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Non-conventional medical practices that make use of dietary supplements, herbal extracts, physical manipulations, and other practices typically associated with folk and Traditional Medicine are increasingly becoming popular in Western Countries. These practices are commonly referred to by the generic, all-inclusive term “Complementary and Alternative Medicine.” Scientists, practitioners, and medical institutions bear the responsibility of testing and proving the effectiveness of these non-conventional medical practices in the interest of patients. In this context, the number of peer-reviewed journals and published articles on this topic has greatly increased in the recent decades. In this editorial article, we illustrate the policy of the Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine for publishing solid and scientifically sound papers in the field of Traditional and Complementary Medicine.

Introduction and purpose: Many people worldwide suffer from chronic pain. It is a very inconvenient condition on its own, not only an accompanying symptom of other diseases. Conventional drug treatment may be insufficient in some cases or may even cause serious side effects in the long term. In response to this, we aim to demonstrate the diversity of alternative pain management techniques in this review and identify conditions where such techniques may be beneficial to patients. State of knowledge: This paper evaluates some of the most common alternative pain management methods (acupuncture, massage, chiropractic, mind body therapies, herbal medicine, music therapy) and their application in specific cases of chronic pain. We also describe the possible mechanisms of action involved in the effectiveness of these techniques, based on contemporary studies. Summary: In conclusion, there are conditions where alternative medicine may be beneficial for patients suffering from chronic pain. The studies taken into account showed the best effects for chronic musculoskeletal pain treated with methods such as acupuncture and massage. Mind-body therapies may reduce stress levels and symptoms of depression associated with chronic pain, consequently improving the quality of patients' lives. However, alternative methods should not yet be considered as replacements for conventional drug therapy. More studies are needed to evaluate whether alternative therapies will play a significant role in chronic pain management in the future.

With only 5.1% of the population fully vaccinated against COVID-19, Tanzania has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the world and after two years of changing policies regarding the disease, the country struggles to get its vaccination campaign on the rails. In this study, we identify the determinants of COVID-19 vaccination willingness in two villages of the Mvomero district in Eastern Tanzania. Based on survey data, we performed univariate analyses to assess differences in vaccination intention for various social groups, and built a four-dimensional multivariate ordered logistic regression model that comprises respondents' personal and socioeconomic characteristics, the channels through which they get their information, their attitudes and perceptions towards COVID-19, and their social network embeddedness. Only 37.0% of the respondents indicated that they would be willing to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Vaccination willingness differed significantly according to gender, age, educational attainment and religion; with men, the elderly, people with post-secondary education and Catholics and Muslims more likely to accept a vaccine. Predictors of vaccination willingness were gender, age, social media and informal contacts as information sources, perceived effectiveness of the vaccine and of alternative medicine, fear of side effects, a general dislike of vaccines, and the proportion of vaccinated people and the highest value of trust in international organisations in one’s network. Although people’s attitudes and perceptions have the largest share of the explanatory value, our model shows that all four of our model’s building blocks were imperative in explaining vaccination willingness. Therefore, our paper presents a compelling case for the inclusion of respondents' social embeddedness as a common dimension for exploratory models of vaccination willingness.

In this paper, the author compares phenomena of political populism and alternative medicine on the ground of – similar in structure and content – narrations (and identities created on their basis) of propagators and followers of these ideas/ social praxis. The main thesis of the paper is the assumption that the narrative and identity mechanisms of alternative medicine are analogous to those of political populism. The author tries to prove it in the context of their relation to their counterparts in the mainstream of power/knowledge, with the assumption that these are dialectical relations understood in a specific manner. The oppositions of populism–liberal democracy and alternative medicine–conventional medicine are real, but in the broader sense, they complement and need each other to preserve the cores of the system, which implicates ineffectiveness of those alternative discourses. This article presents examples of anti-elitism and conspiratorial thinking both in political populism and in alternative medicine. It turns out that populism and unconventional medicine are so closely connected that alternative medicine, in its attitudes, refers not only to medical statements, but also to political ones.

