enjoyed a surge in popularity, but that the term "natural" used regarding these healing methods is frequently misunderstood, res... more CALDERON, Centro de Salud de Gomez de Alza, Donostia-San Sebastian explored views of Primary Care and Homoeopathic physicians in the same area regarding their attitudes towards Homoeopathy as a discipline and motives which bring patients to use its service... more HOPPER and COHEN, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia write that despite the popularity of complementary therapies with the public, knowledge and use of these therapies among doctors appear to be limited . The authors examined the attitudes of medical... more SIMPSON, University of Queensland, Sociology Department, Australia writes that in Queensland, Australia, patients suffering work-related injuries must be referred by a general medical practitioner (GP) in order to receive treatment from "nontraditiona... more Issue 37 BAKER, Aromatherapy Organisations Council, Leicester UK writes that although aromatherapy is used more and more alongside conventional medicine in hospitals and via GP referrals, doctors and other health professionals are concerned regarding training stand... more COHEN, Chapman University School of Law, Anaheim, California 92660 USA writes that European providers of complementary medicine may be surprised by the formal strictures faced by their American counterparts .... more RANKIN-BOX, De Montfort University, Cheshire UK writes that due to increased interest among the general public and health professionals, there appears to be an assumption that the use within the health care setting of complementary therapies such as massag... more VICKERS, Research Council for Complementary Medicine, London UK writes in this review (20 references) that while there is evidence that massage and aromatherapy may have benefits, practitioners make a great number of claims regarding the clinical effects o... more WEST, Warwick Hospital UK writes that the availability of acupuncture in midwifery within the National Health Service (NHS) has yet to become widespread and that Warwick was one of the first hospitals in the UK to offer acupuncture when this service it was... more Issue 36 BOTTING, School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Glamorgan, Wales UK writes that public interest regarding complementary therapies continues to grow, and that many nurses and midwifes incorporate reflexology, aromatherapy and massage into their clin... more KACPEREK, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, UK conducted a survey to determine the views of patients regarding the potential value of aromatherapy massage as an out-patient service .... more KATZ, Royal London Homoeopathic Hospital, London UK writes that although nurses and midwives may not be involved directly in the treatment of menopausal patients, they are uniquely positioned to support and advise patients regarding the menopause .... more KELNER and WELLMAN, Institute for Human Development, Life Course and Aging, University of Toronto, Ontario compared the social and health characteristics of patients from five groups of practitioners: 1) family physicians (used as baseline group); 2) chiro... more MACKERETH, Biodynamic Massage, Reflexology and Therapeutic, Burnage, Manchester UK writes that he has received supervision following the completion of his biodynamic massage therapy training, in compliance with the requirement of the Code of Conduct for th... more STYLES, Paediatric Unit, St Mary's Hospital, London UK writes that aromatherapy is a valuable means of maintaining optimum health, especially when the health problem is stress-related.... more WHITMARSH, Glasgow Homoeopathic Hospital, Scotland reported a case of migraine without aura, which was unresponsive to 5 years of conventional medical treatment.... more Issue 35 ANDREWS and colleagues, Faculty of Medicine, University of Adelaide, South Australia, Australia studied the nature and prevalence of alternative therapies used by children with asthma.... more FIELD T and colleagues, Touch Research Institute, University of Miami School of Medicine, Florida 33101, USA studied the therapeutic benefits of massage therapy or relaxation therapy for children with asthma .... more HILSDEN and colleagues, Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada studied the use of complementary therapies by patients suffering from inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).... more KENNER, Department of Parent-Child Health Nursing, College of Nursing and Health University of Cincinnati, Ohio USA review (17 references) writes that fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) are not new conditions, but are the focus... more VERHOEF and PAGE, Department of Community Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary. investigated the knowledge, opinions and referral