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Greetings!
 Isn't it interesting that as soon as there is a little bit of spring in the air, things just seem altogether more positive? (Even when there is flu in the air?) This month we're bringing you up to date on Swine Flu as well as reporting on some brand new trials that have just been published - which lend great support to complementary medicine as a whole. Also, on another positive note - I've now collated the results of the last CMA Newsletter poll. These make interesting reading - especially in the light of the current recession. Overall, the feeling among the professional complementary healthcare community is one of optimism and positivity. Long may this continue! Best wishes!
Jayney
President, Complementary Medical Association |
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Have Your Say!
In the last survey we asked you:
Do you think that Complementary Therapies should be available on the NHS?
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Arnica gets MHRA Licence 
Great news for homeopathy in the UK - and worldwide. Under the new Homeopathic National Rules Scheme a scheme developed in the UK to extend licences to complementary therapies, the UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has granted its first ever licence to a homeopathic remedy. Nelson's Arnicare Arnica 30c pillules are the first to be given this 'therapeutic' licence since the scheme was introduced in September 2006.
Arnicare Arnica 30c has received a licence "for the relief of sprains or bruising" and its label has been redesigned to read 'A homeopathic medicinal product used within the homeopathic tradition for symptomatic relief of sprains, muscular aches and bruising or swelling after contusions.'
The chair of Nelsons, Robert Wilson, said: 'The fact therapeutic indications may now be included on the packaging of licensed homeopathic medicines not only opens the practice of homeopathy up to new users but also gives it added credibility as a safe and natural complement to conventional medicine.'
This has obviously upset traditional "mumbo - jumbo" critics like Edzard Ernst who still believes that homeopathy has no plausible operative mechanism. Read the full story in the doctor's magazine 'Pulse' here This article refers to a trial that Ernst conducted way back in 2003 on post-operative use of Arnica in carpal tunnel procedures. At best this trial was simply a preliminary study - and is not the definitive evidence that homeopathy doesn't work, as some would have us believe. Here is an an excellent rebuttal from Dr Peter Fisher and colleagues. Dr Fisher is Clinical Director of the Royal London Homeopathic Hospital and the Queen's physician.
Interestingly, a later placebo controlled trial - published in 2006 in The Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery, found that the use of Arnica was in fact related to decreased bruising after surgery. |
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Breaking News: study proves safety and effectiveness of Kava
 Back in 2002 the herb Kava Kava (piper methysticum: traslates as 'intoxicating pepper') was banned in the UK and Europe due to fears of liver toxicity. Interestingly, it was never banned in the more litigious US. We are delighted to report that a well conducted study at the University of Queensland demonstrates that Kava is safe and effective for the treatment of anxiety - which has long been known. Interestingly, the study also shows that Kava also improves mood. One possible explanation as to why this study is positive is that the Kava was prepared in a water solution (as traditionally prepared by indigenous peoples) - and not alcohol, as used in previous studies. The article will be published this week in the journal "Psychopharmacology" .
Lead researcher Jerome Sarris, from UQ's School of Medicine, said "We've been able to show that Kava offers a natural alternative for the treatment of anxiety, and unlike some pharmaceutical options, has less risk of dependency and less potential of side effects," Read the full story Here
Picture: Forest & Kim Starr |
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Now it is possible to detect Qi Vacuity
 Qi (pronounced 'chee')vacuity (QV) is defined by Traditional Chinese Medicine as a loss of energy in the human body. There has been no way of measuring Qi strength or weakness - until now! A fascinating study published on the 8th May 2009 in the journal 'Complementary and Alternative Medicine" used an automatic reflective diagnosis system (ARDK) which is a device that detects human bioenergy through measuring skin conductance at 24 special acupoints on the wrists and ankles.
