Some complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is effective, according to a 15-month inquiry in the UK, but governments should pay for rigorous research so that the beneficial and useless approaches can be separated.
As much as 拢1.8 billion is spent each year on CAM in the UK alone, but the inquiry report notes that pharmaceutical companies have been reluctant to invest in testing, because they cannot patent products that are already available.
The report鈥檚 authors, the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee, conclude that the government should kick-start CAM research with 鈥渃entres of excellence鈥�. Large-scale investment by the US National Institutes of 午夜福利1000集合 has improved American CAM research 鈥渙ut of all recognition鈥�, says the committee chairman Lord Walton.
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While there was good evidence that acupuncture and herbal medicine were effective, the report dismissed crystal therapy and iridology as lacking any credible evidence. More controversially, traditional Chinese medicine was also judged to have no merit.
Any therapy seeking official approval must show it is better than a placebo, Walton says. But proving exactly how a CAM product works may not be necessary.
鈥淓vidence of safety and efficacy is paramount. If these exist, it is not always necessary to explain the mechanisms of action,鈥� he says.
The beneficial treatments should be regulated by law and available on the National 午夜福利1000集合 Service, says the report. It criticises the NHS for failing to provide effective advice on alternative therapies. In France and Germany in particular, doctors routinely prescribe CAM remedies.
鈥淏ritish Doctors and nurses should at least be made familiar with CAM practices in undergraduate training,鈥� says Walton. 鈥淭here is a clear need for more effective guidance for the public about what does and does not work.鈥�
Representatives of the UK鈥檚 40,000 CAM practitioners largely welcomed the report鈥檚 conclusions. But many doubted the practicality of one of the key recommendations 鈥� that single regulatory organisations for each therapy should be established.
鈥淭he report seems very sensible,鈥� says Wendy Miller of the British Holistic Medical Association. 鈥淏ut getting over the difficulty of uniting the big complementary medicine associations will be crucial.鈥�
At present, only osteopathy and chiropractic are regulated by British law. Anyone can practise alternative medicine in the UK, provided they have the consent of their patient. Anyone seeking an alternative therapy should do so through their GP, says the report.
CAM therapies often have fewer side effects and fewer apparent risks. But Lord Robert Winston of Hammersmith Hospital, London warned that 鈥減eople might feel better with CAM therapy, when there is an underlying disease that is not being treated.鈥�
A patient consulting only a CAM practitioner might miss out on effective treatments for life-threatening illnesses, the committee concluded.
The UK government is set to reply to the report within two months.
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