Background: Acupuncture is a spreading and promising intervention, which has proven to be very useful in the treatment and prevention of chronic pain, in particular chronic headaches, in adults; the literature about the treatment of pediatric chronic headaches is scarce. In addition, few guidelines advise its use in children. The aim of this review is to collect all relevant studies with available data about the use, effect, and tolerability of acupuncture as a treatment for pediatric primary headaches. Methods: This is a narrative review based on eight studies selected from 135 papers including pediatric cases treated with acupuncture for headache. Results: Despite the differences in tools, procedures, and application sites, acupuncture demonstrated a positive effect on both the frequency and intensity of headaches and was well tolerated. There are no studies considering the long-term efficacy of acupuncture. Conclusion: Further additional studies are needed on acupuncture in children and adolescents, with larger series and standardized procedures, in order to better assess efficacy, tolerability, and long-term prognosis and to define guidelines for the use of this promising and safe treatment. It is particularly relevant to identify safe and well-tolerated treatment options in pediatric patients affected by recurrent and debilitating headaches.

Background: The current chemotherapy agents against various forms of leishmaniasis have some problems and side effects, including high toxicity, high cost, and the emergence of resistant strains. Here, we aimed to review the preclinical studies (in vitro and in vivo) on the anti-leishmanial activity of chitosan and chitosan-based particles against Leishmania spp. Methods: This study was conducted based on the 06-PRISMA guidelines and registered in the CAMARADES-NC3Rs Preclinical Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Facility (SyRF) database. Various English databases such as PubMed, Google Scholar, Web of Science, EBSCO, ScienceDirect, and Scopus were used to find the publications related to the anti-leishmanial effects of chitosan and its derivatives and other pharmaceutical formulations, without a date limitation, to find all the published articles. The keywords included “chitosan”, “chitosan nanoparticles”, “anti-leishmanial”, “Leishmania”, “leishmaniasis”, “cutaneous leishmaniasis”, “visceral leishmaniasis”, “in vitro”, and “in vivo”. The language for data collection were limited to English. Results: Of 2669 papers, 25 papers, including 7 in vitro (28.0%), 7 in vivo (28.0%), and 11 in vitro/in vivo (44.0%) studies conducted up to 2020 met the inclusion criteria for discussion in this systematic review. The most common species of Leishmania used in these studies were L. major (12, 48.0%), L. donovani (7, 28.0%), and L. amazonensis (4, 16.80%). In vivo, the most used animals were BALB/c mice (11, 61.1%) followed by hamsters (6, 33.3%) and Wistar rats (1, 5.5%), respectively. In vitro, the most used Leishmania form was amastigote (8, 44.4%), followed by promastigote (4, 22.2%), and both forms promastigote/amastigote (6, 33.3%). Conclusion: According to the literature, different types of drugs based on chitosan and their derivatives demonstrated considerable in vitro and in vivo anti-leishmanial activity against various Leishmania spp. Based on the findings of this review study, chitosan and its derivatives could be considered as an alternative and complementary source of valuable components against leishmaniasis with a high safety index. Nevertheless, more investigations are required to elaborate on this result, mainly in clinical settings.

Background: Bioresonance therapy is a holistic physical method used in the treatment of various diseases. Aim of the study: The aim of the present paper was to evaluate the effect of bioresonance therapy in patients with recurrent major depressive disorder and with mild or moderate depressive episodes, respectively, without any other pharmacological, psychological, or other type of treatment. Methods: We selected 40 patients diagnosed with recurrent depressive disorder and bioresonance therapy as the only treatment. Assessment of the level of depression was achieved by measuring the biorhythm with the bioresonance device and by applying the Hamilton Depression Inventory questionnaire, with 17 items, at the beginning and the end of five weeks of treatment. Results: We identified a statistically significant decrease in depression levels as quantified by the HAM-D 17 scale, between the initial and final phase of therapy (p = 0.0001). Conclusions: Our results suggest that bioresonance therapy can decrease the level of depression in patients with recurrent depressive disorder, with mild and moderate depressive episodes.

In medicine, it is well known that healthy individuals have different physical and mental characteristics. Ancient Indian medicine, Ayurveda and the Persian-Arabic traditional Unani medicine has two distinct approaches for the classification of human subjects according to their temperaments. The individual temperament is an important foundation for personalized medicine, which can help in the prevention and treatment of many diseases including COVID-19. This paper attempts to explore the relationship of the utmost important concepts of these systems called individual temperament named as Prakruti in Ayurveda and Mizaj in Unani practice using mathematical modelling. The results of mathematical modelling can be adopted expediently for the development of algorithms that can be applied in medical informatics. For this, a significant literature review has been carried out. Based on the previous researchers' reviews the essential parameters have been identified for making the relationship and hypothesis were framed. The mathematical modelling was adopted to propose the existence of the relationship between the parameters of such an ancient and rich medicine systems. The hypotheses are validated through the mathematic driven model. Doi: 10.28991/esj-2021-01258 Full Text: PDF

