Alternative therapies in health and medicine
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Altern Ther Health Med · Mar 2014
Review Meta Analysis Comparative StudyEfficacy of Lianhuaqingwen capsule compared with oseltamivir for influenza A virus infection: a meta-analysis of randomized, controlled trials.
In this meta-analysis, the authors review the results of studies on the efficacy of lianhuaqingwen capsule (LHQW-C) compared with oseltamivir in treating influenza A virus infection. The authors searched PubMed, Embase, Wanfang Data, and the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) from the date of inception until December 31, 2012. The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR) were also searched. ⋯ Compared with individuals treated with oseltamivir, this metaanalysis showed that participants treated with LHQW-C had a shorter duration of (1) fever, weighted mean difference (WMD) = -4.65 (95% CI, -8.91 to -0.38; P = .030); (2) cough, WMD = -9.79 (95% CI, -14.61 to -4.97; P < .0001); (3) sore throat, WMD = -13.01 (95% CI, -21.76 to -4.27; P = .004); and (4) body ache, WMD = -16.68 (95% CI, -32.33 to -1.03; P = .040). The review also found that the efficacy of the 2 treatments on viral shedding was similar with WMD = -0.24 (95% CI, -4.79 to 4.31; P = .920). The authors conclude that LHQW-C was superior to oseltamivir in improving the symptoms of influenza A virus infection.
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Altern Ther Health Med · Jan 2014
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialAn innovative acupuncture treatment for primary dysmenorrhea: a randomized, crossover pilot study.
Dysmenorrhea, the occurrence of painful menstrual cramping of the uterus, is a major cause of activity restriction and absences from school and work among young women. Standard pharmaceuticals used to treat dysmenorrhea are not effective for all women and have side effects that limit their use. Studies elsewhere have shown beneficial effects for use of vitamin K1 as an acupoint treatment, but the acceptability of this treatment to women in the United States has been unknown. ⋯ Findings suggested high acceptability for an acupuncture point injection of vitamin K1 as treatment for primary dysmenorrhea among young women in San Francisco. Pain decreased with both treatments, with a trend toward greater pain reduction for the vitamin K1/SP-6 injection. This finding is consistent with outcomes from the Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital in Shanghai, China, where the protocol was developed.
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Altern Ther Health Med · Jan 2014
Attitudes toward and use of complementary and alternative medicine among Hispanic and white mothers.
Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use has become more prevalent in the United States. Little is known, however, regarding the ethnic and language differences of mothers as related to their beliefs about and use of CAM. ⋯ After controlling for socioeconomic status, the research team found that SSH mothers used less CAM compared to ESH and ESW mothers. Employment of culturally specific measures of CAM use may be necessary to understand fully the differences in CAM use between Spanish- and English-speaking mothers as well as to understand the medical conditions that prompt CAM use.
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Altern Ther Health Med · Nov 2013
Randomized Controlled TrialA randomized, controlled pilot study of mindfulness-based stress reduction for pediatric chronic pain.
It is estimated that 1 in 5 children in the United States is affected by chronic pain. Increasing adaptive coping strategies and decreasing stress may be important in treatment. Research has suggested that mindfulness can help alleviate symptoms associated with medical illnesses and increase quality of life. Little is known about the effectiveness of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) in youth, partly due to insufficient methodological rigor in related studies. ⋯ The research team highlighted critical challenges faced by potential researchers aiming to investigate MBSR for pediatric chronic pain, and the study provides recommendations for research and implications for clinical practice.
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Migraine headaches are common, debilitating, underdiagnosed, and undertreated, and medications are not always effective. Research has shown that acupuncture may be an effective and safe adjuvant or alternative migraine treatment. ⋯ These results indicate that not only did acupuncture decrease both the frequency and intensity of migraines, but also the benefit had not subsided for 12 wks after the final acupuncture session. Validated survey measurements used to assess migraine impact on quality of life showed statistically significant improvement over baseline.