Acupuncture for BrainThis book systematically introduces the Brain in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and its acupuncture treatments. It discusses the origin and development of the TCM Brain theory, and presents current research on brain and acupuncture, the unique brain related techniques such as scalp acupuncture and Dao-qi technique, the new developing acupuncture treatment methods for brain-related conditions, such as stroke, Parkinson's, dementia, Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury, autism, cerebral palsy and depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder among others. This book is of interest to TCM and acupuncture practitioners in the West, as well as acupuncture researchers and lecturers. It gives a new understanding of the brain and treatments for brain-related conditions from a complementary medicine point of view.
Publication Date: 2020-12-06
Alternative Medicine: A Critical Assessment of 150 ModalitiesAlternative medicine (AM) is hugely popular; about 40% of the US general population have used at least one type of alternative treatment in the past year, and in Germany this figure is around 70%. The money spent on AM is considerable: the global market is expected to reach nearly US $ 200 billion by 2025, with most of these funds coming directly out of consumers' pockets. The reasons for this popularity are complex, but misinformation is certainly a prominent factor. The media seem to have an insatiable appetite for the subject and often report uncritically on it. Misinformation about AM on the Internet (currently about 50 million websites are focused on AM) is much more the rule than the exception. Consumers are thus being bombarded with misinformation on AM, and they are ill-protected from such misinformation and therefore prone to making wrong, unwise or dangerous therapeutic decisions, endangering their health and wasting their money. This book is a reference text aimed at guiding consumers through the maze of AM. The concept of the book is straightforward. It has two main parts. The first, short section provides essential background on AM, explaining in simple terms what is (and what is not) good, reliable evidence, and addressing other relevant issues like, for instance, the placebo response, informed consent, integrative medicine, etc. The second and main part consists of 150 short chapters, topically grouped and each dedicated to one single alternative therapeutic or diagnostic method. In each of them, seven critical points are raised. These points relate to issues that are important for consumers' decisions whether it is worth trying the method in question. Restricting the discussion to just seven points means that issues must be prioritized to those themes which are most relevant in the context of each given modality.
Publication Date: 2019-07-12
Complementary Therapies in Maternity CareThe complete textbook on complementary therapies in maternity care, this book addresses how midwives and other birth professionals can use or advise on complementary therapies for pregnant, labouring and new mothers. Almost 90% of women may be using complementary therapies during pregnancy and birth, and increasingly midwives and doulas incorporate therapies into their care of women, so it is vital that they and other professionals in the maternity care field are aware of safe and appropriate use based on contemporary evidence. Therapies covered include acupuncture, herbal medicine, homeopathy, aromatherapy, reflexology, yoga, massage and hypnosis. This complete guide to complementary therapies in pregnancy and childbirth covers safety, effectiveness, evidence, benefits and risks, legal, ethical and professional issues based on accurate and up-to-date research.
Publication Date: 2018-01-18
Edible Medicinal and Non Medicinal Plants Volume 9 is part of a multicompendium Edible Medicinal and Non-Medicinal Plants, on plants with edible modified stems, roots and bulbs from Acanthaceae to Zygophyllaceae (tabular) and 32 selected species in Alismataceae, Amaryllidaceae, Apiaceae, Araceae, Araliaceae, Asparagaceae, Asteraceae, Basellaceae, Brassicaceae and Campanulaceae in detail. This work is of significant interest to medical practitioners, pharmacologists, ethnobotanists, horticulturists, food nutritionists, botanists, agriculturists, conservationists, and general public. Topics covered include: taxonomy; common/ vernacular names; origin/ distribution; agroecology; edible plant parts/uses; botany; nutritive/medicinal properties, nonedible uses and selected references.
