Press Releases 2008
- 12/12/2008
NIHSeniorHealth Adds Complementary and Alternative Medicine Information (National Insitutes of Health)
According to a new nationwide government survey, 41 percent of adults in the United States aged 60–69 use some form of CAM. - 12/10/2008
According to a New Government Survey, 38 Percent of Adults and 12 Percent of Children Use Complementary and Alternative Medicine
The survey was conducted as part of the 2007 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), an annual study in which tens of thousands of Americans are interviewed about their health- and illness-related experiences. - 11/19/2008
Ginkgo Evaluation of Memory (GEM) Study Fails To Show Benefit in Preventing Dementia in the Elderly
In a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association , 240 milligrams per day of the dietary supplement Ginkgo biloba was found to be ineffective in reducing the development of dementia and Alzheimer's disease in older people. - 10/27/2008
Review of Prostate Cancer Prevention Study Shows No Benefit for Use of Selenium and Vitamin E Supplements (National Cancer Institute)
Initial, independent review of study data from the Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial (SELECT), funded by the NIH, shows that selenium and vitamin E supplements, taken either alone or together, did not prevent prostate cancer. - 10/21/2008
New Complementary and Alternative Medicine Research Centers Target Stress-Related Illnesses, Obesity, Cancer, and Other Conditions
The new centers will add to knowledge about complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) approaches and their potential in treating and preventing diseases and conditions that are common among Americans. - 10/07/2008
Jack Killen, M.D., Named Deputy Director of NCCAM
John (Jack) Killen, Jr., M.D. was recently appointed Deputy Director of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). - 09/29/2008
Dietary Supplements Glucosamine and/or Chondroitin Fare No Better than Placebo in Slowing Structural Damage of Knee Osteoarthritis
The dietary supplements glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate, together or alone, appeared to fare no better than placebo in slowing loss of cartilage in osteoarthritis of the knee. Interpreting the study results is complicated, however, because participants taking placebo had a smaller loss of cartilage, or joint space width, than predicted. - 09/18/2008
FTC Sweep Stops Peddlers of Bogus Cancer Cures (Federal Trade Commission)
The Federal Trade Commission today announced 11 law enforcement actions challenging deceptive advertising of bogus cancer cures. The FTC charged the companies with making unsupported claims that their products cured or treated one or more types of cancer. - 09/17/2008
New NIH Research Initiative to Test Treatments for Menopausal Symptoms (National Istitute on Aging)
Women troubled by hot flashes and night sweats during the years around menopause want safe, effective treatment options. A new research initiative from the NIH will establish a multisite research network to conduct clinical trials of promising treatments for the most common symptoms of the menopausal transition. - 08/12/2008
Key Gaps Remain in Understanding Health Effects of Vitamin D (Office of Dietary Supplements)
An in-depth review of current research on the health effects of vitamin D is being published as the proceedings of the NIH conference, "Vitamin D and Health in the 21st Century: An Update", which will appear in an August 2008 supplement to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. - 06/06/2008
Time To Talk About CAM
NCCAM has launched Time to Talk, an educational campaign to encourage patients and their health care providers to openly discuss the use of CAM. - 05/21/08
Martin H. Goldrosen, Ph.D., Named Director of NCCAM's Division of Extramural Activities
Martin H. Goldrosen, Ph.D., was recently appointed director of the Division of Extramural Activities at the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, part of the National Institutes of Health. - 02/08/2008
NIH Director's Statement: Violence Against Researchers Using Animals
On February 5th an incendiary device ignited at the front door of the home of Dr. Edythe London, an NIH-supported senior scientist and professor in the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. This domestic terrorist act against a scientist who has dedicated 30 years of her life to medical research is intolerable. - 02/01/2008
NCCAM's Advisory Council Welcomes Six New Members
The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) welcomes six new members to the National Advisory Council for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. The Council serves as the principal advisory body to NCCAM, the lead Federal agency for complementary and alternative medicine research and a component of the National Institutes of Health. - 01/24/2008
Josephine P. Briggs, M.D., Named Director of NIH's National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
NIH Director, Elias A. Zerhouni, M.D., has named Josephine P. Briggs, M.D., to be the director of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. An accomplished researcher and physician, Dr. Briggs brings a focus on translational research to the study of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) to help build a fuller understanding of the usefulness and safety of CAM practices that nearly two-thirds of the American public uses.