Complementary medicine products: interpreting the evidence base

Abstract

Many patients use complementary medicine (CM) products, such as vitamins, minerals and herbs as part of self-care without professional advice or disclosure to their doctors. While use of CM products is gaining awareness by the medical community and there is mounting evidence for their safety, efficacy and cost-effectiveness, there is also the potential for adverse events from inappropriate use and/or withdrawal, as well as interactions with other medicines. Due to the unique and complex properties of many CM products, research evidence is specific to individual preparations and this can lead to confusion when assessing label claims and interpreting the results of clinical trials and systematic reviews. While the Australian regulatory environment for CM products is the same as for prescription medicines and is based on risk, there is a great need for consumers and clinicians to have access to easily understood, evidence-based information to facilitate informed decision-making.

Natural products: potential treatments for cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity

“…Traditional and complementary medicines, including a variety of natural products, such as herbs, vitamins, minerals, trace elements, and nutritional supplements, have been widely used in most countries [71]. Adopting natural products in healthcare can improve the physical fitness of patients.…”

Exploring differences in psychological professionals' attitudes towards and experiences of complementary therapies in clinical practice

“…attitudes, complementary therapies, evidence-based practice, experiential learning, personal experience, psychologists 1 | INTRODUCTION Complementary therapies are recognised as a wide range of therapeutic approaches that are used for the promotion of quality of life or well-being, yet are complementary to conventional, evidence-based treatments (Bassman & Uellendahl, 2003;Lumadue, Munk, & Wooten, 2005). Complementary therapies are often described as an umbrella term to include both ingestible medicines such as Western herbalism and Chinese herbal medicine and therapeutic approaches such as acupuncture and naturopathy (Cohen & Hunter, 2017). Typical complementary therapies used in Australia include chiropractic, acupuncture, meditation, massage, aromatherapy, yoga, naturopathy and Western herbalism, iridology, traditional Chinese medicine and kinesiology (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2008).…”

Interactions between natural products and cancer treatments: underlying mechanisms and clinical importance

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