Publication Date: 2014-12-12
Fundamentals of Complementary, Alternative, and Integrative MedicineGet a solid, global foundation of the therapies and evidence-based clinical applications of CAI. Fundamentals of Complementary, Alternative, and Integrative Medicine, 6th Edition is filled with the most up-to-date information on scientific theory and research of holistic medicine from experts around the world. The 6th edition of this acclaimed text includes all new content on quantum biology and biofields in health and nursing, integrative mental health care, and homeopathic medicine. Its wide range of topics explores therapies most commonly seen in the U.S., such as energy medicine, mind-body therapies, and reflexology along with traditional medicine and practices from around the world. With detailed coverage of historic and contemporary applications, this text is a solid resource for all practitioners in the medical, health, and science fields! Coverage of CAI therapies and systems includes those most commonly encountered or growing in popularity, so you can carefully evaluate each treatment. An evidence-based approach focuses on treatments best supported by clinical trials and scientific evidence. Observations from mechanisms of action to evidence of clinical efficacy answers questions of how, why, and when CAM therapies work. A unique synthesis of information, including historical usage, cultural and social analysis, current basic science theory and research, and a wide range of clinical investigations and observations, makes this text a focused, authoritative resource. Global coverage includes discussions of traditional healing arts from Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Clinical guides for selecting therapies, and new advances for matching the appropriate therapy to the individual patient, enables you to offer and/or recommend individualized patient care. Expert contributors include well-known writers such as Kevin Ergil, Patch Adams, Joseph Pizzorno, and Marc Micozzi. A unique history of CAI traces CAM therapies from their beginnings to present day practices. Suggested readings and references on the companion website list the best resources for further research and study. NEW! Added chapters offer fresh perspective on quantum biology and biofields in health and nursing, integrative mental health care, and homeopathic medicine. NEW! Updated chapters feature new content and topics, including: challenges in integrative medicine, legal issues, CAI in the community, psychometric evaluation, placebo effect, stress management, and much more! NEW! Updated guides on common herbal remedies in clinical practice, East and Southeast Asia, and native North and South America deliver the latest information. NEW! Basic science content and new theory and research studies cover a wide range of sciences such as biophysics, biology and ecology, ethnomedicine, psychometrics, neurosciences, and systems theory. NEW! Expanded global ethnomedical systems includes new content on Shamanism and Neo-Shamanism, Central and North Asia, Southeast Asia, Nepal and Tibet, Hawaii and South Pacific, Alaska and Pacific Northwest, and contemporary global healthcare.
Publication Date: 2018-11-01
Integrative Approcahes for Health: Biomedical Research, Ayurveda and YogaDespite spectacular advances, modern medicine faces formidable global challenges in several key areas-notably the persistence of major killer diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, leprosy, and newer threats including HIV/AIDS, resistant infections, and Ebola. As such, modern medicine has not led to a significant decrease in chronic diseases like diabetes, obesity, and other degenerative and autoimmune diseases. The authors believe that modern medicine needs to experience a paradigm shift, an integration of traditions-in particular from the ancient systems like Ayurveda and Yoga. Integrative Approaches for Health: Biomedical Research, Ayurveda and Yoga brings together the basic principles of interdisciplinary systems approach for an evolving construct of future medicine. Such an approach is already emerging at the cutting edge of current research in omics, bioinformatics, computational and systems biology. Several leading institutions of medicine have adopted Yoga and complementary medicine to widen their reach, and deepen effectiveness in therapeutic practices. The amalgam of modern medicine, with its strengths in scientific rigor, blended with the basic principles of life drawn from Ayurveda and Yoga might evolve into a medicine of tomorrow. Integrative approaches are no longer alternative, perhaps taking these approaches is the only possible way to heal our sick planet. This book introduces important trends and tools for biomedical researchers and physicians alike, to innovate the practice of medicine for the better. Contains a harmonious confluence of ancient and modern concepts, historical perspectives, philosophical underpinnings, and a relevant review of literature supported by worldwide case studies. Provides a critical analysis of ancient wisdom, pointing to potential areas for future research, which provide food for thought for public debate on integrative health care for the twenty-first century. Explains Ayurveda knowledge, and its relevance to drug discovery, nutrition, genomics, epigenetics, regenerative biology, longevity and personalized medicine. Shares Yoga knowledge insights, and explains its relevance to body-mind complex relationships, psychology, neurobiology, immunoendocrinology, bioenergetics, consciousness, and cognitive sciences. Offers illustrations and logic diagrams for enhanced understanding of the concepts presented.