Pain is the predominant symptom of many clinical diseases and is frequently associated with neurological and musculoskeletal problems. Chronic pain is frequent in the elderly, causing suffering, disability, social isolation, and increased healthcare expenses. Chronic pain medication is often ineffective and has many side effects. Nonsteroidal over-the-counter and prescription drugs are frequently recommended as first-line therapies for pain control; however, long-term safety issues must not be neglected. Herbs and nutritional supplements may be a safer and more effective alternative to nonsteroidal pharmaceuticals for pain management, especially when used long-term. Recently, topical analgesic therapies have gained attention as an innovative approach due to their sufficient efficacy and comparatively fewer systemic side effects and drug–drug interactions. In this paper, we overview the main natural herbal pain relievers, their efficacy and safety, and their potential use as topical agents for pain control. Although herbal-derived medications are not appropriate for providing quick relief for acute pain problems, they could be used as potent alternative remedies in managing chronic persistent pain with minimal side effects.

Curcumin, a secondary metabolite from the turmeric plant is one of the most promising natural products, which has been studied extensively for decades. It has demonstrated several pharmacological activities in vitro and in vivo. Various studies have indicated that the pharmacological activity of curcumin is contributed by its metabolites.The aim of this review is to present an overview of metabolic products of curcumin produced upon its reduction like di, tetra, hexa and octa-hydrocurcumin. In addition, this paper has systematically analyzed the current information regarding medicinal use of reduced metabolites of curcumin and identified the limitations which have hindered its widespread usage in the medical world. Several diverse therapeutic effects have shown to be exhibited by reduced metabolites of curcumin such as antioxidant, anti-cancerous, anti-inflammatory and immunoregulatory activities. The potential underlying molecular mechanisms of the biological activities of reduced metabolites of curcumin have also been highlighted, which may provide insight into the principle of effectiveness of curcumin.

As complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) becomes more popular, it is being used in cancer patients to aid in recovery or to treat symptoms associated with the current chemotherapy. Numerous papers exist that discuss patients using CAM with cancer chemotherapy and their outcomes—both positive and negative. However, in the case of the negative outcomes, the reason for the dangers or interactions with drugs are not made clear. Indeed, many chemotherapy regimens are rendered less effective by the well-meaning but uninformed patient or their family members and friends. Similarly, reports of positive outcomes with CAM and chemotherapy provide a strong basis for further research, but do not identify specific mechanisms of action. These small clinical studies and in vitro studies identify a necessary area for further research and provide a much needed, although often rejected, alternative look at whole treatment plans. Careful review of the available information and evaluation of the nature of the CAM effects are necessary to combat the misunderstanding and sometimes unwarranted claims over CAM use. This mini review will explore some of the commonly used CAM agents and their mechanisms of interactions with other treatments. Suggestions as to which agents can be safe and when to use them will be an integral part of this review.

Objectives: Since time immemorial, plants have continued to play a predominant role in the maintenance of human health as sources of medicinal compounds. Several effective antifungal agents are available for oral Candida infections; the failure is not uncommon because isolates of Candida albicans may exhibit resistance to the drug during therapy. The present study aimed to identify an alternative, inexpensive, simple, and effective method of preventing and controlling the candidal infection. Methodology: All the procured and authenticated nutmeg seeds were dried in shade and cleaned by hand sorting. The crushed seeds were passed through mesh no. 40 individually. About 50 g of powdered nutmeg seeds was loaded in the supercritical fluid extractor unit using supercritical CO2 as extracting solvent in accordance with the methods of Nguyen et al. Supercritical fluid (SFE) extraction was done using CO2 gas without any cosolvents. Results: The nutmeg extract displayed antifungal activity with the effective zone of inhibition ranging from 18.0 to 12.0 mm when compared with nystatin as positive control. Conclusion: This paper described the in vitro antibacterial activity, and phytochemical analysis of SFE extract of nutmeg (Myristica fragrans) evaluated against C. albicans (American Type Culture Collection 10231) through agar well diffusion method. SFE of nutmeg seeds can be used as an adjunct to conventional therapy for oral candidiasis.

