Antibiotics and placebo equally effective for sinusitis treatment ?

In another story highlighting the unnecisary prescription of antibiotics; a recent study specifically on sinusitis has found that placebo (a pill containing nothing in it) is just as effective as the antibiotic prescribed. 

 Antibiotics are commonly used to treat sinusitis, but a new clinical trial has found that a placebo works just as well.

Scientists randomized 166 adults, all of whom met the diagnostic criteria for sinusitis, to receive the antibiotic amoxicillin or a placebo three times a day for 10 days. On the third, seventh and tenth days, the participants recorded their symptoms.

There was no significant difference between the two groups in the amounts of time missed from work or everyday activities, relapse or recurrence rates, adverse effects or satisfaction with the treatment. Nor was there any difference in self-reported improvement in symptoms, except on the seventh day, when 74 percent of those taking amoxicillin reported improvement, compared with 56 percent of those on the placebo.

The authors acknowledge that it is possible that not all patients in the study had bacterial sinusitis, since the diagnosis is made clinically, not by a laboratory test. (Antibiotics, of course, are ineffective against a viral infection.)

“I hope that the results here will give doctors evidence to use in discussions with patients about avoiding unnecessary antibiotic treatment,” said the lead author, Dr. Jane M. Garbutt of Washington University in St. Louis.

The study appeared last week in The Journal of the American Medical Association.

Original published story ran here: 

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/21/health/research/in-sinusitis-antibiotics-are-as-effective-as-placebos-study-finds.html?_r=1&ref=science

Swiss Government's Conclusive Report Findings on Homeopathic Medicine: Effective & Affordable

In late 2011, the Swiss government's report on homeopathic medicine represents the most comprehensive evaluation of homeopathic medicine ever written by a government and was just published in book form in English (Bornhoft and Matthiessen, 2011). This breakthrough report affirmed that homeopathic treatment is both effective and cost-effective and that homeopathic treatment should be reimbursed by Switzerland's national health insurance program. 

The Swiss government's inquiry into homeopathy and complementary and alternative (CAM) treatments resulted from the high demand and widespread use of alternatives to conventional medicine in Switzerland, not only from consumers but from physicians as well. Approximately half of the Swiss population have used CAM treatments and value them. Further, about half of Swiss physicians consider CAM treatments to be effective. Perhaps most significantly, 85 percent of the Swiss population wants CAM therapies to be a part of their country's health insurance program.

It is therefore not surprising that more than 50 percent of the Swiss population surveyed prefer a hospital that provides CAM treatments rather to one that is limited to conventional medical care.

Beginning in 1998, the government of Switzerland decided to broaden its national health insurance to include certain complementary and alternative medicines, including homeopathic medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, herbal medicine, anthroposophic medicine, and neural therapy. This reimbursement was provisional while the Swiss government commissioned an extensive study on these treatments to determine if they were effective and cost-effective. The provisional reimbursement for these alternative treatments ended in 2005, but as a result of this new study, the Swiss government's health insurance program once again began to reimburse for homeopathy and select alternative treatments. In fact, as a result of a national referendum in which more than two-thirds of voters supported the inclusion of homeopathic and select alternative medicines in Switzerland's national health care insurance program, the field of complementary and alternative medicine has become a part of this government's constitution (Dacey, 2009; Rist, Schwabl, 2009).

Read the full article by Dana Ullman here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dana-ullman/homeopathic-medicine-_b_1258607.html

A traditional herbal medicine may offer relief for hangovers & alcoholism.

UCLA researchers have identified how a component of an ancient Chinese herbal anti-hangover medicine called dihydromyricetin, isolated from the plant Hovenia, counteracts acute alcohol intoxication and withdrawal symptoms (see also Central Nervous System).

The research team found that dihydromyricetin blocks the action of alcohol on the brain and neurons and also reduces voluntary alcohol consumption, with no major side effects, in an early study with rats. Specifically, dihydromyricetin inhibited alcohol's effect on the brain's GABAA receptors, specific sites targeted by chemicals from brain cells. Alcohol normally enhances the GABAA receptors' influence in slowing brain cell activity, reducing the ability to communicate and increasing sleepiness - common symptoms of drunkenness.

