Research Briefs
Herbal Supplements Largely Untested in Kids
As the primary users of herbal remedies, more women are giving botanical medicines
to their children for various ailments. But science has come up short on evidence
that these popular herbal remedies actually work for kids. Recognizing the need
for more solid information, researchers at the University of Illinois decided
to sift through 40 years of medical literature to determine what clinical proof
exists for using alternative remedies such as cranberry, chamomile, valerian,
echinacea, garlic and evening primrose oil.
Their findings, which appear in the March issue of the Journal of Pediatrics,
suggest that while some herbal remedies look promising for children, the jury
is still out on many others. In fact, they excluded looking at chamomile, feverfew,
ginger and gingko for lack of scientific research on their effectiveness. And
among those herbal remedies they did include, there wasn’t enough evidence
to recommend the use of cranberry juice or supplements for urinary tract infections,
garlic for cardiovascular problems, or echinacea for colds.
“Part of the reason for writing the review was to show that there are
botanical products on the market that appear to be more active for conditions
that are not well-controlled by prescription drugs. These are botanicals we
should be actively investigating,” said study co-author Gail B. Mahady,
a researcher at the Center for Botanical Dietary Supplements Research, located
at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
There were herbal remedies that showed promise for treatment in children. “Evening
primrose oil appears to be safe and relatively effective for the treatment of
atopic dermatitis,” Mahady said. “Valerian may be effective for
sleep disorders, and I think that some of the data for ADD (attention-deficit
disorder) in children was at least promising.”
Some studies also suggest that ivy leaf might help asthma and bronchitis symptoms
in children. And one study showed that Andrographis paniculata, a Chinese and
Ayurvedic remedy, reduced cold frequency by 70 percent in children taking it
for at least two months.
“I think these findings will be very helpful for pediatricians who generally
don’t have enough information, and a big reason why is that it’s
not available,” says Dr. Kathi J. Kemper, chairwoman for Holistic and
Integrative Medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.
One point Mahady stressed is that parents shouldn’t base decisions about
giving their children an herb because it works for you. “Children are
not small adults, so it cannot be presumed that what works for adults will also
work for children,” she says.
Unfortunately, many physicians aren’t well-versed enough in botanical
medicine to confidently advise patients, said Kemper. She conducted a survey
of 750 pediatric specialists, and found less than 5 percent were knowledgeable
about complementary and alternative therapies. This latest study points to the
need for more scientific research on herbal supplement use in children, Kemper
added. “We have to realize that children aren’t small adults or
big rats, so it’s a good idea to sort out these things, and to fund more
of these studies,” she said.
MIT Study Confirms Melatonin’s Value as Sleep Aid
A new study by MIT scientists and colleagues confirms that melatonin is an effective
sleep aid for older insomniacs and others. Misuse of the hormone had led some
to question its efficacy, but the latest work could jump-start interest in the
dietary supplement and help more people get a good night’s sleep.
In earlier research, scientists led by Professor Richard Wurtman, principal investigator
for the current study, showed that only a small dose of melatonin (about 0.3 milligrams)
is necessary for a restful effect. Taken in that quantity, it not only helps people
fall asleep, but also makes it easier for them to return to sleep after waking
up during the night—a problem for many older adults.
The researchers also found, however, that commercially available melatonin pills
contain 10 times the effective amount. And at that dose, “after a few days
it stops working,” said Wurtman, director of MIT’s Clinical Research
Center and the Cecil H. Green Distinguished Professor. When the melatonin receptors
in the brain are exposed to too much of the hormone, they become unresponsive.
As a result of these inadvertent overdoses, “many people don’t think
melatonin works at all,” said Wurtman, who is also affiliated with the Department
of Brain and Cognitive Sciences. This belief, coupled with potentially serious
side effects related to high doses such as hypothermia, has earned the hormone
a bad reputation in some quarters, “and something that could be very useful
to a lot of people isn’t,” said Wurtman.
University of Maryland School of Medicine Study Shows Laughter Helps Blood
Vessels Function Better
Using laughter-provoking movies to gauge the effect of emotions on cardiovascular
health, researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore
have shown for the first time that laughter is linked to healthy function of blood
vessels. Laughter appears to cause the tissue that forms the inner lining of blood
vessels, the endothelium, to dilate or expand in order to increase blood flow.
When the same group of study volunteers was shown a movie that produced mental
stress, their blood vessel lining developed a potentially unhealthy response called
vasoconstriction, reducing blood flow. That finding confirms previous studies,
which suggested there was a link between mental stress and the narrowing of blood
vessels.
The endothelium has a powerful effect on blood vessel tone and regulates blood
flow, adjusts coagulation and blood thickening, and secretes chemicals and other
substances in response to wounds, infections and irritations. It also plays an
important role in the development of cardiovascular disease.
“The magnitude of change we saw in the endothelium is similar to the benefit
we might see with aerobic activity, but without the aches, pains and muscle tension
associated with exercise,” says Dr. Miller. “We don’t recommend
that you laugh and not exercise, but we do recommend that you try to laugh on
a regular basis. Thirty minutes of exercise three times a week, and 15 minutes
of laughter on a daily basis, is probably good for the vascular system.”
Dr. Miller says this study was not able to determine the source of laughter’s
benefit. “Does it come from the movement of the diaphragm muscles as you
chuckle or guffaw, or does it come from a chemical release triggered by laughter,
such as endorphins?” he asks. Dr. Miller says a compound called nitric oxide
is known to play a role in the dilation of the endothelium.
Experienced Meditators Exhibit Higher Brain Waves
A University of Wisconsin research team has found that long-term meditators show
markedly different patterns of brain waves compared to a group with no previous
meditative experience.
The researchers say the findings suggest that mental training of the sort involved
in meditation relies on mechanisms in the brain called neural synchrony involved
in the global coordination of brain activity and could induce both short-term
and long-term changes in the brain.
The study focused on a comparison of brain-scillation patterns, reflecting neural
synchrony, between a group of eight long-term Buddhist practitioners of traditional
Tibetan meditation and a group of 10 healthy student volunteers who had no experience
in meditation, who were taught meditation before the experiment.
The subjects in the study were asked to meditate several times, alternating with
a resting state. The type of meditation each group pursued involve the voluntary
generation of compassion and kindness.
Three key findings emerged from the study. First, the two groups had significantly
different baseline brain wave patterns in the resting state before the meditation
began. Compared to the control group, the Buddhist monks had a higher ratio of
“gamma-band” rhythms to slower oscillatory rhythms. This suggests
that long-term meditation practice changes the baseline state of the brain.
Second, the difference between the two groups increased sharply during meditation
and remained higher than the baseline after meditation.
Third, following each period of meditation in the post-meditation baseline state,
the practitioners continued to display high-amplitude gamma synchrony compared
with the control group.
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