complementary and alternative medicine

The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) welcomes six new members to the National Advisory Council for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

The council serves as the principal advisory body to NCCAM, the lead federal agency for research on complementary medicine, and a component of the National Institutes of Health.

NCCAM is pleased to announce its first Twitter Chat. This is an opportunity to ask an information specialist questions about complementary and alternative medicine and general health.

No registration is necessary—all you need is an active Twitter account. The NCCAM Twitter page can be found at twitter.com/nccam.

Join the chat using this hashtag: #NCCAMchat

Date: Tuesday, October 18, 2011 from 1–2 p.m. ET

NCCAM is pleased to announce its first Twitter Chat.

This is an opportunity to ask an information specialist questions about complementary and alternative medicine and general health.

No registration is necessary—all you need is an active Twitter account. The NCCAM Twitter page can be found at twitter.com/nccam.

Join the chat using this hashtag: #NCCAMchat

According to a recent analysis of the 2007 National Health Interview Survey, U.S. adults who used complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) for general health and well-being reported significantly better health status than those adults who used CAM to treat an illness.

The NCCAM-funded analysis, published in Health Services Research, also found that these two groups of CAM users had differing health behaviors and patterns.

Massage therapy helped reduce pain and improve function more rapidly than usual medical care in people with chronic low-back pain, according to researchers at Group Health Research Institute and the University of Washington in Seattle, the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, and the University of Vermont in Burlington.

The purpose of the NCCAM-funded trial—published in the Annals of Internal Medicine—was to compare the short-term and long-term effects of structural massage, relaxation massage, and usual care for people with chronic low-back pain.

In the July issue of the Atlantic there is an article by David Freedman along with a series of online commentaries on the controversies surrounding the study and practice of complementary and alternative medicine.

This type of dialogue is important, and we were pleased to be among those asked to offer perspectives on the topic.

The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) welcomes four new members to the National Advisory Council for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

The council serves as the principal advisory body to NCCAM, the lead federal agency for complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) research, and a component of the National Institutes of Health.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a chronic disorder that interferes with the normal functions of the colon. IBS is characterized by symptoms such as abdominal pain, cramping, bloating, constipation, and diarrhea.

IBS is challenging to study because its symptoms vary and may disappear for long periods, and because people with IBS tend to respond well to placebos.

Hepatitis C, a liver disease caused by a virus, is usually chronic (long-lasting), with symptoms ranging from mild (or even none) to severe.

Conventional medical treatments are available for hepatitis C; however, some people also try complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies, especially herbal supplements.

This issue summarizes the scientific research on the effectiveness and safety of selected supplements.

People with cancer want to do everything they can to combat the disease, manage its symptoms, and cope with the side effects of treatment.

Many turn to complementary and alternative medicine—for example, botanical (herbal) and other dietary supplements, acupuncture, massage, and yoga.