Alternative Medicine Alert articles from April 2004

Alternative Medicine Alert archives from April 2004

Policosanol: a natural alternative for lipid management?
April 1, 2004... LOWERING LOW-DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN CHOLESTEROL (LDL-C) HAS become the cornerstone in reducing the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). The most popular drugs used for this purpose include statins, niacin preparations, and fibrates. All of these...

Echinacea: an update on the popular cold cure.
April 1, 2004... ECHINACEA PRODUCTS CONTINUE TO REPRESENT BOTH the popular use of herbal remedies by the general public and the uncertainty and even controversy in the scientific and medical communities about proper and proven indications. Recent clinical...

Melatonin for jet lag.
April 1, 2004... GLOBALIZATION AND MULTINATIONAL BUSINESS HAVE made it more common for people to fly across several time zones. Those flying on vacation or to visit family expect it will take a few days to get over the jet lag. However, those on business,...

Antibacterial soaps and infectious disease.(Clinical Briefs)
April 1, 2004... Source: Larson EL, et al. Effect of antibacterial home cleaning and handwashing products on infectious disease symptoms. Ann Intern Med 2004; 140:321-329. Goal: To evaluate the effect of antibacterial cleaning products and soaps on the...

Safety of niacin.(Clinical Briefs)
April 1, 2004... Source: Mills E, et al. The safety of over-the-counter niacin. A randomized placebo-controlled trial [ISRCTN18054903]. BMC Clinical Pharmacol 2003;3:4. Goal: To determine the safety of a single dose of 500 mg immediate-release niacin. ...

CME Questions.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... CME Instructions: Physicians participate in this continuing medical education program by the articles, using the provided references for further research, and studying the CME questions. Participants should select what they believe to be the...

Patient handout: cholesterol and coronary heart disease.
April 1, 2004... HEART DISEASE IS CAUSED BY NARROWING OF THE CORONARY ARTERIES THAT FEED THE heart. Like any muscle, the heart needs a constant supply of oxygen and nutrients, which are carried to it by the blood in the coronary arteries. When the coronary...