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In Alternative Medicine and Ethics, leading bioethicists and philosophers examine and debate the question of how the health care system should deal with using complimentary and alternative medicines. The distinguished authorities writing here both defend and criticize alternative medicine, with some arguing that the medical system should change substantially in order to accommodate alternative medicine, and others claiming that virtually all alternative treatments are worthless. In the heat of the debate many fundamental issues are raised concerning our health care system, among them the questions of therapeutic effectiveness, media truthfulness, the patient's freedom to choose among treatment options, health insurance coverage, the ability of the current healthcare delivery system to meet patients' needs, and government approval of alternative medicines. The issues raised in Alternative Medicine and Ethics pose numerous challenges to the healthcare delivery system that presently dominates in the United States and Canada. The points made here will help bioethicists, medical professionals, managers, and public policy experts to better understand the fundamental nature of our health care system and better meet patients' needs

Native American traditional medicine is alive & vibrant in many North American societies, although not all. These traditions coexist with other forms of healing, & the particular patterns of existence, interaction, & meaning vary among groups. The literature examining these issues is likewise diverse. This article explores, through a selective review of the recent literature, how social & behavioral scientists, among others, are focusing their investigations of traditional & alternative medicine in Native American communities of the United States & Canada today. Issues include how native practices have persisted & changed, how they are being used (e.g., in framing cultural identity), & how they interact with other systems, especially biomedicine & faith healing. 75 References. [Copyright 2002 Sage Publications, Inc.]

Discusses issues of CAM and society, including its relationship to biomedicine, in the US and other countries, with examples from India, China, Russia, Africa, Guatemala, and native North America; prospects; 13 articles. Contents: Why not call modern medicine "alternative"? by Don G. Bates; Policy, the public, and priorities in alternative medicine research, by Wayne B. Jonas; The emerging socioeconomic and political support for alternative medicine in the United States, by Michael S. Goldstein; Paying for alternative medicine: the role of health insurers, by Robert Tillman; The raw and the organic: politics of therapeutic cancer diets in the United States, by David J. Hess; Asian medicine in America: the Ayurvedic case, by Sita Reddy; Unani Tibb: history, theory, and contemporary practice in South Asia, by Helen E. Sheehan and S.J. Hussain; Remodeling the arsenal of Chinese medicine: shared pasts, alternative futures, by Volker Scheid; "Curing and crippling": biomedical and alternative healing in post-Soviet Russia, by Julie V. Brown and Nina L. Rusinova; Traditional medicine in Africa, by Nancy Romero-Daza; Staying healthy: evangelism and health perception differences by gender in a Guatemalan marketplace, by Michael B. Whiteford; Native American traditional and alternative medicine, by Susan L. Johnston; Moving lines and variable criteria: differences/connections between allopathic and alternative medicine, by Fred M. Frohock.

