Forsch Komplementmed. 2009 Apr; 16(2): 111-6Münstedt K, Schroter C, Brüggmann D, Tinneberg HR, von Georgi RBACKGROUND: This nationwide study aimed to assess the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) methods in German departments of obstetrics. METHODS: All German departments of obstetrics were identified and were sent a questionnaire designed to assess which CAM methods, if any, they used during childbirth, how frequently, and why. SPSS software was used for statistical analyses (Spearman's bivariate correlation, cross-tabulation, and Pearson's chi-square test). RESULTS: The questionnaires were returned by 40.3% (381/946) of the identified departments. The most commonly used CAM therapy was acupuncture (available in 97.3% (366/376) of departments) followed by homeopathy (offered in 93.4%) and aromatherapy (available in 76.6%). Most decisions regarding CAM use were made by midwives; only decisions on acupuncture were taken by obstetricians and midwives. Reasons given for using CAM were patient demand and perceived efficacy of CAM, particularly by midwives. Obstetricians were only partly convinced of the efficacy of CAM methods and their conviction varied with the type of unit they worked in. CONCLUSIONS: CAM methods are widely used in German departments of obstetrics despite lacking evidence of effectiveness. Efficacy, side effects and consequences of CAM use should be assessed using the mandatory German quality assurance measures and birth surveys. CAM use elsewhere also merits further study.

Zhongguo Zhong Yao Za Zhi. 2009 Jan; 34(1): 14-7Wang X, Cui G, Gao W, Huang LThis paper introduced a new method of "ingredient difference phonetypical cloning" for functional gene clone of medicinal plants, which might solve the difficulties in isolating genes encoding enzymes for the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites by usual ways. Concepts, mechanisms and methods were systematically introduced and possibility was proved by experiments. The method showed the extra superiority of for the isolation of the genes belonged to unknown metabolic pathway and little information about its sequences. The method provides a new way to isolate functional gene cloning from Chinese herbs and a fundament for the further study on medicinal plant genetic engineering.

Homeopathy. 2008 Oct; 97(4): 206-13Teixeira MZ, Leal SM, Ceschin VMHomeopathy has been used for more than two hundred years to treat chronic disease using various approaches in a wide range of diseases. However, for acute disease and critical illness, application has been limited by inadequate training of homeopathic physicians and the small number of pertinent clinical studies. In view of the difficulty of practising homeopathy in Intensive Care Units (ICU), a protocol was developed to facilitate description of objective homeopathic symptoms with a ranking of symptoms appropriate for these situations (Protocol for Objective Homeopathic Semiology). Examples of favorable results with individualized homeopathic treatments for a series of cases of Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (sepsis) are described.

Homeopathy. 2008 Oct; 97(4): 190-5Valentim-Zabott M, Vargas L, Ribeiro RP, Piau R, Torres MB, Rönnau M, Souza JCThis study aimed to evaluate the effects of the homeopathic complex Homeopatila RS (REAL Homeopathy, Brazil), in the performance, sexual proportion and gills and liver histology of the Nile tilapia fish (Oreochromis niloticus L.). 4,800 post-larvae were treated for 45 days, in 12 tanks (500 L), in a closed environment, with density of 400 larvae per tank. Three treatments were given: alcohol 30%, negative control (C); hormonal, positive control, 17 alpha-methyltestosterone (H); homeopathic, Homeopatila RS, in ethanol (HH), with four replications. Mean values for length, weight, liver somatic index, condition factor, survival rate, average values of histological alterations and sexual proportion were determined. Analysis revealed significant differences (p