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[Alternative medicine].
Jesús H del Real Sánchez1, Miguel Rodríguez Pérez
1Departamento de Inmunología, Hospital de Especialidades, Centro Médico Nacional de Occidente, IMSS, México.
Revista Alergia Mexico (Tecamachalco, Puebla, Mexico : 1993)
|June 26, 2003
Summary
Alternative medicines lack scientific evidence and have not demonstrated benefits beyond the placebo effect. Rigorous studies show these practices are not useful and can have adverse side effects.
Area of Science:
- Integrative Medicine
- Evidence-Based Practice
Background:
- Alternative medicines are widely used but often overlooked by conventional physicians.
- There is a need to inform medical practitioners about the scientific basis of alternative medicine.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the scientific rationales and evidence from double-blind, placebo-controlled studies on alternative medicines.
- To assess the efficacy and safety of alternative medicine modalities.
Main Methods:
- Conducted a comprehensive review of scientific literature.
- Included studies from both conventional and alternative medicine journals and textbooks.
- Focused on controlled, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies.
Main Results:
- The scientific rationale for alternative medicine is not based on the scientific method.
- Few controlled studies with favorable results could not be reproduced.
- Alternative medicines showed no advantage over placebo and can have documented side effects.
Conclusions:
- Alternative medicine modalities lack demonstrated usefulness or advantage beyond the placebo effect.
- These practices are not free from undesirable side effects.
- There is no real application for these therapeutic practices based on current scientific evidence.