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Ancient practitioners of medicine couldn't ring up a local pharmacy for medication for patients, so they used natural oils, flowers, and earth elements to cure common ailments. Each culture and society had their medical systems, herbal formulas, and methods for cures and pain relief. What we now call alternative medicine was once known as conventional medicine.

There were no clinical studies available to show how well the medicines worked in ancient times, but today new studies are ongoing and conducted to provide needed information for complementary medicines.

Complementary medicine and alternative medicine are terms that often are used interchangeably, but there is a difference: complementary medicine is used together with conventional medicine while alternative medicine is used in place of conventional medicine. When patients choose to treat cancer with herbs instead of surgery, it's known as alternative medicine.

Do complementary medicine systems work?

Europe gave us the homeopathic system, China gave us the whole medical system including acupuncture, and India produced the Ayurveda system. All included the use of herbs, massage, and diet and some included meditation.

Medical studies test the efficacy of complementary medicines. This is a step forward for patients and doctors alike in the ability to offer treatments based on patient preference. Presently, many traditional physicians and medical professionals shy away from natural treatments with herbs and body manipulation. Documented medical studies may help break that barrier.

Results of medical study for Ginkgo:

In a recent press release, and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, a major study called GEM found that Ginkgo was not effective in prevention of dementia or Alzheimer's disease in older people. This study was conducted over an 8-year period with 3069 participants and in 4 different sites.

While the study was disappointing on the effectiveness of Ginkgo, the study provided insight and understanding about Alzheimer's that will help in the fight to combat the disease and find treatments, therapies and/or a cure.

Without looking at the details of the controlled study, it's difficult to assess efficacy from a holistic point of view where the practitioner takes an individual medical history and needs approach versus a controlled study that prescribes set therapies for set symptoms.

Acupuncture Study:

Acupuncture is gaining wide recognition for help with chronic pain, nicotine addiction, and other illness symptoms. Using functional magnetic resonance imagery (fMRI) researchers monitored brain activity with 15 healthy adults in the study of perception and memory of pain."In the first study of its kind, NCCAM-supported researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital, Logan College of Chiropractic, and Kyunghee University (Korea) evaluated the effects of acupuncture on brain activity following active stimulation."

The conclusion: The study says that acupuncture changes brain activity in ways that account for it's therapeutic effects on pain. More studies are needed.

Prostate cancer:

Studies conducted by the National Institute of Cancer (NCI) and other institutes have concluded that the use of selenium and vitamin E have no effect on prostate cancer, whether taken together or alone. Data showed a small spike in cancer in those who took vitamin E alone and the onset of diabetes in men taking only selenium.

The data didn't show that the supplement involved an increased risk and the findings are only that the supplements had no therapeutic effect on prostate cancer.

Caution with Ayurvedic products:

Ayurvedic medicine has it's origins in India and uses a combination of spices, herbs, minerals, and vitamins along with metals such as mercury, lead, iron and zinc. You can buy these products over the Internet under Indian or South Asian products.

The FDA cautioned that these products are not reviewed or approved by the FDA. As with all medicines purchased over the Internet, caution is advised.

Complementary medicine is part of the new medical landscape and more physicians are being trained in Integrative medicine that involves the use of CAM. Integrative medicine is combination of complementary and alternative medicine and is called CAM. The terms can become confusing if you're not aware of the primary definitions.

As medicine evolves, we're seeing evidence that it integrates medical systems that were in use in ancient times and we're finding that some are very effective therapies and treatments while others aren't. Medical studies add the efficacy factor and the safety net for doctors and patients.

Learn more about this author, Mona Gallagher.
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