Publication Date: 2015-04-07
Integrative Headache MedicineThis practical and comprehensive title provides illuminating, evidence-based approaches in headache medicine for using traditional medical therapies in conjunction with alternative approaches to care. In all, the book details how multidisciplinary management and the combination of conventional and complementary medical services - integrative medicine - leads to superior patient outcomes: improved patient satisfaction, reduced stress, and more readily treatable, less serious illness. State-of-the-art and developed by experts in their fields, these 12 chapters present research and analysis of a wide range of non-pharmacologic interventions in headache care, seeking to inspire clinicians to formulate personalized headache treatment plans, and to work together by integrating their expertise in a multidisciplinary context to address patients' unique conditions, needs, circumstances, and treatment. Chapter one provides an overview of integrative medicine and proposes a step-wise approach for incorporating integrative modalities into a headache practice. Chapter two focuses on the attention to be paid to relevant aspects of a patient's medical history. The next four chapters discuss lifestyle factors that play a role in headache, including trigger identification, exercise, nutrition, and sleep. The scope of mind-body therapies such as acupuncture, yoga, and mindfulness is explored in chapter seven, and the psychology of pain is the subject of chapter eight. Chapter nine investigates the safety and efficacy of nutraceuticals, or pharmaceutical alternatives. The final three chapters review neuromodulation and interventional approaches to headache management. An invaluable and timely contribution to the clinical literature, Integrative Headache Medicine - An Evidence-Based Guide for Clinicians will be of great interest to neurologists, pain physicians, primary care clinicians, behavioral psychologists, psychiatrists, physical therapists, social workers, nutritionists and any other health professionals interested in delivering the highest quality care for headache patients.
Publication Date: 2021-07-01
Integrative Therapies in RehabilitationFor more than 20 years, Integrative Therapies in Rehabilitation has been the most researched resource on complementary and alternative therapies in rehabilitation. This renowned text, now in its fourth edition, relates the updated scientific evidence and the clinical efficacy of integrating what have now become well known complementary and alternative therapies in rehabilitation to successfully improve patient outcomes. It has been developed to accompany university courses in complementary and alternative therapies, as a reference manual for clinical practices, and as a resource for those interested in the science behind holistic therapies. Holistic therapies are those therapies not commonly found in allopathic medicine that are intended to stimulate a therapeutic response from both the body - neuromusculoskeletal and cardiopulmonary systems - and the mind. This book is particularly designed for those health professionals who want to understand the scientific foundation and peer reviewed research supporting complementary and alternative therapies. The fourth edition is divided into two parts. The beginning chapters describe the latest cellular biology science and explain the theories put forth on the overall mechanisms of action of the effect of these various therapies on the soft tissue, fascia and nervous systems. The first part also chronicles the advancement of scientific research in the various therapies since the 1980's to explain, in cellular physiology terms, the outcomes observed by using a number of holistic therapies. The second part presents various therapies commonly integrated with allopathic therapies in rehabilitation - body work therapies, mind/body therapies, and energy work therapies. The text describes each therapy with a history, cellular mechanism of action, and an up-dated reference section of the evidence of efficacy for the therapy as reported in the literature, often concluding with a case example. This fully-updated fourth edition will be the go-to resource for health professionals to understand the scientific evidence and efficacy of complementary and alternative therapies for rehabilitation and improving patient outcomes.