Thomas S MacKinnon,1 Norbert F Banhidy,1 Daniel R Tuite21School of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, 2Faculty of Medicine, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Brighton, UKWe read with great interest the article by Patel et al1 discussing the changing perspectives towards complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), and an impetus for additional physician knowledge of the strengths and drawbacks of CAM. These findings are indeed relevant in the UK, with an estimated 41.1% one-year prevalence of CAM use, responsible for an annual out-of-pocket expenditure of £1.6 billion.2 We agree that improved training and education in medical school and residencies – which can be thought of as a “bottom-up” approach – are fundamental in preparing the health care system for improved integration of CAM. However, we also suggest that “top-down” changes are required to optimize patient care.Authors' reply Sejal J Patel,1 Kathi J Kemper,2 Joseph P Kitzmiller31College of Public Health, The Ohio State University, 2Center for Integrative Health and Wellness, The Ohio State Wexner University Medical Center, 3Department of Biological Chemistry and Pharmacology, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USAWe agree the letter is worthy of publication but have a little to add: a top-down approach (as suggested and described by the authors of the letter) certainly complements the bottom-up approach (described in our article).1View the original paper by Patel et al.

Background: During the last decades, a huge body of evidence has been accumulated suggesting that Citrus fruits and their juices might have a role in preventing many diseases including cancer.Objective: To summarize the numerous evidences on the potential of Citrus juices and their extracts as anticancer agents.Data sources: A systematic review of articles written in English using MEDLINE (1946-present), EMBASE (1974-present) and Web of Sciences (1970-present) was performed independently by two reviewers. Search terms included Citrus, Citrus aurantifolia, Citrus sinensis, Citrus paradisi, Citrus fruits, Citrus fruits extract, cancer, neoplasm, neoplasia, tumor, metastasis, carcinogenesis, proliferation. The last search was performed on March 16th, 2017.Study selection: Study selection and systematic review were carried out in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. Prior to the beginning of the review, Authors defined a checklist for inclusion criteria, thus including articles which meet the following: (i) published on peer-reviewed scientific journals; (ii) Citrus juice used alone; (iii) extracts derived from Citrus juice; (iii) for preclinical studies, an exposure time to Citrus juices and their extracts more than 24 h. Reviews, meta-analyses, conference abstracts and book chapters were excluded.Data extraction: Three reviewers independently performed the extraction of articles.Data synthesis: 22 papers met our inclusion criteria and were eligible for inclusion in the final review. According to the kind of study, the selected ones were further divided in preclinical (n = 20) and observational (n = 2) studies.Conclusion: The studies discussed in this review strongly corroborate the role of Citrus juices and their derivatives as potential resource against cancer.

Migration is a global phenomenon involving hundreds of millions of people, with major social and economic impacts on migrants in their countries of origin and destination and on their communities. In the U.S., California is by far the most affected state by these population movements. The University of California Global Health Institute (UCGHI), Center of Expertise on Migration and Health (COEMH) is devoted to systematically studying the health consequences of global population movements and developing more effective strategies to address them. A key objective of the Center is to enhance educational opportunities related to migration and health. To do this, the Center implements graduate education, conducts research on immigrant and refugee communities, establishes distance education opportunities, and develops transnational collaborations. These activities provide a rich, real-world environment for training the next generation of leaders who will respond to emerging health issues related to migration. The Center’s annual Research Training Workshop is one such activity, resulting in rich discussions, cross-disciplinary interactions, and invaluable learning opportunities. This special issue on migration and health stems from the Research Training Workshop held on June 21-23, 2011, which was organized by COEMH. The workshop brought nineteen graduate students and postdoctoral fellows together in a multi-disciplinary setting to present their research and receive constructive feedback from University of California faculty members. Each paper presented in this special issue represents a unique issue related to migration and health.

The idea of religious practice being ‘post-secular’ raises questions concerning secularisation, sacralisation and the various meanings of the prefix ‘post’. This paper investigates a kind of practice that is ever increasing in late modern, Western societies and elsewhere; namely, the practice of alternative therapy and the conceptualisations and world-views pertaining to it. The focus is on the themes of suffering and death in relation to alternative spirituality and therapy. Some answers are given to the following questions: is alternative therapy a kind of post-secular religious practice? If so, what kinds of answers or consolations does alternative therapy offer in the face of suffering and death? How do possible ‘alternative theodicies’ relate to holism as a paradigmatic principle? To what extent does, for example, ‘reincarnationism’ seem to function as explanatory model regarding suffering, evil and death?