Responsible alternative medicine
December 16, 2011
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Trine Tsouderos' article on NCCAM is off base. Applying rigorous research to evaluate therapies that are widely used but not a part of mainstream medicine is not only a wise use of resources; it is also good science and essential for providing optimal clinical care.
Many people suffer from ailments, such as chronic pain, for which our conventional medicines do not provide significant help, and they seek relief from therapies such as acupuncture. Lab research and studies using the latest high tech imaging such as fMRI and pet-scans, funded by NCCAM and others, have resulted in a better understanding of the mechanisms of action of acupuncture, showing that it releases endorphins and other neurotransmitters that are the brain's natural painkillers. NCCAM's support of large clinical trials, such as one our team conducted and published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, has shown acupuncture to be more effective than sham acupuncture and conventional care alone for relieving pain and improving function among sufferers of knee osteoarthritis.
Furthermore, their support of the Cochrane Collaboration (an international organization dedicated to evaluating all medical therapies) an independent nonprofit organization that conducts reviews of clinical trials) Complementary Medicine Field has meant that data has been pooled from research studies worldwide, indicating acupuncture, while not a panacea for all problems, is safe and effective for a number of pain-related conditions including headaches, osteoarthritis and chronic back pain.
While there is a lack of certainty due to conflicting results of a number of acupuncture trials, similar uncertainty is evident in many chronic pain clinical trials comparing drugs to placebo controls. Rather than making inflammatory statements accusing NCCAM and complementary medicine researchers of intellectual dishonesty, what would better serve patients would be thoughtful collaboration on promising interventions and improved study designs that will lead to meaningful treatment options.
-- Brian Berman, M.D., University of Maryland School of Medicine
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