The results of the study suggest that the bioenergy level of the human body can be measured by skin conductance. The paper's authors conclude that ARDK is a safe and effective complementary method for detecting and diagnosing QV. Read the full paper here. |
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B12 vital during pregnancy to prevent spina bifida in babies
 In a recently published article in the journal - Pediatrics - researchers from the National Institutes of Health in Ireland, Trinity College Dublin, and the Health Research Board of Ireland, have found that pregnant women with a low level of vitamin B12 were far more at risk of having a child with a neural tube defect like spina bifida or anencephaly: When compared to women with the highest levels of B12, the fisk was five times greater. That's a 500% increase in risk!
And crucially, levels of B12 needed to be at a high enough level during the first 4 weeks of pregnancy as this is the critical period for the formation of the child's brain and spinal column.
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Most (flu vaccination) studies in prestigious medical journals have conclusions that don't hold up (BMJ)
Given the crucial role that prestigious medical journals play in educating doctors and scientists across the globe another research study - published in the BMJ - looking at 274 comparative studies (on flu vaccination) - has found that only 18% of the studies were deemed to actually prove what the articles claimed to be their findings.
That means that over 80% of them were judged not to have "made the case" outlined in their conclusions.
"70% of the studies reported conclusions favourable to the vaccines, but only 18% showed complete concordance between data reported and study conclusions.
Over half (56%) of studies were at high risk of bias, with only 4% being at low risk".
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Case Study: A Practitioner's Unexpected Success!
Aloe Vera for Asthma? CMA Member Han van de Braak Shares His Unexpected Success:
 "We practitioners know that sometimes the unexpected happens in clinic. I'd like to share this fascinating case with you. A patient presented with Crohn's Disease for which I often use an Aloe Vera of exceptional quality and this was predictably effective for him. What I hadn't expected is that he would share his prescription with his wife who suffered from bronchial asthma all her life. She was dependent on bronchodilator inhalers, corticosteroids inhalers and oral steroids by mouth for frequent exacerbations. Her condition improved so much that she has not needed steroids since. The action of Aloe Vera on digestive and skin complaints is well known - however few therapists would straight off connect asthma to Aloe Vera, for what would support such a choice of remedy?" Click here to find out more and also to read references.
We have a special reader offer for super high quality Aloe Vera here - exclusive to CMA e-newsletter readers |
Small Amount of Wine Daily Boosts Life Expectancy by 5 years
 Everybody knows that heavy alcohol consumption is bad for your health.
But did you know that light consumption of wine, in men, can add five years to their life expectancy?
This new study from the Netherlands, published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, looked at men (1,373) who were born between 1900 and 1920, and then looked at studies of their health taken from 1960 onwards until 2000.
It suggests a positive health benefit for light alcohol consumption - but especially for light wine consumption.
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Is a 'Swine Flu Party' a good idea?
 It worked for chicken pox when you were a kid, didn't it? So why not find someone who has been infected with Swine Flu - and survived, and invite them round, with all your friends for a 'Swine Flu Party'?
This is one of the ideas currently circulating in the US where thousands of people have been confirmed as infected (and 3 deaths have occurred).
However flu experts say this is a bad idea as there is no way to tell how bad a case of Swine Flu, or any flu, will be from one person to the next. So even if you invite a 'survivor' they might spread the flu to someone who reacts far more severely to the infection.
And they say, the evidence from the Spanish Flu outbreak of 1918 suggests that if a second, or third wave of Swine Flu spreads later this year, that people who survived it the first time around will not be any better protected against it as it 'mutates'.
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The World Health Organisation suggests that up to 2 billion people could be infected with Swine Flu
 On Thursday Keiji Fukuda, chief of the World Health Organization (WHO) stated that, "If the situation continues to evolve and the virus does become established in other countries, and we do move into a pandemic, we would expect the virus to infect many people. Perhaps a third of the world's population could be infected with this virus, based on previous pandemics."
Many observers commented that this was an unusual statement to make at this time as it could cause a panic. Fukuda did remind his audience that he was not predicting what was going to happen, but merely considering what might happen, based on previous pandemics.
