Alternative Medicine

A statin can be a lifesaver if you're at risk of heart disease, but some people who take the cholesterol-lowering drugs -- up to 20 percent, by some estimates -- have to stop because of muscle pain, the most common side effect. (Nearly 30 million people filled a statin prescription in 2005, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Statins include popular drugs such as Crestor, Lipitor, and Zocor.) Now a new study suggests that an over-the-counter dietary supplement sold at pharmacies and health-food stores may be a workable alternative for people who have statin-related muscle pain.

Dr. Andrew Weil wasn't sure exactly how he hurt his knee; all he knew was that it was painful. But instead of turning to cortisone shots or heavy doses of pain medication, Weil turned to the ancient Chinese medicine practice of acupuncture. "It worked -- my knee felt much better," says Weil. Americans spend billions of dollars each year on alternative medicine, everything from chiropractic care to hypnosis. Weil says alternative medicine can work wonders -- acupuncture, certain herbs, guided imagery.

A judge Tuesday ordered chemotherapy for the 13-year-old Minnesota boy with cancer whose mother had fled with him rather than comply with a doctor's recommendation that he undergo such treatment. Daniel Hauser can remain with his parents, but he will have to start the treatments Thursday at Children's Hospital in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and his parents will have to comply with the doctor's treatment schedule, said District Court Judge John Rodenberg, who is overseeing the case.

Nursing is supposed to be a calming, tranquil time for a newborn, but when Deb Kruse-Field put her son, Luke Field, to her breast, instead of cuddling up and eating, he arched his back and screamed. "We would both end up miserable," says Kruse-Field. "And he started eating less. " Kruse-Field tried everything she and her pediatrician could think of to help Luke. She cut out foods from her diet that could be irritating her son's stomach, such as dairy, soy and chocolate, and her doctor prescribed medicine for his acid reflux.

CNN Alternative medicine appears to be an alternative being tried by more patients.; One in three people claimed to have used nontraditional medicine at least once during the previous year, in a study published in 1993 by the New England Journal of Medicine. ;Now there are not only clinics and stores devoted to alternative medicine, but even that hallmark of conventional medicine a convention devoted to it. The Whole Life Expo recently featured the range of natural treatments.

By Susan Milstrey Wells ;WebMD Alternative medicine is big business. Consider these facts, from a survey published in the November 11, 1998, issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, analyzing data from 1997 ;Four out of 10 of us used some type of alternative medicine.;Total visits to alternativemedicine practitioners increased by almost 50 percent from 1990 and exceeded visits to all primarycare physicians.;We spent an estimated 21.2 billion on alternative health care, more than half of which was paid outofpocket.

Dr. Andrew Weil is arguably America's foremost practitioner of alternative medicine, or as he likes to call it, integrative medicine. Weil sat down at his Arizona home recently with CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta to discuss his opinion on aging and other benefits of alternative medicine. Here is an edited version of their discussion. SANJAY GUPTA: The premises of a lot of books are: Let's turn back aging. You don't embrace that? ANDREW WEIL: First of all, I think that's impossible.

Journal researchers reported that in 1997, four out of 10 Americans used alternative medicines, spending an estimated 21.2 billion. The survey included practices such as spiritual healing, massage, chiropractic care, homeopathy and acupuncture.; U.S. alternative medicine visits increased from an estimated 427 million in 1990 to 629 million in 1997, the survey found. By comparison, visits to all U.S. primary care physicians in 1997 totaled 386 million. ;The market for alternative medicine is vast and growing, said study author Dr. David Eisenberg of BethIsrael Deaconess in Boston.

The National Institutes of Health spends 160 million on alternative andcomplementary therapies, which is less than one percent of its total fundingdollars, according to Sen. Tom Harkin, DIowa, a member of the SenateAppropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education.;Its woefully inadequate, in terms of taking a look at the promisingtherapies that people are taking today, Harkin said.;About 42 percent of U.S. health care consumers used some form of alternative therapies in 1997, spending 27 billion, according to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, NCCAM a part of the National Institutes of Health NIH.;Experts are concerned that many popular alternative and complimentary therapies such as herbal treatments, acupuncture, and hypnosis have not been widely tested.

