Anthroposophic medicine

BACKGROUND: Integrative medicine is used frequently alongside chemotherapy treatment in pediatric oncology, but little is known about the influence on toxicity. This German, multi-center, open-label, randomized controlled trial assessed the effects of complementary treatments on toxicity related to intensive-phase chemotherapy treatment in children aged 1-18 with the primary outcome of the toxicity sum score. Secondary outcomes were chemotherapy-related toxicity, overall and event-free survival after 5 years in study patients...

BACKGROUND: Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is one of the most frequent and prevalent symptoms expressed by cancer patients and cancer survivors. It is a multifactorial phenomenon that causes a direct detrimental impact on quality of life. OBJECTIVES: This systematic review aims to identify different clinical evaluation scales and interventions available for fatigue associated with cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A methodology of the systematic literature review was carried out...

BACKGROUND: A majority of oncological patients apply add-on white-berry European mistletoe (Viscum album L., VA) extracts to reduce disease- and treatment-related symptoms and to improve health-related quality of life (HRQL). VA extracts exert various antitumor, pro-apoptotic, anti-proliferative, and immunomodulatory effects. Two current meta-analyses attribute life-prolonging and HRQL-improving properties to additive VA therapy. The aim of the present update was to review the current knowledge on VA extracts in clinical oncology...

Introduction: This article examines the feedback of health care providers within the implementation of an integrative care project in a clinic for pediatric oncology in São Paulo, Brazil. Since 2017, the project has implemented external anthroposophic therapies in the activities of daily nursing. The objective is to evaluate how the project evolved and what impact it had on the daily operation of the hospital. A special focus emphasizes the perspective of study nurses. Materials and Methods: Twelve qualitative semistructured interviews were conducted...

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease characterized by hyperproliferation of keratinocytes and a pro-inflammatory milieu in the skin. While patients with moderate to severe psoriasis are treated using targeted therapies (small molecules and monoclonal antibodies), patients suffering from milder forms are still in need of effective topical products without adverse effects. Antimony compounds (ACs) are regularly used as anti-inflammatory compounds in traditional and anthroposophic medicine and as antiprotozoan drugs...

Alternative lifestyles are likely to be associated with distinct usage of specific medicinal products. Our goal was to find out whether the intake of antibiotics during pregnancy and by children differs according to whether the mothers have alternative or conventional lifestyles. Therefore, we investigated the use of antibiotics by pregnant women and by children up to 11 years of age participating in the KOALA Birth Cohort Study. This cohort comprises two recruitment groups of mother-infant pairs, one with alternative lifestyles (selected via organic food shops, anthroposophic clinicians and midwives, anthroposophic under-five clinics, Rudolf Steiner schools and relevant magazines, n = 491) the other with conventional lifestyles (no selection based on lifestyle, n = 2343)...

BACKGROUND: Anthroposophic medicinal products (AMPs) are widely used in Europe and world-wide. OBJECTIVE: To determine the frequency of reported adverse drug reactions (ADRs) from all AMPs on the market, in absolute numbers and relative to the maximum daily administration doses (MDADs). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Retrolective safety analysis of AMP-related ADRs in pharmacovigilance databases of four AMP Marketing Authorisation Holders in Germany...

Mistletoe (Viscum album L.) is used in German-speaking European countries in the field of integrative oncology linking conventional and complementary medicine therapies to improve quality of life. Various companies sell extracts, fermented or not, for injection by subcutaneous or intra-tumoral route with a regulatory status of anthroposophic medicinal products (European Medicinal Agency (EMA) assessment status). These companies as well as anthroposophical physicians argue that complex matrices composed of many molecules in mixture are necessary for activity and that the host tree of the mistletoe parasitic plant is the main determining factor for this matrix composition...

INTRODUCTION: Bryophyllum pinnatum is widely used in folk medicine. It has neuropharmacological, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, antidiabetic, hepatoprotective, and nephroprotective effects, among others. It also acts on uterine contractility. It is prescribed by practitioners of anthroposophic medicine for preterm labor, insomnia, and emotional disorders, and has other potential uses in obstetrics. As all drugs currently used in preterm labor have side effects, new tocolytic agents remain an area of active research...

