Complementary therapies

Egregious Double Standard , Complementary Therapies in Medicine 11, no. 3 (2003) 193-95... 

Antioxidizability and its control are relevant for various areas in medicine and industry. Atherosclerosis, cardiac infarction, malignant growth, and aging are consequences of uncontrolled oxidation. Currently, oxidizability and antioxidants are also actual problems for alternative and complementary therapies like phyto-, helio-, and aero-ion therapy. 

Druss, B.G. and Rosenheck, R.A. (2000) Use of practitioner-based complementary therapies by persons reporting mental conditions in the United States. Arch Gen Psychiatry 57 708—714. 

Rusy, L.M., and Weisman, S.J. (2000) Complementary therapies for acute pediatric pain management. Pediatr Clin North Am 47 589-599. 

Eisenberg DM, Kessler RC, Van Rompay MI, et al. Perceptions about complementary therapies relative to conventional therapies among adults who use both results from a national survey. Ann Intern Med 2001 135(5) 344-351. MedWatch FDA. http //www.fda.gov/medwatch/safety.htm (accessed 3-1-2004). Dangerous supplements. Consumer Reports, 12, 2004. http //www.consumer-reports.org/main/content/display report.jsp FOLDER%3C%3 Efolder id= 419341 ASSORTMENT%3C%3East id=333141 (accessed 5-3-2004). 

Yamell, E. 2000. The botanical roots of pharmaceutical discovery. Alternative Complementary Therapies. June 2000, p. 125-128. 

Rankin-Box, D. and Hancock, C., The Nurses Handbook of Complementary Therapies, Churchill Livingstone, New York, 1996. 

Ernst, Edzard, Julia Rand, and Clare Stevinson. Complementary Therapies for Depression, In Alternative Medicine, An Objective Assessment. Washington, DC JAMA and Archives Journals, 2000. 

A systematic review of the literature aimed to assess the effectiveness of any type of complementary therapy for intermittent claudication revealed that there is no evidence of effectiveness of acupuncture, biofeedback therapy, chelation therapy, CO(2)-applications and the dietary supplements of Allium sativum (garlic), omega-3 fatty acids and Vitamin E (86). 

Pittler MH, Ernst E, Complementary therapies for peripheral arterial disease systematic review. Atherosclerosis 2005 181(1) 1-7. Epub 2005 Mar 3 I,... 

In many cases the approach and techniques of the complementary therapies have a scientific basis. This is particularly true for aromatherapy using essential oils extracted from plants. Aromatherapy is scientific in terms of the biochemical and physiological functioning of the body and works in conjunction with the more esoteric and spiritual needs of the individual. It is naive... 

In the past complementary therapies have been called alternative or fringe medicine but the position of conflict between complementary and conventional therapies is outdated. The term allopathic is used for the conventional, orthodox mainstream medicine and relies on gathering evidence through scientific research methodology. It examines outcomes, i.e. the results or consequences that follow from the action or intervention that we call the treatment. There is a clinical criterion called the gold standard clinical variable, which is often viewed as the measure of clinical improvement in a condition. This can be a simple quantitative measure for some conditions, e.g. blood sugar level for diabetes, peak air flow for asthmatics. Often there are multiple variables and simple quantitative criteria are inapplicable. 

However, multidisciplinary clinics are increasing and complementary therapies are becoming integrated into the NHS. 

Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, Elsevier Health... 

FACT - Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies. A review journal aiming to present evidence about complementary medicine in an analytic and impartial manner. Written by research staff within the Department of Complementary Medicine, University of Exeter... 

Ritch R. Complementary therapy for the treatment of glaucoma a perspective. Ophthalmol CUn North Am 2005 18 597-609. 

The patient s priority is relief of joint pain, swelling and stiffness. In addition to providing symptomatic relief, the doctor must avoid the long-term effects of inadequately treated joint inflanunation, which leads to joint failure requiring multiple orthopaedic operations. There is no cure for arthritis (except septic arthritis), and the available drugs are sometimes poorly tolerated. Many patients with arthritis turn to complementary therapies which may interact with conventional drugs. Successful treatment of arthritis usually requires a multidisciplinary approach with physiotherapy, occupational therapy and adjustment on the part of the patient all being important. 

Some of the most useful data on trends in complementary medicine use come from two surveys of US adults carried out in 1991 and 1997/8, which involved over 1500 and over 2000 individuals respectively (7,8). The use of at least one form of complementary therapy in the 12 months preceding the survey increased significantly from 34% in 1990 to 42% in 1997 (8) and in November 1998 all 10 journals of the American Medical Association published theme issues on the subject. 

The reasons for the popularity of complementary medicine are many and diverse. It appears that complementary medicine is not usually used because of an outright rejection of conventional medicine, but more because users desire to control their own health (9) and because they find complementary medicine to be more congruent with their own values, beliefs, and philosophical orientations toward health and life (10). Also, users may consult different practitioners for different reasons (9). An important reason for the increase in use is that consumers (often motivated by the lay press) consider complementary medicine to be natural and assume it is safe. Of aU patients attending an emergency department in the USA 43% had used at least one complementary therapy at some time and 24% were current users (11). All complementary treatments were considered to be safe by 16% of the patients and 33% of aU users failed to tell their physicians. Furthermore, 15% of the women and 7% of the men believed that complementary therapies... 

However, this notion is dangerously misleading adverse effects have been associated with the use of complementary therapies (16). Furthermore, complementary therapies may not only be directly harmful (for example adverse effects of herbal formulations), but like other medical treatments have the potential to be indirectly harmful (for example through being applied incompetently, by delaying appropriate effective treatment, or by causing needless expense) (17). 

The efficacy of many complementary therapies is largely unknown, and more definitive evidence is urgently needed (18). Tike any other interventions, complementary therapies are associated with adverse effects, and for responsible therapeutic decision-making, the balance of benefits and harms must be considered (19). 

Most of the data on adverse effects associated with complementary therapies is anecdotal, and assessment and classification of causality is often not possible. Fikewise, there have been few attempts to determine systematically the incidence of adverse effects of nonorthodox therapies. 

Ernst E. Investigating the safety of complementary medicine. In Lewith G, Jonas W, Walach H, editors. Qinical Research in Complementary Therapies. London Chnrchill Livingstone, 2001 171-86. 

Tomlinson B, Chan TY, Chan JC, Critchley JA, But PP. Toxicity of complementary therapies an eastern perspective. J Clin Pharmacol 2000 40(5) 451-6. 

Maddocks-Jennings W (2004) Critical incident Idiosyncratic allergic reactions to essential oils. Complementary Therapies in Nursing and Midwifery 10 58-60. 

Hegde, H.V., Hegde, G.R. and Kholkute, S.D. (2007). Herbal care for reproductive health Ethno medicobotany from Uttara Kannada district in Karnataka, India. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, 13 38-45. 

Many patients in clinical trials will be using complementary therapies (and we often omit to ask on the case report form)... 

Geographical and cultural factors are as important as in any aspect of medicine for example, there are especially strong complementary therapy traditions in places as different as Germany and Utah. Furthermore, the popularity of drugs varies between places for example, the United Kingdom apparently has the greatest faith in garlic. The... 

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