An Introduction to Alternative Medicine

Capacitive Hyperthermia as an Alternative to Brachytherapy in Treatment of Human Prostate Cancer Cell

Introduction: The aim of this study was the evaluation of induced DNA damages of human prostate cancer cells, DU-145, treated with a combination of radiofrequency capacitive hyperthermia (HT) and teletherapy (EBRT) compared to a combination of teletherapy with high dose rate brachytherapy (BR).   Materials and Methods: DU-145 cells were cultured as spheroids ...

The Challenge of Complementary and Alternative Medicine After Austerity: A Response to Recent Commentaries

Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) is frequently used in Portugal and it contributes to the improvement of people’s health. CAM and Western Medicine (WM) are taken as complements both in the diagnosis and the treatment stage. The Portuguese health system is able to generate certified CAM professionals but the provision of CAM care and services is not included in the national health sy...

Medicalization of Complementary and Alternative Medicine: a Historical-Critical Analysis

Medicalization, in the sense of expansion of medicine in different aspects of human life and ultimately the transformation of medicine into a tool of social control and domination, is a common interpenetration in the literature. This concept, since its inception in the mid-twentieth century, has been an exclusive critique of modern medicine, meaning that branch of medicine based on biomedical p...

Thinking about Complementary and Alternative Medicine? An Introduction for People with MS on How to Find and Evaluate Claims about Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Ultrasound-guided induced fetal death, an alternative method for induction of abortion in the bitch

This study was performed to achieve abortion in a short time and with minimum side effects in a bitch, as an alternative method for termination of unwanted pregnancy. The experimentation was performed on 10 privately owned crossbred pregnant bitches, in their late second trimester of pregnancy, having a variable number of fetuses (3 to 9). Fetal death was induced by transabdominal intracardiac ...

Futility in Complementary and Alternative Medicine: A Critical Review from an Ethical Perspective

Several definitions for medical futility has been proposed in the literature. Medical futility is defined as the condition in which an intervention, either for diagnosis, prevention, treatment, rehabilitation or other medical goals, has no benefit for the individual patient. This critical review aimed to increase the understanding of physicians and other healthcare providers on the issue of fut...