Others praised Fukuda as he was seen to be preparing people, especially in the medical and scientific community for a potentially more severe 'second wave' of Swine Flu later in the year. Full Story here |
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SWINE FLU: Latest
 In Mexico Swine Flu has now claimed 56 victims and there have now been 3 deaths in the US, one in Canada and one in Costa Rica. (As at 13th May 2009).
As was the case in the Spanish Flu outbreak of 1918, most of the deaths have occurred amongst adults aged between 20 and 55. Authorities in the US and Canada are saying that the victims in their countries are thought to have other health issues in the first place. The number of confirmed cases in Mexico has risen to 2,059, which indicates that this particular bout of Flu does not have a high death rate (in recent years the mortality figures amongst those who caught Bird Flu (H5N1) were over 50%) and the authorities in most of Mexico are starting to allow schools, businesses, etc to reopen. There have been 68 confirmed cases of Swine Flu in the UK and 5,728in total, in 33 countries worldwide, with the number of confirmed cases in the US (3,009) overtaking the numbers in Mexico. Read More here
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CMA Newsletter Readers Special Offer:
Buy 2 AloeRide packs - get one FREE!
Use it for patient-remedy testing or try it out yourself.
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1000% higher risk of oesophageal cancer linked to alcohol
 Nearly 10% of people are at far greater risk (1,000% higher) of developing deadly oesophageal cancer if they drink alcohol.
Researchers from Japan are trying to highlight the risks of drinking alcohol - for the 8% of people world wide who do not have a key enzyme in their bodies.
They also claim that there are far more people like this at risk who are of East Asian descent.
When people who lack the ALDH2 enzyme drink alcohol, their bodies can't metabolise it properly and it turns into an indigestible carcinogen - acetaldehyde, a chemical with cancerous effects which is also capable of damaging DNA in cells. This acetaldehyde then gets stored in their bodies.
Researchers say that this is likely to increase their chances of getting oesophageal cancer by a factor of 1,000%.
Cancer of the oesophagus is particularly deadly, with five-year survival rates ranging from 12-31% throughout the world, and at least 540 million people at risk.
Read more here |
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B12 vital during pregnancy to prevent spina bifida in babies [CONTINUED]
 In a recently published article in the journal - Pediatrics - researchers from the National Institutes of Health in Ireland, Trinity College Dublin, and the Health Research Board of Ireland, have found that pregnant women with a low level of vitamin B12 were far more at risk of having a child with a neural tube defect like spina bifida or anencephaly. When compared to women with the highest levels of B12, they were five times more at risk. That's a 500% increase in risk.
And crucially, levels of B12 needed to be at a high enough level during the first 4 weeks of pregnancy as this is the critical period for the formation of the child's brain and spinal column.
Although much is already known about the need to have the correct levels of folic acid in the body for a healthy pregnancy, previous assumptions that this would be enough to replace low levels of B12 proved not to be the case.
The researchers analysed blood samples that had been collected and stored from pregnant women during the years 1983 to 1990. These samples were taken during the early stages of pregnancy and the women were divided into three groups: women who were pregnant with a confirmed neural tube defect in their foetus (95); women who had already had a child with a neural tube defect, but whose current pregnancy was not affected (107); and women similar to those in group one, but who were in a different study to them (76).
They then compared their blood samples for vitamin B12 and for their folate levels against a control group of women whose pregnancies were not affected.
Researchers evaluated the role of vitamin B12 separately from the role of (low levels of) folates - which are already a known risk. Previous assumptions that "most B12 deficient symptoms" are actually folate deficient symptoms", need to be reconsidered.
Duane Alexander, director of the NICHD concluded that, "Vitamin B12 is essential for the functioning of the nervous system and for the production of red blood cells. The results of this study suggest that women with low levels of B12 not only may risk health problems of their own, but also may increase the chance that their children may be born with a serious birth defect."
