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In the United States today, over 37 million people (12 percent of the population) are not covered by any form of health insurance. Consequently, these individuals are unlikely to seek medical care until their health deteriorates significantly. Due to their inability to pay for needed medical services, they are more likely to generate bad debts or require charity, and they are more likely to die from complications arising from limited access to health care. The majority of the uninsured are poor and working-class people who are not covered by Medicaid (only about 40 percent of the population with incomes below the federal poverty level are covered by this program). The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) has presented a prototype plan for restructuring the health insurance system which would, according to its analysis, significantly improve access to health care for low- and middle-income families, while sharing the economic burden more or less equally between the private and public sectors. The fundamental changes required by the AAFP plan would be a requirement that all employers (with more than a predetermined minimum number of employees) provide health coverage for their full-time employees, and Medicaid would be expanded to allow full coverage for individuals and families with incomes up to 100 percent of the federal poverty level. Persons with incomes between 100 and 200 percent of the poverty level would be given a buy-in opportunity with a sliding subsidy based on income. The cost of implementing this program is estimated to be $18.3 billion (exclusive of administrative costs). It would cover approximately 83 percent (26.7 million) of the adults and children who are currently without medical insurance. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

The Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure recommends lifestyle modification for all patients with hypertension or prehypertension. Modifications include reducing dietary sodium to less than 2.4 g per day; increasing exercise to at least 30 minutes per day, four days per week; limiting alcohol consumption to two drinks or less per day for men and one drink or less per day for women; following the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension eating plan (high in fruits, vegetables, potassium, calcium, and magnesium; low in fat and salt); and achieving a weight loss goal of 10 lb (4.5 kg) or more. Alternative treatments such as vitamin C, coenzyme Q10, magnesium, and omega-3 fatty acids have been suggested for managing hypertension, but evidence for their effectiveness is lacking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Addresses issues related to the management of acute migraine headaches. Evaluation of migraine headaches; Goals of migraine treatment; Types of nonspecific treatments for migraine headaches.

As commonly defined, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is a broad category that includes biologically based practices, mind-body medicine, manipulative and bodybased practices, and energy medicine as well as complete medical systems such as naturopathy, homeopathy, Ayurvedic medicine, and traditional Chinese medicine. Several CAM methodologies show promise for the treatment of chronic conditions such as depression and pain disorders or have demonstrated effects upon the immune response in experimental studies. There is growing interest in the use of integrative medicine——the combination of CAM methodologies with a conventional medical approach——for the optimization of treatment of various cancers. The Ohio State University Center for Integrative Medicine has developed a specialized nutrigenomic protocol for integrative cancer care. The center uses a comprehensive nutritional and medical evaluation, including a panel of proinflammatory molecules and physiologic parameters, to guide a program of individualized dietary interventions. Dietary supplementation is a current focus of study, including: (1) Omega-3 fatty acids and B vitamins, which are thought to play important roles in immunomodulation; (2) Magnesium oxide, which has been shown to decrease inflammation and improve insulin resistance and lipid profiles; and (3) Cinnamon extract, which reportedly decreases serum glucose levels. This article presents a brief overview of CAM and integrative medicine and a discussion of the relevant nutraceuticals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]