Greetings! 
It's been a fantastically positive week for complementary medicine in general. Aside from all the usual goodies we bring you - including the very latest complementary and conventional medical global news - in this Valentine's edition of The CMA Newsletter we've also got kissing, sex and chocolate too . . .
What could be better? Happy Valentines Day!
Jayney
President, Complementary Medical Association
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Breaking News!
Patients Call for Complementary Therapies on the NHS
In a fascinating new breakthough for complementary medicine, a pilot study demonstrates that patients received enormous health benefits when provided with complementary therapies in an NHS setting. This study is reported on the Department of Health website. Surely now the time has come to begin to integrate CAM approaches into the NHS.
Read the Press Release hereHave your say here - Do you think that complementary therapies should be available in the NHS?
Click here for the full announcement on the Department of Health website. |
Organic Diet, Daily Sauna - Plus Reiki - Plus Sound and Light Therapy Treat Young Boy 'Sent Home to Die'
 Daniel Martin - Health reporter of The Daily Mail - reported on the case of Connah Broom last week, 7 year old Connah Broom had been treated for 11 cancerous tumours - "(which had) spread from his neck to his knees....In 2007 doctors told his family there was nothing more they could do. They said they should take him home to enjoy his final months." He'd had 7 months of chemotherapy before his doctors decided that his cancers were inoperable and untreatable. Now, 2 years later 10 of his 11 tumours are shrinking. His family explained that what they turned to was a series of alternative therapies, starting with a strict organic diet - and filtered water. They then opted for Reiki which continues weekly. They added sound and light therapy (using an infra red sauna) plus algae capsules. He also now has 'low dose' laser therapy. You can read the full story here
Picture: microscopic view of stroma-rich ganglioneuroblastoma |
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Complementary Medicine DOES Help Patients
 Professor Karol Sikora, Professor of Cancer Medicine at the Imperial College School of Medicine based at Hammersmith Hospital, spoke out in the Sunday Times (UK) in no uncertain terms in response to a letter from Professor Colquhoun et al. As usual, Colquhoun and his chums were crowing about the removal of complementary medicine courses at the University of Salford. In his scathing letter, Professor Sikora said: "Complementary medicine does help patients. Those of us who are faced daily by real human suffering use the best evidence available to help our patients. At the same time, patients do their best to help themselves. The ill-thought-through arguments of those who are not doctors - and so have no experience of the practice of medicine - are ridiculous. According to the Department of Health, about one in five adults uses complementary therapies. That means we need more education for practitioners, not less. And we certainly need better research, not the Stalinist repression that Professor Colquhoun and his colleagues demand. Armchair physicians are welcome to their views, but clearly patients know better." Click here to read the full text |
MS Cases can be Cut by 80% with Vitamin D
 The Daily Mail in the UK reported on Friday 6th that "Vitamin D 'can cut MS cases by 80%'.
The research by undertaken by a team from Oxford University and the University of British Columbia and funded by the UK's MS Society, the MS Society of Canada, the Wellcome Trust and the Medical Research Council, found evidence that an interaction between vitamin D and a common genetic variation increases the risk of developing MS significantly.
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The Chemistry of a Kiss
 A meeting of lips can spark a chain of chemical changes that really turn your head reports Jonathan Leake in The Sunday Times (UK).
If you always thought you had a special chemistry with your loved one, you may finally have been proved right. Researchers have found that a passionate kiss unleashes a complex chemical surge into the brain which makes a lover feel excited, happy or relaxed. There is also speculation that this hormone release may be triggered directly by an exchange of sexually stimulating pheromones in the saliva.
"This study shows kissing is much more complex and causes hormonal changes and things we never thought occurred,"
said Wendy Hill, professor of psychology at Lafayette College, Pennsylvania, in an interview. Read the full Times article here |
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Sneezing Can Be Linked to Sexual Thoughts
 Scientists have found evidence that certain people who sneeze are thinking about sex. Both men and women are susceptible to the problem, which may be inherited, the researchers in Oxford believe. Dr Mahmood Bhutta, an ear, nose and throat specialist at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, launched the study after seeing a patient who suffered "uncontrollable" sneezing fits every time he had a sexual thought.So next time you are incensed about someone sneezing on you when you're on public transport - don't get mad - take it as a compliment!
Read the full article here |
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Developing YOUR Professional Practice 
Next Workshop Date Released:
26th March 2009 in Central London
Given the tough economic climate that we find ourselves in, it is vital for practitioners to use every practice development advantage available to them. This inspirational workshop led by Jayney Goddard and Dave Hawkins will give you the information - and the confidence boost you need - right now to make your practice successful. Research shows that during times of recession a counter-intuitive phenomenon can occur: People re-assess their lives and spending patterns - redefining what they see as necessities - and this can include CAM treatments. Click here to find out more - and to see what past delegates have to say about these inspirational workshops.