A 13-year-old Minnesota boy who has cancer has resumed chemotherapy treatments and is not responding well, a family spokesman said Friday. Danny Hauser started a second round of chemotherapy treatment this week, Jim Navarro said in a statement on the family's Web site, dannyhauser.com. "The doctor changed the number of chemotherapy drugs in the protocol submitted to the court. Danny is not tolerating the drugs well and has been vomiting all day. He is understandably angry and depressed about being forced to go through the ravages of chemotherapy again."

A judge Tuesday ordered chemotherapy for the 13-year-old Minnesota boy with cancer whose mother had fled with him rather than comply with a doctor's recommendation that he undergo such treatment. Daniel Hauser can remain with his parents, but he will have to start the treatments Thursday at Children's Hospital in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and his parents will have to comply with the doctor's treatment schedule, said District Court Judge John Rodenberg, who is overseeing the case.

Nursing is supposed to be a calming, tranquil time for a newborn, but when Deb Kruse-Field put her son, Luke Field, to her breast, instead of cuddling up and eating, he arched his back and screamed. "We would both end up miserable," says Kruse-Field. "And he started eating less. " Kruse-Field tried everything she and her pediatrician could think of to help Luke. She cut out foods from her diet that could be irritating her son's stomach, such as dairy, soy and chocolate, and her doctor prescribed medicine for his acid reflux.

Three-week-old Max Sprague had a hard tummy, severe gas, and explosive greenish poop -- despite the anti-gas drops his pediatrician had suggested. So his mom, Sara, of New York City, turned to an alternative remedy known as probiotics. She dabbed a probiotic powder -- called Baby's Jarro-Dophilus and designed for infants -- on her nipples before nursing. In 24 hours, the gas disappeared and Max's poop was a normal seedy, mustardlike consistency. Sprague's experience isn't unique.

Dr. Andrew Weil wasn't sure exactly how he hurt his knee; all he knew was that it was painful. But instead of turning to cortisone shots or heavy doses of pain medication, Weil turned to the ancient Chinese medicine practice of acupuncture. "It worked -- my knee felt much better," says Weil. Americans spend billions of dollars each year on alternative medicine, everything from chiropractic care to hypnosis. Weil says alternative medicine can work wonders -- acupuncture, certain herbs, guided imagery.

Dr. Andrew Weil is arguably America's foremost practitioner of alternative medicine, or as he likes to call it, integrative medicine. Weil sat down at his Arizona home with CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta to discuss his opinion on aging and other benefits of alternative medicine. Here is an edited version of their discussion. SANJAY GUPTA: The premises of a lot of books are: Let's turn back aging. You don't embrace that? ANDREW WEIL: First of all, I think that's impossible.

The Federal Trade Commission, with help from authorities in Mexico and Canada, has pulled the plug on a company that allegedly lured hundreds of cancer patients into bogus therapy. The FTC said the company, CSCT, based in British Columbia, falsely claimed that it could treat cancer with so-called "Zoetron Therapy," involving an electromagnetic device that purportedly uses a pulsed magnetic field to heat and kill cancer cells. The cost: $15,000 plus the cost of transportation to the company's clinic in Tijuana, Mexico.

Kickboxing, karate and tae kwon do often come to mind when thinking of martial arts. What about tai chi? According to "Alternative Medicine: The Definitive Guide," many hospitals in China use tai chi -- combined with conventional medicine -- as part of their health-care programs. With its growing popularity in the United States, the exercise program has shown promise in improving balance and flexibility among seniors. Tai chi has been found to reduce stress, increase circulation, and improve meditation and breathing.

From Frank Buckley Somers' cancer treatment worries some experts LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- When actress Suzanne Somers revealed Wednesday that she's using a homeopathic drug to treat her breast cancer, she acknowledged that it may not be for everyone. "I just want to say that this is what I'm doing for me. I'm not telling anybody else to do this," she told CNN's Larry King. But some breast cancer experts worry that other cancer patients will follow her example in cases where it might not be appropriate.