behaviour of family physicians regarding massage therapy.... more VICKERS and colleagues, Research Council for Complementary Medicine, London UK investigated potential research bias by analysing the results of clinical trials originating in various countries .... more WONG and colleagues, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada studied how Chinese patients consulting family physicians in Vancouver, Canada used traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), in particular Chinese herbal medicine and acupuncture .... more Issue 34 CARROLL and SEERS, Nuffield Department of Anaesthetics, University of Oxford, The Churchill, UK conducted a systematic review (54 references) of published randomised controlled trials regarding the effectiveness of relaxation techniques in the management o... more GOOSSENS and colleagues, Institute for Rehabilitation Research, Hoensbroek, The Netherlands. M.Goossens@IRV.nl. conducted a 3-year cost-effectiveness study and compared the efficacy of several types of rehabilitation programmes for chronic low back pain.... more SEERS and CARROLL, Royal College of Nursing Institute, Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford, UK reviewed (60 references) the effectiveness of relaxation techniques used alone for management of acute pain following surgery and during procedures.... more VALLANCE, Medical School Registry, Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, London, UK reviews (149 references) the evidence for the efficacy of homoeopathy . He writes that 40% of GPs in the Netherlands practise homoeopathy, and that with over 100 homoeopa... more Issue 33 McPARTLAND and SOONS, Vermont Alternative Medicine, Middlebury USA estimated the number of alternative/holistic practitioners in Vermont.... more WIRTH and CRAM, Healing Sciences Research International, Orinda, California, USA analysed three studies regarding complementary healing methods.... more WOOTTON, Richard & Hinda Rosenthal center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, USA have compiled the Directory of Databases with significant holdings of primarily bibliographic r... more Issue 32 BLAIS and colleagues, Groupe de recherche interdisciplinaire en santé, Université de Montréal, Quebec Canada. blaisr@ere.umontreal.ca. compared the demographic characteristics, health profile and utilisation of medical services between users and non-users... more EDWARDS, University Support Centre, University of Western Australia, Australia. medwards@cyllene.usa.edu.au. writes that the Zen Buddhist tradition involves a number of meditation and instructional techniques with strong phenomenological and theoretical co... more LANGLEY and BHATTACHARYYA, Center for Pharmaceutical Economics, College of Pharmacy, University of Arizona, Tucson USA discuss the problem of increasing costs (and decreasing returns) in the treatment of patients within health care systems.... more PEREZ and SUAREZ, Catedra de Farmacologia, Facultad de Odontologia, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina had previously reported the antimicrobial activity of plants used in Argentine folk medicine against a variety of micro-organisms.... more Issue 31 LEVIN, colleagues and JONAS, National Institute for Healthcare Research, Rockville MD, USA summarises the deliberations of the Quantitative Methods Working Group convened by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), in support of the NIH Office of Alternati... more NORHEIM, Institute of Community Medicine, University of Tromso Norway reviews (29 references) the adverse effects of acupuncture as recorded in papers published in journals on the Medline database during the period 1981-94.... more SUN, Nanjing College for Population Administrators, China studied the anti-obesity effects of acupuncture and influence upon water and salt metabolism.... more Issue 30 CARLSTON and colleagues, Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, USA. mcarlston@aol.com write that the use of therapies outside of mainstream Western medicine, known as complementary or alternative medicine (CA... more ERNST and PITTLER, Department of Complementary Medicine, Postgraduate Medical School, University of Exeter, Exeter UK conducted a systematic review of the literature to assess the effectiveness of acupuncture for dental pain.... more HE and colleagues, Department of Preventive Medicine, University of Oslo, Norway, studied the effects of acupuncture upon smoking reduction and cessation. METHODS: 46 healthy men and women, of mean age of 39 years, smoking 20 +/- 6 cigarettes daily over a... more Issue 29 BERDEN and colleagues, BION, Institute for Bioelectromagnetics and New Biology, Ljubljana, Slovenia studied whether electromagnetic field emission from living beings could modify physical characteristics of water.... more BUSS and colleagues, Maastricht University, Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Nursing Science, The Netherlands write that the prevention of pressure sores is a major concern of rehabilitation nurses.... more WATSON and WATSON, University of Bradford, review the therapeutic benefits of massage and its relationship and relevant to orthodox therapies.... more Issue 28 ALKHAWAJAH, Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, King Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia writes that Juglans regia L. bark is used as a toothbrush and a cosmetic lip colourant dye in some countries.... more HOU and LI, Xinjiang Academy of Forestry Science, China have previously shown that plants exhibit functional characteristics similar to the meridian system in humans and animals, including high potential and low electrical resistance, high temperature and... more LINDE and colleagues, Munchener Modell, Centre for Complementary Medicine Research, Technische Universitat/Ludwig-Maximillans-Universitat, Munchen, Germany write that homoeopathy appears to be scientifically implausible but is widely used . The authors ass... more WHITE, RESCH and ERNST, Department of Complementary Medicine, Postgraduate Medical School, University of Exeter UK write that information regarding GPs’ use of and attitudes toward Complementary Medicine (CM) is necessary in order to progress the deba... more Issue 27 MAA and colleagues, School of Nursing, Chang Gung College of Medicine and Technology, Taiwan, Republic of China write that acupressure, a therapy in which gentle pressure is applied with fingers at specific acupoints on the body, has been reported to relie... more MILLAR, Health Statistics Division, Statistics Canada, Ottawa. millway@statcan.ca. studied the use of alternative health care practitioners by Canadians aged 15 and over.... more SUDAN reports that extremely low frequencies ranging from 1-1.Hz, imprinted in water (imprinting was performed by succussing a glass containing the water) resulted in the total abrogation (disappearance) of a facial seborrhoeic dermatitis . This has been p... more Issue 26 CASTOT and colleagues, Centre Regional de Pharmacovigilance Hopital Fernand Widal, Paris, France write that for several years, herbal medicines have been consumed increasingly by patients without prescription . Traditionally herbal medicines are innocuous... more CAWLEY, Macmillan Practice Development Unit, Institute of Cancer Research, Royal Marsden Hospital, London UK reviews (28 References) 14 research studies which have evaluated massage . The review provides a critique of the methodology used in these studies... more ERNST and WHITE, Department of Complementary Medicine, Postgraduate Medical School, University of Exeter UK write that although laboratory studies demonstrate that acupuncture may produce physiological effects, clinical studies of acupuncture are often inc... more FRYBACK and REINERT, Indiana University, USA write that people coping with AIDS and cancer have a sense of being out of control in dealing with their illness . Much of this feeling stems from the uncertainty regarding the accepted medical treatment for the... more TAUBERT, Praxis fur Physikalische und Rehabilitative Medizin, Neubrandenburg, Germany writes that during times of limited funds for health care, it seems sensible to critically evaluate commonly used therapeutic techniques. The author writes that it is fre... more Issue 25 DOXEY and PHILLIPS, Los Angeles College of Chiropractic, Whittier, California 90609-1166 USA compared US chiropractic college admissions requirements with those of allopathic, osteopathic, optometry, podiatry and dentistry.... more SCHENK and colleagues, Department of Family medicine, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, Michigan USA write that although The Institute of Medicine has recommended basic clinical competence in Environmental Medicine (EM) for all physicians... more XU and colleagues, Office of Research, Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine, Athens 45701 USA studied the differences between osteopathic and allopathic physicians regarding factors which influenced their career choice of family practice.... more Issue 23 LAWSON and CALDERON, Institute for Biomedical Engineering and Rehabilitation Services, Touro College, Dix Hills, NY 11746, USA conducted two trials testing the inter examiner reliability of Applied Kinesiology manual testing.... more PARAMORE, Project Hope Center for Health Affairs, Bethesda, Maryland 20814, USA conducted a study to update national estimates regarding the use of alternative therapies, in order to improve the quality of the estimates and to investigate differences betwe... more SOLLNER and colleagues, Department of Medical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Leopold Franzens University, Innsbruck Austria. wolfgang.soellner@uibk.ac.at. studied melanoma patients' attitude toward alternative