Please note: Places on this workshop are strictly limited and alloted on a first-come first-served basis. You can book online here
Why not take advantage of our Recession Busting Special Offer Voucher here! |
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Dark Chocolate - Not Just Delicious!
 Chocolate is so good for us - in so many ways. Obviously you have to factor in the endorphin rush that you get from just eating it (or receiving it as a gift) but it is also worth remembering that dark chocolate is the subject of many current research studies. So far, it looks as though chocolate is cardioprotective, anti-coagulant, anti-oxidant rich, helps glaucoma, reduces blood pressure and is currenlty being looked at as a very helpful cough suppressant for people with certain cancers - including lung cancer - who wouldn't be able to tolerate conventional medicine. We've printed references for nine of the most recent trials below. Click here to read them |
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Vitamin K Vital For Healthy Bones in Children
A study from researchers at the Universities of Maastricht and Utrecht published in the journal of Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology show the key role that adequate levels of vitamin K play in the development and maintenance of healthy bones in children.
"These findings suggest that improvement in vitamin K status.....might significantly improve bone health in children, even in those with arthritis," co-author Leon Schurgers said.
This study follows on from other studies that point to the role of vitamin K in helping children to improve bone mass.
Read the trial abstract here
More About Vitamin K:
Vitamin K is found chiefly in leafy green vegetables such as spinach, swiss chard, and Brassica (e.g. cabbage, kale, cauliflower, broccoli, and brussels sprouts); some fruits such as avocado and kiwifruit are also high in Vitamin K. By way of reference, two tablespoons of parsley contain 153% of the recommended daily amount of vitamin K.[7]. Some vegetable oils, notably soybean, contain vitamin K, but at levels that would require relatively large caloric consumption to meet the USDA recommended levels. Phylloquinone (vitamin K1) is the major dietary form of vitamin K.
Menatetrenone (vitamin K2), is a form of vitamin K2 that is made in the body from phylloquinone (vitamin K1) and distinct from the menaquinones made by probiotic bacteria.
Available science indicates that vitamin K2 - is superior to Vitamin K1 in maintaining the health of the bones and vascular system.
Clinical trials have proven that high-dose vitamin K2 does not cause excessive or abnormal blood clotting, although it will interfere with "blood thinning" medications. |
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Early Mammograms May Increase Rate of Breast Cancer in Younger Women
 A study undertaken by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in the US just published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, suggests that young women who are at risk of genetic breast cancer (BRCA carriers) and who have a mammogram might be increasing their chances of getting breast cancer.
BRCA1 (breast cancer 1, early onset) is a human gene, some mutations of which are associated with a significant increase in the risk of breast cancer, as well as other cancers.
Article continued below. Click Here |
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Developing YOUR Professional Practice:
26th March 2009
Book now and save 30.00 pounds!
Normally 120.00 - special offer price 90.00
Places are limited - so register now on our booking form or call us on 0845 129 8434 to reserve your place. |
| *Remember to quote CMA Newsletter Special Offer | |
Vitamin D and MS continued
The research, published on Friday in the open-access journal PLoS Genetics, suggests that vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy and the early years may increase the risk of the offspring developing MS later in life. The implications are that by giving vitamin D supplements to pregnant women during pregnancy could cut 80% of the cases of MS in the UK.
By boosting the vitamin D levels in pregnant women the odds of having a child with MS could reduce the number of new cases in the UK from 2,500 a year to just 500.
Vitamin D is found in various foods - and is also generated in our bodies by exposure to sunlight. It has been known for some time that the incidence of MS is higher in Northern countries - where there is less sunlight in winter.
One of the lead authors Dr Sreeram Ramagopalan says "Our study implies that taking vitamin D supplements during pregnancy and the early years may reduce the risk of a child developing MS in later life..... vitamin D is a safe and relatively cheap supplement with substantial potential health benefits. There is accumulating evidence that it can reduce the risk of developing cancer and offer protection from other autoimmune diseases."
The research has been welcomed by Simon Gillespie, Chief Executive of the MS Society (UK).
"These remarkable results tie together leading theories about the environment, genes and MS but they are only part of the jigsaw," says Mr Gillespie. "This discovery opens up new avenues of MS research and future experiments will help put the pieces together."