Publication Date: 2016-07-30
Mechanisms of Action in Disease and Recovery in Integrative Cardiovascular Chinese MedicineMechanisms of Action in Disease and Recovery in Integrative Cardiovascular Chinese Medicine, volume six in the Integrative Cardiovascular Chinese Medicine series, presents the structure, function and pathology of the cardiovascular system from Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine perspectives. Sections discuss cardiac acu-anatomy, including cardiac cells and heart structure, gastrointestinal cells and mouth, esophagus, stomach, small and large intestine structures, and more, while other chapters cover the qi, yin and yang roles in cardiac rhythm and pumping actions and the pathology of the heart and vascular system and the zang and fu relationship with other body organs. This important reference will aid cardiovascular researchers in the study of integrative Chinese and Western medicine with its clear, structured base that will guide clinical practice and encourage collaboration between Chinese and Western medicine practitioners.
Publication Date: 2020-07-22
Methodologies for Effectively Assessing Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM): Research Tools and TechniquesFinding the right criteria to use when judging Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) is essential if it is to stand up to criticism from those concerned about the importance of evidence-based medicine. This edited volume highlights how CAM requires different research tools and techniques from conventional medicine, and examines effective methodologies for accurately assessing CAM. Addressing a problem which is often cited as the reason for a failure to appreciate the potential in CAM approaches to patient care, experts from a wide array of CAM modalities suggest the most effective research methodology for each particular therapy and illustrate how a lack of adherence to that methodology produces a less effective assessment. Disciplines covered include Traditional Chinese Medicine, homeopathy, herbal medicine, craniosacral therapy, qigong and yoga. Providing direction in research and the best criteria to appropriately assess each discipline, this book highlights and responds to the issues underlying research in CAM. It will be of interest to anyone involved in CAM research, in addition to CAM practitioners and students, western medical practitioners looking to include CAM in their treatments, and anyone studying research design and methodology.
Publication Date: 2015-04-21
Natural Products and Human DiseasesNatural products have a long history of use as folk medicines in several systems of traditional medicine. Extensive evidence from modern pharmacological studies has confirmed traditional applications, and unveiled the vast potential of naturally occurring compounds, particularly plant-derived phytochemicals, in the management of chronic human diseases. The past decade has witnessed a surge of findings from randomized controlled trials testifying the safety and efficacy of natural products as adjuncts or alternatives to standard-of-care medications for several illnesses. Biomolecular studies have unveiled hundreds of cellular and molecular targets for phytochemicals including key transcription factors, receptors, enzymes, hormones, neurotransmitters, cytokines, lipids, and non-coding RNAs. Extensive research on the preventative and therapeutic effects of natural products necessitates regular updating of the literature as to the developing potential roles of these compounds in different human diseases. This new book provides an overview of the current pharmacological and clinical features of natural products, and the role of phytopharmaceutical compounds in health and diseases. Chapters cover a wide scope, from cancers, to chronic and age-related disorders, and are written by leading international subject experts. Collectively, chapters will provide useful insights on the regulatory effects of phytochemicals and nutraceuticals on pathogenic molecular signatures associated with pathologies, disease biomarkers, and aging-related pathways.
Publication Date: 2022-01-05
Pharmacological Properties of Plant-Derived Natural Products and Implications for Human HealthMedicinal plants and their derived products remain as an indispensable source of bioactive molecules that serve as either drug candidates or lead compounds for drug design and discovery. There are several advantages for plant-derived therapeutics including wide availability, diverse pharmacological actions and a generally good profile of safety and tolerability. Over the recent years, there have been numerous reports from clinical studies testifying to the efficacy and safety of medicinal plants and phytochemicals in ameliorating several human diseases. A plethora of basic studies has also unravelled molecular mechanisms underlying the health benefits of herbal medicines. Nevertheless, issues such as identification of bioactive ingredients, standardization of the products and drug interactions remain to be further studied. In this book, we aim to put together several chapters on the medicinal properties and pharmacological action of medicinal plants, plant species and phytochemicals. The goal is to present a comprehensive collection on most of the therapeutic aspects of plant-derived natural products and molecular mechanisms thereof.
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