BACKGROUND: Lung cancer is the oncological disease with the highest mortality worldwide. Health-related quality of life is severely compromised in the majority of patients. While the efficacy of early palliative psychosocial therapy has been demonstrated in several recent studies, appropriate therapy modules could so far not be integrated into daily practice of care. Therefore, an additive multimodal treatment concept for oncological centers was drafted: the Additive anthroposophic integrative medicine Cancer Concept of Early supportive or Palliative lung cancer Treatment (ACCEPT®)...

BACKGROUND: Acute bronchitis is one of the most common pediatric diseases. In addition to conventional therapies, a frequent use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has been stated. Anthroposophic medicine (AM) is one of the most practiced complementary and integrative medicine (CIM) approaches in Central Europe but hitherto no consensus-based clinical recommendations or guidelines are available. Therefore, a consensus-based recommendation leading to an informed and reasonable use of AM in the treatment of acute bronchitis in pediatrics was developed...

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this systematic review was to evaluate practice-based, real-world research of individualized complementary and integrative health (CIH) therapies for pain as provided in CIH outpatient clinics. METHODS: A systematic review was conducted using PubMed, Ovid, Cochrane, Web of Science, Scopus and Embase through Dec 2020. The study was listed in the PROSPERO database (CRD42020159193). Major categories of variables extracted included study details and demographics; interventions; and outcomes...

BACKGROUND: Integrative medicine focuses on the human being as a whole-on the body, mind, and spirit-to achieve optimal health and healing. As a synthesis of conventional and complementary treatment options, integrative medicine combines the pathological with the salutogenetic approach of therapy. The aim is to create a holistic system of medicine for the individual. So far, little is known about its role in plastic surgery. HYPOTHESIS: We hypothesize that integrative medicine based on a conventional therapy with additional anthroposophic therapies is very potent and beneficial for plastic surgery patients...

INTRODUCTION: Pregnancy is a physiological event that can lead to a decrease in quality of life. Symptoms within this period lack riskless treatment options. However, the anthroposophical integrative view points out the stimulation of vital energy recuperation as a possible inducer of changes in health perception for pregnant women. OBJECTIVE: The aim was to observe the health-related quality of life variation in women during pregnancy and puerperium. The evaluation was based on the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form (SF-36)...

BACKGROUND: Physicians who include complementary medicine in their practice are thought to have an understanding of health and disease different from that of colleagues practicing conventional medicine. The aim of this study was to identify and compare the thoughts and concepts concerning infectious childhood diseases (measles, mumps, rubella, chickenpox, pertussis and scarlet fever) of physicians practicing homeopathic, anthroposophic and conventional medicine. METHODS: This qualitative study used semistructured interviews...

BACKGROUND: Botanical ingredients based on plants, algae, fungi or lichens have become widely available on the European Union market offering numerous preparations with considerable differences in classification. They are under the categories of food supplements, herbal medicinal products, cosmetics or medical devices. PURPOSE: The aim of the present work is to highlight how the European regulations concerning the different categories of botanicals can lead to different commercial choices such as time/cost for product development, application for a marketing authorisation, permitted indication (medical or health claim), and as a consequence, the same botanical products are sold in European Union as herbal medicinal products, food supplements, cosmetics or medical devices...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

PURPOSE: Despite patients' widespread use and acceptance of complementary and integrative medicine (IM), few data are available regarding health-care professionals' current implementation of it in clinical routine. A national survey was conducted to assess gynecologists' attitudes to and implementation of complementary and integrative treatment approaches. METHODS: The Working Group on Integrative Medicine of the German Society of Gynecological Oncology conducted an online survey in collaboration with the German Society of Gynecology and Obstetrics (DGGG) in July 2019...

OBJECTIVES: To differentiate the effect of ginger and mustard as warming ingredients from the effect of calmness & attentiveness and thermal warmth in chest compress application. DESIGN & SETTING: In an exploratory, controlled, single-blinded study, we compared the effect of ginger and mustard in healthy adults. INTERVENTIONS: Participants received four different chest compress types over four weeks: simple dry, hot water, with ginger powder and with mustard flour...

BACKGROUND: Integrative Medicine (IM) combines conventional and complementary therapies. It aims to address biological, psychological, social, spiritual and environmental aspects of patients' health. During the past 20 years, the use and request of IM in children and adults has grown. Anthroposophic Medicine (AM) is an IM approach frequently used in children in Germany. From both public health and health economic perspectives, it is relevant to investigate whether there are differences in the resource utilization between integrative pediatric departments (IPD) and the entirety of all pediatric departments...