Read the full research paper here
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References for the Most Recent Chocolate Research Studies
1: di Giuseppe R, Di Castelnuovo A, Centritto F, Zito F, De Curtis A, Costanzo S, Vohnout B, Sieri S, Krogh V, Donati MB, de Gaetano G, Iacoviello L. Regular consumption of dark chocolate is associated with low serum concentrations of C-reactive protein in a healthy Italian population. J Nutr. 2008 Oct;138(10):1939-45. PMID: 18806104 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
2: Hurst WJ, Glinski JA, Miller KB, Apgar J, Davey MH, Stuart DA. Survey of the trans-resveratrol and trans-piceid content of cocoa-containing and chocolate products. J Agric Food Chem. 2008 Sep 24;56(18):8374-8. Epub 2008 Aug 30. PMID: 18759443 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
3: Lippi G, Franchini M, Montagnana M, Favaloro EJ, Guidi GC, Targher G. Dark chocolate: consumption for pleasure or therapy? J Thromb Thrombolysis. 2008 Sep 23. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 18827977 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
4: Jalil AM, Ismail A. Polyphenols in cocoa and cocoa products: is there a link between antioxidant properties and health? Molecules. 2008 Sep 16;13(9):2190-219. Review. PMID: 18830150 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
5: Grassi D, Desideri G, Necozione S, Lippi C, Casale R, Properzi G, Blumberg JB, Ferri C. Blood pressure is reduced and insulin sensitivity increased in glucose-intolerant, hypertensive subjects after 15 days of consuming high-polyphenol dark chocolate. J Nutr. 2008 Sep;138(9):1671-6. PMID: 18716168 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
6: Mozaffarieh M, Grieshaber MC, Orgül S, Flammer J. The potential value of natural antioxidative treatment in glaucoma. Surv Ophthalmol. 2008 Sep-Oct;53(5):479-505. Review. PMID: 18929760 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
7: Faridi Z, Njike VY, Dutta S, Ali A, Katz DL. Acute dark chocolate and cocoa ingestion and endothelial function: a randomized controlled crossover trial. Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Jul;88(1):58-63. PMID: 18614724 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
8: Halfdanarson TR, Jatoi A. Chocolate as a cough suppressant: rationale and justification for an upcoming clinical trial. Support Cancer Ther. 2007 Jan 1;4(2):119-22. PMID: 18632476 [PubMed - in process] |
Increase in Breast Cancer Risk Continued
Women with BRCA mutations are encouraged to start mammographic screening at age 25-30 years becauseof their higher risk of breast cancer. Among average-risk women,mammography is believed to reduce breast cancer mortality by 15%-25%(approximately one in 1000 or less).
This study of the breast cancer mortality statistics in these women following five annual mammograms found that more cases of breast cancer developed than were expected.
In fact, the study indicates that women who underwent five mammograms between the ages of 24 and 29 would have an additional 26 breast cancers per 10,000 women due to the radiation. Mammograms between the ages of 30 and 34 would produce an excess of 20 additional cancers and, between 35 and 39, an additional 13 cancers.
Read the full article at http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/djn440
Picture: Location of the BRCA1 gene on chromosome 17
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Vitamin K and Bone Strength Research Paper continued
1: Clin Exp Rheumatol. 2008 May-Jun;26(3):484-91.
Extremes in vitamin K status of bone are related to bone ultrasound properties in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis.
van Summeren MJ, Vermeer C, Engelbert RH, Schurgers LJ, Takken T, Fischer K, Kuis W.
Department of Paediatric Immunology, University Medical Centre Utrecht, The Netherlands. m.j.h.vansummeren@umcutrecht.nl
OBJECTIVE: Osteopenia is a common complication of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). In adults, low bone density and increased fracture risk are associated with low vitamin K status of bone. The vitamin K-dependent protein osteocalcin plays an important role in bone metabolism. Its activity depends upon post-translational carboxylation in which vitamin K is an essential co-factor. Hence, vitamin K deficiency leads to under-carboxylated (i.e., inactive) osteocalcin (ucOC). Little is known about the vitamin K status and bone health in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). We studied the vitamin K status of bone and its association with bone mass properties in children with JIA compared to healthy children. METHODS: We performed a cross sectional study in 55 children with JIA and 54 healthy controls between 6-18 years of age. Bone markers, ultrasound bone mass properties and vitamin K status of bone were determined. RESULTS: Overall, no differences in vitamin K status of bone were found between the study groups. Among children with JIA, a high ratio of ucOC/cOC indicating low vitamin K status was associated with low bone ultrasound parameters, whereas children with a high vitamin K status had markedly higher bone properties. This association was independent of physical activity, age, gender and BMI. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that vitamin K may be one of multiple risk factors for low bone mass in children with JIA, in addition to other recognized determinants of bone mass. The question remains whether JIA patients would benefit from increased dietary vitamin K intake. | |
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What is The CMA?
As you probably know, The Complementary Medical Association is one of the world's largest Professional Membership bodies for highly qualified Complementary Medical Practitioners, CAM Students and Training Colleges. However, there is so much more to us than that - More . . . |
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The deadline for the next Complementary Medical Association journal "With Our Complements" is February 28th.
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Practice Room Available
A forward thinking pharmacist is actively including complementary therapies within his pharmacy. Because he knows that CMA Members are considered to be among the very best practitioners around, he contacted us to offer this space to CMA Members. The Pharmacy is in Belsize Park, London (UK). If would like to know more please contact Jonathan on: 07951571626 | |
