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Pregnancy and H1N1 Vaccine: Don’t Mess Around!

DrSteve — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:21 +0000

Pregnant women continue to be more seriously affected by 2009 H1N1 influenza than the general population. In the first 4 months of the H1N1 pandemic, at least 28 pregnant women have died and 100 have been admitted to the ICU. If you are not pregnant, there are a number of options and arguments for and [...]

Pomegranate Juice: What Type is Best?

DrSteve — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 22:29:00 +0000

Pomegranate juice is well known for its health beneficial compounds, which can be attributed to its high level of antioxidant activity and total polyphenol content. Our objective was to study the relationships between antioxidant activity, total polyphenol content, total anthocyanins content, and the levels of four major hydrolyzable tannins in four different juices/homogenates prepared from [...]

Antidiarrhoeal activity of Hypoxis hemerocallidea Fisch. & C. A. Mey. (Hypoxidaceae) Corm (‘African potato’) aqueous extract in rodents and Dr.Steve’s Bottom Line

DrSteve — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 07:47:25 +0000

Uterolytic effect of Hypoxis hemerocallidea Fisch. & C.A. Mey. (Hypoxidaceae) corm [;African Potato'] aqueous extract.

DrSteve — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 07:47:25 +0000

Proteolytic enzyme therapy in evidence-based complementary oncology: fact or fiction? and Dr.Steve’s Bottom Line

DrSteve — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 07:47:25 +0000

Traditional Indian medicine and homeopathy for HIV/AIDS: a review of the literature.

DrSteve — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 07:47:25 +0000

Traditional Indian medicine and homeopathy for HIV/AIDS: a review of the literature.

AIDS Res Ther. 2008;5:25

Authors: Fritts M, Crawford CC, Quibell D, Gupta A, Jonas WB, Coulter I, Andrade SA

BACKGROUND: Allopathic practitioners in India are outnumbered by practitioners of traditional Indian medicine and homeopathy (TIMH), which is used by up to two-thirds of its population to help meet primary health care needs, particularly in rural areas. India has an estimated 2.5 million HIV infected persons. However, little is known about TIMH use, safety or efficacy in HIV/AIDS management in India, which has one of the largest indigenous medical systems in the world. The purpose of this review was to assess the quality of peer-reviewed, published literature on TIMH for HIV/AIDS care and treatment. RESULTS: Of 206 original articles reviewed, 21 laboratory studies, 17 clinical studies, and 6 previous reviews of the literature were identified that covered at least one system of TIMH, which includes Ayurveda, Unani medicine, Siddha medicine, homeopathy, yoga and naturopathy. Most studies examined either Ayurvedic or homeopathic treatments. Only 4 of these studies were randomized controlled trials, and only 10 were published in MEDLINE-indexed journals. Overall, the studies reported positive effects and even "cure" and reversal of HIV infection, but frequent methodological flaws call into question their internal and external validity. Common reasons for poor quality included small sample sizes, high drop-out rates, design flaws such as selection of inappropriate or weak outcome measures, flaws in statistical analysis, and reporting flaws such as lack of details on products and their standardization, poor or no description of randomization, and incomplete reporting of study results. CONCLUSION: This review exposes a broad gap between the widespread use of TIMH therapies for HIV/AIDS, and the dearth of high-quality data supporting their effectiveness and safety. In light of the suboptimal effectiveness of vaccines, barrier methods and behavior change strategies for prevention of HIV infection and the cost and side effects of antiretroviral therapy (ART) for its treatment, it is both important and urgent to develop and implement a rigorous research agenda to investigate the potential risks and benefits of TIMH and to identify its role in the management of HIV/AIDS and associated illnesses in India.

PMID: 19102742 [PubMed]