Echinacea Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Echinacea, including details on echinacea purpurea, benefits, side-effects, herbal remedies.

Complementary and alternative medicine for multiple sclerosis.

Schwarz S, Knorr C, Geiger H, Flachenecker P

Central Institute of Mental Health, University of Heidelberg, J 5, Mannheim 68159, Germany; Department of Neurology, Klinikum Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Theodor-Kutzer-Ufer 1- 3, Mannheim 68167, Germany st_schwarz@hotmail.com.

We analyzed characteristics, motivation, and effectiveness of complementary and alternative medicine in a large sample of people with multiple sclerosis. A 53-item survey was mailed to the members of the German Multiple Sclerosis Society, chapter of Baden-Wuerttemberg. Surveys of 1573 patients (48.5 +/- 11.7 years, 74% women, duration of illness 18.1 +/- 10.5 years) were analyzed. In comparison with conventional medicine, more patients displayed a positive attitude toward complementary and alternative medicine (44% vs 38%, P < 0.05), with 70% reporting lifetime use of at least one method. Among a wide variety of complementary and alternative medicine, diet modification (41%), Omega-3 fatty acids (37%), removal of amalgam fillings (28%), vitamins E (28%), B (36%), and C (28%), homeopathy (26%), and selenium (24%) were cited most frequently. Most respondents (69%) were satisfied with the effects of complementary and alternative medicine. Use of complementary and alternative medicine was associated with religiosity, functional independence, female sex, white-collar job, and higher education (P < 0.05). Compared with conventional therapies, complementary and alternative medicine rarely showed unwanted side effects (9% vs 59%, P < 0.00001). A total of 52% stated that the initial consultation with their physician lasted less than 15 min. To conclude, main reasons for the use of complementary and alternative medicine include the high rate of side effects and low levels of satisfaction with conventional treatments and brief patients/physicians contacts.

Published 27 August 2008 in Mult Scler, 14(8): 1113-9.
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Articles on Echinacea published 25 August 2008:

Evaluation of widely consumed botanicals as immunological adjuvants.   Vaccine, 26(37): 4860-5.

BACKGROUND: Many widely used botanical medicines are claimed to be immune enhancers. Clear evidence of augmentation of immune responses in vivo is lacking in most cases. To select botanicals for further study based on immune enhancing activity, we study them here mixed with antigen and injected subcutaneously (s.c.). Globo H and GD3 are cell surface carbohydrates expressed on glycolipids or glycoproteins on the cell surface of many cancers. When conjugated to keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH), ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Echinacea published 11 August 2008:

Soil fertility increases with plant species diversity in a long-term biodiversity experiment.   Oecologia.

Most explanations for the positive effect of plant species diversity on productivity have focused on the efficiency of resource use, implicitly assuming that resource supply is constant. To test this assumption, we grew seedlings of Echinacea purpurea in soil collected beneath 10-year-old, experimental plant communities containing one, two, four, eight, or 16 native grassland species. The results of this greenhouse bioassay challenge the assumption of constant resource supply; we found that ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Echinacea published 8 August 2008:

Echinacea purpurea and P-glycoprotein drug transport in Caco-2 cells.   Phytother Res.

Echinacea is widely used as a medical herbal product, but its interaction potential with the drug efflux transporter P-glycoprotein (P-gp) has not yet been evaluated. The interaction potential of Echinacea purpurea towards P-gp mediated drug transport was studied in human intestinal Caco-2 cells. Digoxin (30 nm) was used as a substrate and verapamil as a control inhibitor. Ethanol, 0.8%, needed for herbal extraction and compatibility with the commercial products, inhibited the net digoxin flux ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Echinacea published 7 August 2008:

Integrative medicine research at an academic medical center: patient characteristics and health-related quality-of-life outcomes.   J Altern Complement Med, 14(6): 763-7.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize patients seeking care at a university-based integrative medicine practice, and to assess short-term changes in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) associated with integrative medical treatment. DESIGN: Prospective, observational study. SETTING: This study was conducted at a large U.S. academic medical center affiliated with the Consortium of Academic Health Centers for Integrative Medicine. PARTICIPANTS: Seven hundred and sixty-three (763) new patients with diverse ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Echinacea published 28 July 2008:

Believing in order to understand: Hahnemann's hierarchisation of values.   Homeopathy, 97(3): 156-60.

During the last 200 years, the social, scientific, and religious framework in which homeopathy is taught and practiced has changed tremendously. Various different forms of homeopathy have been advocated. To avoid being misled by the prevailing pluralism as a standard of reference for assessing new concepts, Hahnemann's original ideas and attitude toward medicine, philosophy, and ethics are discussed. Hahnemann's hierarchisation of values appears to consist primarily in striving for a world view ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

'Homeopathy': untangling the debate.   Homeopathy, 97(3): 152-5.

There are active public campaigns both for and against homeopathy, and its continuing availability in the NHS is debated in the medical, scientific and popular press. However, there is a lack of clarity in key terms used in the debate, and in how the evidence base of homeopathy is described and interpreted. The term 'homeopathy' is used with several different meanings including: the therapeutic system, homeopathic medicine, treatment by a homeopath, and the principles of 'homeopathy'. ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Effect of homeopathic medicines on helminth parasitism and resistance of Haemonchus contortus infected sheep.   Homeopathy, 97(3): 145-51.

This study evaluated the effects of homeopathic treatment on control of Haemonchus contortus infection in sheep. Twenty lambs were randomized to three treatments: treated with the homeopathic medicines, Ferrum phosphoricum, Arsenicum album and Calcarea carbonica; treated with a conventional antihelminthic, doramectin, and an untreated control group. Fecal and blood samples were taken from each animal on days 18, 38 and 68 after start of treatment. A significant reduction in number of H. ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

An animal model for the study of Chamomilla in stress and depression: pilot study.   Homeopathy, 97(3): 141-4.

The behavioral and hematological effects of treatment with Chamomilla 6cH in mice subjected to experimental stress are described. Swiss mice were randomly divided into pairs, one animal was inoculated with Ehrlich's tumor, the other was treated daily with Chamomilla 6cH or control or received no treatment. After 7 days, the animals were observed in an open-field arena and blood samples taken. Mice who cohabitated with a sick cage-mate showed a decrease in their general activity, but those ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

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