Alternative therapies in health and medicine
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Altern Ther Health Med · Mar 2016
Randomized Controlled TrialAcupuncture is Effective for Chronic Knee Pain: A Reanalysis of the Australian Acupuncture Trial.
Context • In the October 2014 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), Hinman et al published the results of an Australian clinical trial on acupuncture in a paper entitled "Acupuncture for Chronic Knee Pain: A Randomized Clinical Trial" (JAMA report), in which they concluded that neither acupuncture nor laser acupuncture had any greater effects than sham laser acupuncture for pain or function for patients aged 50 y and older with moderate-to-severe knee pain. That study has been criticized extensively by international scholars for its validity because serious methodological flaws existed throughout the study's design, implementation, and conclusions. Objective • The current study intended to re-examine the prior study's conclusions about the efficacy of acupuncture for chronic knee pain. ⋯ The ES of 0.60 for the MCID that was used in the JAMA study and the resulting explanation were not appropriate. Even with an ES of 0.60 for the MCID, acupuncture remained effective after data adjustment. Consequently, compared with conventional care, acupuncture treatment was found to be moderately effective for chronic knee pain in patients aged 50 y and older.
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Altern Ther Health Med · Mar 2016
Randomized Controlled TrialInternet-based Mindfulness Meditation for Cognition and Mood in Older Adults: A Pilot Study.
Older adults are at risk for greater chronic stress and cognitive decline. Training in mindfulness meditation (MM) may help reduce stress and, thus, cognitive decline in older adults, but little research has explored that hypothesis. ⋯ Administering interventions via the Internet to older adults is feasible. The 2 interventions were acceptable to participants and equal with regard to perceived credibility and acceptability. Future RCTs are planned to evaluate the clinical efficacy of the 2 interventions.
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Altern Ther Health Med · Nov 2015
ReviewCompound Formulas of Traditional Chinese Medicine for the Common Cold: Systematic Review of Randomized, Placebo-controlled Trials.
The common cold is one of the most frequent acute illnesses of the respiratory tract, affecting all age groups. The compound formulas of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) are frequently used to treat the common cold in China and other parts of the world. Until now, however, the efficacy and safety of compound formulas of TCM for the common cold, studied in comparison with placebos, have not been systematically reviewed. ⋯ This systematic review indicated that compound formulas of TCM, compared with placebo, can provide benefits to patients with the common cold, with no serious side effects having been identified in the included trials. However, due to the small number of included studies and of participants and the unclear risk of some biases in the included studies, more high-quality, large-scale RCTs are still warranted to clarify fully the effectiveness and safety of compound formulas of TCM in treating the common cold.
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Altern Ther Health Med · Sep 2015
Controlled Clinical TrialOral Contraceptives Attenuate Cardiac Autonomic Responses to Musical Auditory Stimulation: Pilot Study.
The literature presents contradictory results regarding the effects of contraceptives on cardiac autonomic regulation. ⋯ Musical auditory stimulation had a greater influence on cardiac autonomic regulation in women who did not use oral contraceptives.
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Altern Ther Health Med · Sep 2015
Clinical TrialThe Effects of Musical Auditory Stimulation of Different Intensities on Geometric Indices of Heart Rate Variability.
Music has been proven to promote changes in cardiac autonomic modulation. However, it is not clear whether the effects of the auditory stimulation on heart rate variability (HRV) are dependent on its intensity. ⋯ Auditory stimulation with the selected baroque music did not alter cardiac autonomic modulation, but the selected, heavy metal style of music in the lower and higher intensities reduced the global component of HRV acutely.