The next stage of the research will involve human clinical trials, the researchers said.

IMPACT:

The research team determined that dihydromyricetin may provide a molecular target and cellular mechanism to counteract alcohol intoxication and dependence, leading to new therapeutic treatments - all based on an ancient "folk medicine" treatment that has been used by humans for at least 500 years.

Alcohol use disorders are the most common form of substance abuse, affecting more than 76 million people worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. Only an estimated 13 percent of people identified as having an alcohol use disorder receive medical treatment, partly due to a lack of effective medications without major side effects. Although alcohol impacts most organ systems, its effect on the brain in developing intoxicating, sedative and addictive properties is critical.

Keywords: Central Nervous System, University of California - Los Angeles Health Sciences.

This article was prepared by Clinical Trials Week editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2012, Clinical Trials Week via NewsRx.com.

New Research: How Massage Heals Sore Muscles (NY TIMES)

A recent article in the New York Times highlights that there are still many common and accepted age old practices that have benefits that until recently have not been able to be fully explained by research and science. Something as simple as massaging sore muscles now has some hard evidence of it's benifits. 

from the NY TIMES: 

Their experiment required having people exercise to exhaustion and undergo five incisions in their legs in order to obtain muscle tissue for analysis. Despite the hurdles, the scientists still managed to find 11 brave young male volunteers. The study was published in the Feb. 1 issue of Science Translational Medicine.

On a first visit, they biopsied one leg of each subject at rest. At a second session, they had them vigorously exercise on a stationary bicycle for more than an hour until they could go no further. Then they massaged one thigh of each subject for 10 minutes, leaving the other to recover on its own. Immediately after the massage, they biopsied the thigh muscle in each leg again. After allowing another two-and-a-half hours of rest, they did a third biopsy to track the process of muscle injury and repair.

Vigorous exercise causes tiny tears in muscle fibers, leading to an immune reaction — inflammation — as the body gets to work repairing the injured cells. So the researchers screened the tissue from the massaged and unmassaged legs to compare their repair processes, and find out what difference massage would make.

They found that massage reduced the production of compounds called cytokines, which play a critical role in inflammation. Massage also stimulated mitochondria, the tiny powerhouses inside cells that convert glucose into the energy essential for cell function and repair. “The bottom line is that there appears to be a suppression of pathways in inflammation and an increase in mitochondrial biogenesis,” helping the muscle adapt to the demands of increased exercise, said the senior author, Dr. Mark A. Tarnopolsky.

Read the full original article here: 

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/06/how-massage-heals-sore-muscles/

Tai Chi helps ease Parkinson's Disease Symptoms.

Our last covereage of these ideas dealt with Medical QiGong as well, but this just came to our attention from the Huffington Post: 

Tai Chi helps ease Parkinson's Disease Symptoms: 

NEW YORK -- The ancient Chinese exercise of tai chi improved balance and lowered the risk of falls in a study of people with Parkinson's disease.

Symptoms of the brain disorder include tremors and stiff, jerky movements that can affect walking and other activities. Medications and surgery can help, and doctors often recommend exercise or physical therapy.

Tai chi (ty-CHEE'), with its slow, graceful movements, has been shown to improve strength and aid stability in older people, and has been studied for a number of ailments. In the latest study, led by Fuzhong Li of the Oregon Research Institute in Eugene, tai chi was tested in 195 people with mild-to-moderate Parkinson's.

The participants attended twice-weekly group classes of either tai chi or two other kinds of exercise – stretching and resistance training, which included steps and lunges with ankle weights and a weighted vest.

The tai chi routine was tailored for the Parkinson's patients, with a focus on "swing and sway" motions and weight-shifting, said Li, who practices tai chi and teaches instructors.

After six months of classes, the tai chi group did significantly better than the stretching group in tests of balance, control, walking and other measures. Compared with resistance training, the tai chi group did better in balance, control and stride, and about the same in other tests.

Tai chi training was better than stretching in reducing falls, and as effective as resistance training, the researchers reported. The improvements in the tai chi group continued during three months of follow-up.

Li said the study showed tai chi was safe. It's easy to learn, and there's no special equipment, he added.