Η χρήση εναλλακτικών θεραπειών στις υδατοκαλλιέργειες και γενικότερα στα παραγωγικά ζώα έχει γίνει στις ημέρες μας επιτακτική για σημαντικούς λόγους. Τα κοινά κτηνιατρικά φάρμακα, που μέχρι σήμερα χορηγούνταν ευρέως σε ζώα παραγωγής ,έχουν πλέον υποβληθεί σε αυστηρότατους ελέγχους και νομοθετικούς περιορισμούς. Ακόμη, η αλόγιστη χρήση τέτοιων φαρμάκων οδήγησε στη δημιουργία ανθεκτικών βακτηριακών στελεχών, με αποτέλεσμα τη μη ικανοποιητική καταπολέμηση τους μεκοινές μέχρι τώρα θεραπείες. Η χρήση βοτάνων, δηλαδή φυτικών οργανισμών με θεραπευτικές ιδιότητες, αποτελεί μια εναλλακτική θεραπεία που έχει τις ρίζες της εδώ και αιώνες στον πολιτισμό πολλών αρχέγονων λαών. Η εφαρμογή, όμως, στα ψάρια τέτοιου είδους θεραπείας έχει γίνει τα τελευταία χρόνια σε περιορισμένη κλίμακα. Παρόλα αυτά, τα αποτελέσματα κρίνονται ως ικανοποιητικά και ενθαρρυντικά για περαιτέρω πειραματισμούς. Τα προβιοτικά, ζωντανά μικροβιακά συμπληρώματα διατροφής, αποτελούν μια καινοτομία στις εναλλακτικές θεραπείες. Η χρήση τέτοιων ουσιών, που άρχισε τον περασμένο αιώνα, φαίνεται να είνα ιαποτελεσματική στη θεραπεία διάφορων παθολογικών καταστάσεων και στα ψάρια. Τέλος, στις εναλλακτικές θεραπείες εντάσσεται και η χρήση άλατος. Συγκεκριμένα, η διακύμανση της αλατότητας του νερού αποδεικνύεται αποτελεσματική για την καταπολέμηση κυρίως των εξωπαρασίτων των ψαριών. ; The use of alternative treatments in the aquaculture and more generally in production animals has become in our days imperative for important reasons. The common veterinary medicines, that until now were used widely in production animals, have been submitted in strictest controls and legislative restrictions. Furthermore, the overuse of such medicines has led to the creation of resistant bacterial shains, which had as a result the reduction of efficacy of treatments. The use of herbs, i.e. plant organisms with therapeutic attributes, constitutes an alternative treatment, that originates in the culture of many native populations. Their application, however, in fish has appeared only in few the last years and in a limited scale. Nevertheless, the results are satisfactory and encouraging for further experimentations. The probiotics, live microbial supplements of diet, constitute an innovation in the alternative treatments. The use of such substances, since the beginning of the last century, appears to be beneficial in the treatment of various pathological situations and has been applied also in fish. Finally, salt is also included in alternative treatments. The fluctuation of water salinity results in an effective treatment of mainly ectoparasites of fish.

Gain a better understanding of the complex issues that will decide the future of health care!This is the first book of its kind in the rapidly growing field of complementary and alternative medicine. It addresses quality-of-care concerns and also focuses on the goals of many practitioners: to secure a firm place for their practice in health care systems and to establish levels of integration. Professionalism and Ethics in Complementary and Alternative Medicine is a unique textbook, but is also an essential resource for practitioners of complementary, alternative, and conventional medicine as w

The popularity and practice of alternative medicine continues to expand at astonishing rates. In Healing Traditions, Bonnie Blair O'Connor considers the conflicts that arise between the values and assumptions of Western, scientific medicine and those of unconventional health systems. Providing in-depth examples of the importance and benefits of alternative health practices-including the extraordinarily extensive and sophisticated HIV/AIDS alternative therapies movement-O'Connor identifies ways to integrate alternative strategies with orthodox medical treatments in order to ensure the best possible care for patients.In spite of the long-standing prediction that, as science and medicine progressed-and education became more generally available-unconventional systems would die out, they have persisted with undiminished vitality. They have, in fact, experienced a reinvigoration and expansion during the last fifteen to twenty years. In the United States, this renewal is fueled by people representing a wide cross-section of American society, and most of them also use conventional medicine. This eclecticism can result in conflicts between the values and assumptions of Western, scientific medicine and those of unconventional health systems.O'Connor demonstrates the importance of understanding how various belief systems interact and how this interaction affects health care. She argues that through neutral observation and thorough description of health belief systems it is possible to gain an understanding of those systems, to identify likely points of conflict among systems-especially conflicts that may occur in conventional care settings-and to intervene in ways that ensure the best possible care for patients

The political & social dynamics around unconventional or complementary & alternative medical practices has shifted from marginalization to a struggle for control of definitions & priorities. These practices have arisen because of public rather than professional or scientific interest. Conventional medicine has made significant gains in health care for acute disease, translating basic science into diagnostic & therapeutic value, & improving public health. These gains have been accompanied by high costs, depersonalization, & side effects. Complementary medicine has aligned with public preferences for more natural, lower-cost, & more holistic health care practices. Attempts to integrate the concepts & practices of complementary & alternative medicine into biomedicine present significant challenges for determining how language, funding, & standards of evidence are established. The author outlines some of the issues that arise in the struggle to integrate these practices into biomedicine & suggests some criteria for establishing priorities when funding research in complementary & alternative medicine. 2 Tables, 1 Figure, 18 References. [Copyright 2002 Sage Publications, Inc.]