The authors suggested that, because levels of B12 drop substantially during pregnancy, women should have vitamin B12 levels above 300 nanograms per litre, before becoming pregnant, especially because the formation of the brain and spinal column occur very early in pregnancy.
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Most (flu vaccination) studies in prestigious medical journals have conclusions that don't stand up (BMJ) (CONTINUED)
 With an estimated 7,287 items relevant to primary care published in these prestigious Medical Journals every month (studies, letters, and editorials) and the fact that few healthcare workers have the time - or the skills - to carry out in depth critical appraisals of any of these published articles,(1) most doctors in the field rely on a brief (two minute) scan of material(2) to bring them up-to-date with 'best practice' and how to treat their patients.(3)
In most cases this means browsing the article's 'abstract' or its 'conclusions'.
And generally, the more prestigious the journal, the more trustworthy the findings have always been assumed to be. But given the proven unreliability of these published studies and in previous reviews (4) this is a major cause for concern for all healthcare workers.
Perhaps the most worrying effects of these often re-hashed published Research Studies in these prestigious journals is the fact they are the ones quoted and re-quoted in other scientific journals and at conference after conference, to "prove" the effectiveness of the medications, or, as in this case the treatments (flu vaccinations), being studied.
The authors of the study put it succinctly by stating (in relation to flu vaccination):
"Studies partly or completely sponsored by industry, however,were published in more prestigious journals and are probably cited more, although their methodological quality and size were similar. Some of these findings might help to explain the continuation of a near global policy, despite growing doubts as to its scientific basis".
One of the key findings was that what decides whether scientific papers made it into prestigious medical journals wasn't related to the quality of the study, but more to who paid for it - and those papers funded by major companies, despite the methodology or conclusions, were more likely to be published.
Tom Jefferson, lead author said
"The study shows that one of the levers for accessing prestigious journals is the financial size of your sponsor. Pharmaceutical sponsors order many reprints of studies supporting their products, often with in-house translations into many languages. They will also purchase publicity space on the journal. Many publishers openly advertise these services on their website."
References: 1. Alper BS, Hand JA, Elliott SG, Kinkade S, Hauan MJ, Onion DK, et al. How much effort is needed to keep up with the literature relevant for primary care? J Med Libr Assoc 2004;92:429-37.[ISI][Medline]
2. Ely JW, Osheroff JA, Ebell MH, Bergus GR, Levy BT, Chambliss ML, et al. Analysis of questions asked by family doctors regarding patient care. BMJ 1999;319:358-61.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
3. Saint S, Christakis DA, Saha S, Elmore JG, Welsh DE, Baker P, et al. Journal reading habits of internists. J Gen Intern Med 2000;15:881-4.[CrossRef][ISI][Medline]
4. Yank V, Rennie D, Bero LA. Financial ties and concordance between results and conclusions in meta-analyses: retrospective cohort study. BMJ 2007;335:1202-[Abstract/Free Full Text]
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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.
If you're not already a Member, Why not join The CMA today! More . . . |
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Submit an Article
The deadline for the next Complementary Medical Association Journal "With Our Complements" is May 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 |
Can Complementary Medical Approaches Help Combat Swine Flu?
When researching ways in which complementary medicine could help combat Bird Flu, we had to look carefully at how the previous global pandemic performed. The previous pandemic was exactly the same virus as the one circulating now - H1N1. This means that the recommendations in this book are relevant and applicable to the current virus - which is a mix of bird, swine and human flus.
This excellent book incorporates a wealth of complementary healthcare recommendations supported by over 500 published scientific studies
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You know that "They" say there is no evidence that complementary medicine works?
Here's your answer:
This amazing encyclopaedia, written by Dr Steve Bratman and edited by Jayney Goddard, contains data from over 10,000 double blind, random controlled trials across the entire field of complementary medicine. We even include a drug/herb/supplement interraction section which is of enormous importance. This book is geared towards the needs of the professional and lay reader alike. So if you need to know whether a complementary medical approach has been tested - and if so, does it work - you need look no further!
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