therapies, compliance with conventional treatme... more Issue 22 CROCETTI and colleagues, UO Epidemiologia, CSPO USL 10, Firenze, Italy write that complementary medicine (CM) is widely used by cancer patients. The authors conducted a study to evaluate the knowledge of and the attitude towards CM amongst Italian allopath... more ELDER and colleagues, Department of Family Medicine, Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland USA eldern@OHSU.edu write that in recent years, the use of alternative medicine has become more acknowledged in the United States . Many different therapeutic... more KAINZ and colleagues, Department of Dermatology, University of Graz, Austria write that despite the wide practical application of homoeopathy, scientifically credible placebo-controlled studies are scarce. The authors evaluated the efficacy of homoeopathy... more PRACTICE AND POLICY GUIDELINES PANEL, National Institutes of Health Office of Alternative Medicine (NIHOAM) estimate that 1 out of every 3 Americans uses some form of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) such as acupuncture, homoeopathy and herbal... more RAMPES and colleagues, Royal London Homoeopathic Hospital NHS Trust, London UK surveyed deans of British medical school to assess provision for complementary medicine in the curriculum for undergraduate medical students . The authors also questioned medica... more Issue 21 BENDELOW and WILLIAMS, Department of Applied Social Studies, University of Warwick, Coventry UK write that studies regarding the lay evaluation of pain-relief clinics are rare, particularly in the UK. The authors conducted a small-scale qualitative study w... more DIMMOCK and colleagues, Clinical Pharmacology Unit (Rheumatism Research) Unversity of Leeds, United Kingdom examined the factors influencing the use of complementary therapies in patients suffering with fibromyalgia. METHODS: 90 patients who had attended a... more GOOD, Case Western Reserve University, Frances Payne Bolton, School of Nursing, Cleveland Ohio USA writes that postoperative patients vary in their response to pain and opioid medication and that it is important that nurses can offer other options as adjuv... more MELCHART and colleagues, Projekt Munchener Modell, Technische Universitat, Munich, Germany write that a scientific evaluation of complementary medical practices being used in healthcare is urgently required. They state that although randomised clinical tri... more SEERS, Royal College of Nursing Institute, Radclife Infirmary, Oxford UK reports the results of a study which investigated the experiences of 75 people with chronic non-malignant pain. The author writes that people with chronic non-malignant pain may find... more Issue 20 BOURGEAULT, York Centre for Health Studies, York University, North York, Ontario, Canada ivyh@yorku.ca studied the attitudes and reactions of physicians to their patients' use of alternative cancer therapies, factors affecting these reactions and physician... more HENTSCHEL and colleagues, Klinik Blankenstein, Hattingen, Germany write that complementary medicine is used to varying extent in industrial nations. They write that there are incomplete data regarding the efficacy, safety and costs of such treatment, with... more MOSER and colleagues, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of Vienna, Austria. GABRIELE.MOSER@WIEN.AC.AT. studied the use of unconventional therapies in inflammatory bowel diseases.... more PLASEK and ZVAROVA, Biofyzikalni oddeleni, Fyzikalni ustav UK pri MFF UK, Prague, Czech Republic present a critical report regarding the reliability of two clinical trials by Reilly et al (Lancet, 1986ii, pp 881-886 and 1994ii, pp 1601-1606), claiming that... more RANKIN-BOX discusses the potential for complementary therapies in Accident and Emergency (A&E) departments.... more WALACH and RIGHETTI, Abteilung Rehabilitationspsychologie, Universitat Freiburg, Bundesrepublik Deutschland Germany provide a review (91 references) of homoeopathy. The topics covered include: 1) the scientific foundations; 2) problems and importance of re... more Issue 19 ANDRITZKY, Institut Fur Medizinische Psychologie Der Heinrich Heine Universitat Dusseldorf, Germany investigated the spectrum of therapeutic techniques and methods used in clinics with psychotherapeutic or psychiatric activities, as well as the spectrum of... more BEGBIE and colleagues, Department of Clinical Oncology, Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia assessed and compared the use of alternative versus conventional medicine by cancer patients in a public hospital oncology unit.... more ERNST, Department of Complementary Medicine, Postgraduate Medical School, University of Exeter, UK reviews (22 references) the risks posed by homoeopathy. The author writes that it is often assumed that homoeopathy, even though possibly ineffective, is fre... more |
