Integrative Medicine Alert – November 1, 2010
November 1, 2010
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Intercessory Prayer for Healing: Looking at the Studies
In september 2010, the most recent study of intercessory prayer was published in the Southern Medical Journal. The researchers suggested that the key to prayer's effectiveness was proximity between the person praying and the one prayed for. -
The Role of Spirituality in PhysicianPatient Interactions
Recent decades have seen a dramatic expansion in the visibility of ethnic and cultural diversity in the United States. -
Tai Chi for Fibromyalgia: Marshalling the Art of Movement Against Pain
Fibromyalgia patients were randomized to a treatment protocol consisting of 12 weeks of tai chi instruction and practice or a control intervention of wellness education and stretching exercises also of 12 weeks duration. The tai chi treatment group demonstrated clinically significant improvements in pain and quality of life compared to the control group and these improvements were maintained at 24-week follow up. -
'B' Sharp? Alzheimer's Disease and B Vitamins
Results of this methodologically sound trial strongly suggest that moderate-dose B vitamin therapy has a protective effect against the rapidly progressive brain atrophy commonly seen in elderly people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). The intervention was safe and effective over a 2-year time frame, and shows promise for slowing the inexorable progression of MCI to frank dementia. -
Not the Same Old Thing — SAMe for Depression
A unique study pairing the use of a standard SSRI and SAMe against major depression in subjects who had not responded adequately to SSRI monotherapy suggests safety and significant efficacy over a 6-week trial period. -
Low-dose Aspirin to Prevent Preeclampsia
Low-dose aspirin, given before 17 weeks, significantly decreases the risk of preeclampsia, severe preeclampsia, IUGR, and preterm birth, compared with its effect when given after that time. -
Pharmacology Watch
FDA Advisory Committee recommends approval of dabigatran, safety of proton pump inhibitors, effectiveness of glucosamine and chondroitin, FDA Actions.