PubMed · 10396267
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M Morrison. 1999. Complementary medicine.. https://doi.org/10.1177/014107689909200324
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Some major cancer hospitals in the United States have established a department for complementary medicine as a service to their patients. Surveys in the Netherlands have shown that notably nursing staff and consumers consider the availability of complementary therapy in health care to be very important. Nevertheless, this appears to be an undesirable development as the effectiveness of these therapies has not been demonstrated and the therapists involved might interfere with regular patient therapy.
A survey is given of legal deficiencies which are hindering efforts to promote safety in both drugs and therapy. Suggestions are given for possible solutions. They include medical training, critical reviews of the methods and cost arrangements in unconventional medicine, and informing the public.
Natural supplements are widely used in the United States and, while claims of their therapeutic effects abound, medical research does not always support their effectiveness. St. John's wort acts as a weak selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor with fewer side effects. S-Adenosylmethionine (SAMe) has enough of an antidepressant effect to warrant further research. More human studies are needed before garlic, bitter melon, soy and fenugreek supplements can be recommended for the management of diabetes, although chromium may be a promising treatment in some cases. Alpha lipoic acid is used in the treatment of diabetic neuropathy. The effects of ma huang/guarana combinations in obesity have not been well studied. These combinations may have potentially serious side effects but may also offer some benefit. The combination of hydroxycitric acid and garcinia has proved no more effective than placebo.