Alternative Medicine News and Research

RSS

APF launches new educational initiative for people with pain, health care professionals

The American Pain Foundation today announced the launch of PainSAFE (Pain Safety & Access For Everyone), a new educational initiative designed for people with pain and health care professionals. The mission of PainSAFE is to provide education surrounding the appropriate and safe use of pain management therapies for people affected by pain and health care professionals, thereby, helping to reduce risk and improve access to quality pain care.

22 Sep 2010

Public health at risk as Vitamin D evidence mounts

A group of prevention-focused healthcare organizations has expressed deep concern over recently-proposed restrictions to OHIP coverage of Vitamin D testing in the province. The proposed new legislation will delist OHIP insured Vitamin D testing for most Ontarians. Exceptions will be made for those with osteoporosis, malabsorption syndromes, and individuals taking medications that interfere with vitamin D absorption or metabolism.

21 Sep 2010

Jim Stynes battle with cancer documentary to inspire people

Jim Stynes, the former AFL football star said he was motivated to participate in a documentary about his life and his battle with cancer to inspire people. The 1991 AFL Brownlow Medallist and current chairman of Melbourne Football Club is more than a year into his battle with cancer.

14 Sep 2010

Complementary medicine to save millions: Report

According to a new report substituting pharmaceutical antidepressants with St John’s Wort could save the health system $50 million a year. This research was conducted by Access Economics for the National Institute of Complementary Medicine (NICM) at the University of Western Sydney. It showed that cost effectiveness of complementary and alternative therapies have the potential to cut costs without compromising patient outcomes.

13 Sep 2010

Morning sickness treatment still elusive: Review

According to experts we are nowhere near establishing safe and effective ways to treat morning sickness. Since the Thalidomide disaster in 1960’s that led to severe birth defects in the infants, this area of research is scary and less explored by many researchers. Despite its name, the vomiting and nausea of morning sickness can occur at any time of the day and affect about half of pregnant women. Between 70% and 85% of women will experience nausea during pregnancy, with about half suffering vomiting. Around 2% will experience it so badly they need to be hospitalised.

7 Sep 2010

APF offers actionable solutions to improve access to pain care

The American Pain Foundation (APF), the nation's largest consumer advocacy organization for people in pain, released today a position statement imploring the medical community, regulators and concerned stakeholders to reaffirm their ethical commitment to the 76.5 million Americans—or one in four people—who struggle with pain, work collaboratively to improve access to pain care and dismantle the barriers preventing timely, appropriate and effective pain care for millions.

27 Aug 2010

Health care in New Orleans five years after Hurricane Katrina

Availability to news media of physicians, community leaders and others involved in post-Katrina health care.

26 Aug 2010

Polyphenols affect nutrient absorption: Study

Health benefits from polyphenol antioxidants - substances found in many fruits and vegetables - may come at a cost to some people. Penn State nutritional scientists found that eating certain polyphenols decreased the amount of iron the body absorbs, which can increase the risk of developing an iron deficiency.

24 Aug 2010

Acupuncture not superior to sham acupuncture in knee osteoarthritis

17 Aug 2010

Study finds sham acupuncture superior to traditional Chinese acupuncture in osteoarthritis treatment

Researchers from MD Anderson Cancer Center determined patients with osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee who are treated with traditional Chinese acupuncture (TCA) do not experience any more benefit than those receiving sham acupuncture (placebo). The team did find that the communication style of the acupuncturist could have a significant effect on pain reduction and satisfaction in patients. Full findings are now online and will publish in the September print issue of Arthritis Care & Research, a journal of the American College of Rheumatology.

17 Aug 2010

Healing Touch helps to restore normal energy balance

Greenwich Hospital surgical, labor and delivery, and oncology patients are among those who have received a healing boost through a form of energy therapy known as Healing Touch.The hospital, known for its reputation of service excellence, is among a growing number of medical facilities utilizing Healing Touch, which is a gentle, noninvasive therapy shown to facilitate the relaxation response to enhance the healing process. Research shows that, in addition to inducing a deep sense of calm and relaxation, Healing Touch helps to reduce pain, decrease anxiety, promote sleep and improve an overall sense of well-being.

5 Aug 2010

Aphios awarded US patent for compositions, methods for treating diseases involving 5-α reductase enzyme

Aphios® Corporation today announced that it was awarded United States Patent No. 7,744,935 B2 for "Compositions and Methods for Inhibiting 5-α Reductase," granted June 29, 2010. This invention is related to compositions and methods for treating diseases involving the 5-alpha (α) reductase enzyme.

28 Jul 2010

Anti-vaccination group declared unsafe

A Bangalow, NSW based group known as the Australian Vaccination Network (AVN) had earlier maligned the nation’s immunization campaign calling vaccines unsafe on their website. The New South Wales Health Care Complaints Commission had then issued a warning to them to include a disclaimer that the contents of the sites webpages should not be taken as medical advice. AVN failed to heed to the warnings and now the HCCC has issued a safety warning against the group.

26 Jul 2010

Study links high-fat diet as potential cause of prostatic diseases

Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in men with an estimated 192,280 new cases diagnosed in the US in 2009 (Jemal 2009). Diet is considered one of the most important controllable risk factors for inflammation and prostate diseases including benign prostatic hyperplsia, prostatitis, and prostate cancer.

15 Jul 2010

Majority of respondents receiving CAM therapy for back pain report great benefit: Study

A recent study, "Perceived Benefit of Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Back Pain" (Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, May - June 2010, Vol. 23 No.3), found the majority of respondents receiving CAM for back pain reported great benefit from the various treatments.

1 Jul 2010

“Experiment” with homeopathy killed a cancer patient: Inquest

Doctor Peter Dingle at an inquest into the events that led to the death of his wife Penelope, 45 on 25th August 2005 revealed that he had argued with her decision to go for alternative therapies as her colorectal cancer treatment.

17 Jun 2010

Study: Delays in seeking health care appear to be common for Latino women

Delays in seeking health care appear to be common for Latino women in upstate New York, a new study finds. In the latest issue of the journal Ethnicity & Disease, about 70 percent of a group of mostly Caribbean Latinas in the Albany area reported they put off getting health care. Insurance did not seem to be an issue, since 80 percent had insurance, yet 60 percent of the women said that they had a prior chronic medical condition.

4 Jun 2010

TQ can suppress growth of aggressive PCa cell lines: Researchers

Researchers at the Tulane University School of Medicine, in New Orleans, LA, have demonstrated that thymoquinone a major component of black seed oil (Nigella sativa) can suppress the growth of several aggressive prostate cancer cell lines, in vitro. Although previous studies have shown the anti-proliferative effects of TQ in different types of cancers, the molecular mechanism of this effect of TQ had not been delineated.

2 Jun 2010

Adenosine plays major role in parlaying effects of acupuncture

Scientists have taken another important step toward understanding just how sticking needles into the body can ease pain.

31 May 2010

ICA hosts forum to improve quality of healthcare and lives of people with IC

The Interstitial Cystitis Association is hosting a forum and interactive webcast on Saturday, June 5, 2010 at the Hutton Hotel in Nashville. The event, "Finding Better Relief: Working with an IC Healthcare Team", gives interstitial cystitis patients the opportunity to learn about innovative treatment approaches from top IC doctors.

29 May 2010