Monthly Archives: September 2012

The American Holistic Veterinary Medical Foundation: Science or Salesmanship?

One of the biggest problems with alternative veterinary medicine is the promotion of specific therapies or practices without reasonable scientific evidence that these are safe or effective. Sometimes, the evidence is actually clear that a specific approach is not effective, … Continue reading

Posted in General | 9 Comments

The Problem with Systematic Reviews of Acupuncture in China

One of the highest levels of evidence in the system of evidence-based medicine is the systematic review. Unlike narrative reviews, in which an author selects those studies they consider relevant and then summarizes what they think the studies mean, which … Continue reading

Posted in Acupuncture | 3 Comments

Magic Mushrooms–Can a mushroom-derived compound slow the progression of cancer in dogs?

There is a recent study out which looks at the potential for a chemical derived from mushrooms to slow the progression of one type of cancer in dogs. It has both strengths and weaknesses, and it is a nice example … Continue reading

Posted in Herbs and Supplements | 9 Comments

Is Big Pharma Trying to Make CAM More Science-Based or Just Get a Piece of the Action?

There have been a number of mentions in the media lately of an initiative by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), one of the biggest of Big Pharma companies, setting up a division in China to study Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Here’s one report … Continue reading

Posted in General | 1 Comment

Herbs and Supplements for Pets: What Is a Vet to do?

I’ve written extensively about herbal remedies and dietary supplements both because these seem among the most likely to be useful of CAM therapies and also because they are widely used despite the lack of good evidence that they are safe … Continue reading

Posted in Herbs and Supplements | 4 Comments