Biomedical subjects

Ann Vincent

Publications and source records attributed to Ann Vincent.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Physicians' attitudes toward complementary and alternative medicine and their knowledge of specific therapies: a survey at an academic medical center.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the attitudes of physicians at an academic medical center toward complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies and the physicians' knowledge base regarding common CAM therapies. A link to a Web-based survey was e-mailed to 660 internists at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, USA. Physicians were asked about their attitudes toward CAM in general and their knowledge regarding specific CAM therapies. The level of evidence a physician would require before incorporating such therapies into clinical care was also assessed. Of the 233 physicians responding to the survey, 76% had never referred a patient to a CAM practitioner. However, 44% stated that they would refer a patient if a CAM practitioner were available at their institution. Fifty-seven percent of physicians thought that incorporating CAM therapies would have a positive effect on patient satisfaction, and 48% believed that offering CAM would attract more patients. Most physicians agreed that some CAM therapies hold promise for the treatment of symptoms or diseases, but most of them were not comfortable in counseling their patients about most CAM treatments. Prospective, randomized controlled trials were considered the level of evidence required for most physicians to consider incorporating a CAM therapy into their practice. The results of this survey provide insight into the attitudes of physicians toward CAM at an academic medical center. This study highlights the need for educational interventions and the importance of providing physicians ready access to evidence-based information regarding CAM.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2006

Can complementary and alternative medicine clinical cancer research be successfully accomplished? The Mayo Clinic-North Central Cancer Treatment Group experience.

Some critics question whether research on complementary and alternative modalities for patients with cancer can be done efficiently in traditional clinical settings. This article reviews a program of complementary medicine research that has been done in a traditional clinical setting over the past 30 years. Trials using complementary therapies for both symptom management and cancer treatment done by the Mayo Clinic and the North Central Cancer Treatment Group are reviewed. Twenty-seven studies have been developed using complementary therapies, addressing such issues as mucosal and epidermal toxicity, hot flashes, lymphedema, anorexia and cachexia, insomnia, cognitive dysfunction, fatigue, and cancer treatment. Nineteen of them have been completed and have had results published in peer-reviewed clinical journals, whereas two manuscripts are in press. Two other trials have recently completed accrual, and the data are being analyzed so that manuscripts can be prepared. In addition, four clinical trials are actively accruing patients. The data presented in this article demonstrate that complementary and alternative medicine research can be done in a scientifically sound manner. Well-designed and adequately powered studies can be implemented, and large numbers of patients can be accrued. The resulting research evaluations can be published in peer-reviewed medical journals.

Biomedical Research↗

PubMed2005

Use of complementary and alternative medical therapies by patients referred to a fibromyalgia treatment program at a tertiary care center.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the frequency and pattern of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use in patients referred to a fibromyalgia treatment program at a tertiary care center. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients referred to the Mayo Fibromyalgia Treatment Program between February 2003 and July 2003 were invited on their initial visit to participate in a survey regarding CAM use during the previous 6 months. An 85-question survey that addressed different CAM domains was used. RESULTS: Of the 304 patients invited to participate, 289 (95%) completed the survey (263 women and 26 men). Ninety-eight percent of the patients had used some type of CAM therapy during the previous 6 months. The 10 most frequently used CAM treatments were exercise for a specific medical problem (48%), spiritual healing (prayers) (45%), massage therapy (44%), chiropractic treatments (37%), vitamin C (35%), vitamin E (31%), magnesium (29%), vitamin B complex (25%), green tea (24%), and weight-loss programs (20%). CONCLUSION: CAM use is common in patients referred to a fibromyalgia treatment program.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Effect of estrogen replacement therapy on parathyroid hormone secretion in elderly postmenopausal women.

OBJECTIVE: Women undergo two phases of involutional bone loss that have opposing effects on parathyroid hormone (PTH) secretion. During the early phase, the loss of the direct restraining effect of estrogen on bone resorption causes an outflow of skeletal calcium into the extracellular fluid. This causes a compensatory decrease in PTH secretion. In the late phase, loss of extraskeletal effects of estrogen (on intestinal and renal calcium handling) leads to increases in whole body losses of calcium and a compensatory increase in PTH secretion. Moreover, long-term estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) suppresses both basal and stimulated PTH secretion in these women. Whereas the effects of estrogen on PTH secretion have been assumed to be due to its extraskeletal actions, estrogen may also have direct effects on the parathyroid glands. The goal of the present study was to test for these possible direct effects of estrogen on PTH secretion. DESIGN: Basal and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA)-stimulated PTH secretion was assessed in 10 elderly postmenopausal women (mean age, 76.4 years) before and after acute (3 days) estrogen replacement with transdermal estradiol, 0.1 mg/day. In addition, similar studies were performed in 10 age-matched women (mean age, 74.5 years) who had been on long-term ERT. These women were studied before and after 3 days of estrogen withdrawal. RESULTS: Estrogen treatment or withdrawal had no significant effect on either basal or stimulated PTH secretion. CONCLUSIONS: These data provide evidence that, in elderly postmenopausal women, estrogen does not have significant direct effects on PTH secretion and point to the importance of the actions of estrogen on intestinal and renal calcium handling as the major mechanisms for its effects on modulating calcium homeostasis and, indirectly, PTH secretion.

Administration, Cutaneous↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Acupuncture for hot flashes: a randomized, sham-controlled clinical study.

OBJECTIVE: Hot flashes are a significant problem in women going through the menopausal transition that can substantially affect quality of life. The world of estrogen therapy has been thrown into turmoil with the recent results of the Women's Health Initiative trial report. Pursuant to a growing interest in the use of alternative therapies to alleviate menopausal symptoms and a few pilot trials that suggested that acupuncture could modestly alleviate hot flashes, a prospective, randomized, single-blind, sham-controlled clinical trial was conducted in women experiencing hot flashes. DESIGN: Participants, after being randomized to medical versus sham acupuncture, received biweekly treatments for 5 weeks after a baseline assessment week. They were then followed for an additional 7 weeks. Participants completed daily hot flash questionnaires, which formed the basis for analysis. RESULTS: A total of 103 participants were randomized to medical or sham acupuncture. At week 6 the percentage of residual hot flashes was 60% in the medical acupuncture group and 62% in the sham acupuncture group. At week 12, the percentage of residual hot flashes was 73% in the medical acupuncture group and 55% in the sham acupuncture group. Participants reported no adverse effects related to the treatments. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggest that the used medical acupuncture was not any more effective for reducing hot flashes than was the chosen sham acupuncture.

Acupuncture Therapy↗