- Email: [email protected]
Ten years of complementary medicine at Exeter University
Phytomedicine 10: 686–687, 2003 © Urban & Fischer Verlag http://www.urbanfischer.de/journals/phytomed
Phytomedicine
SHORT COMMUNICATION
Ten years of complementary medicine at Exeter University M. H. Pittler Complementary Medicine, Peninsula Medical School, Universities of Exeter and Plymouth, UK
Complementary Medicine at the Peninsula Medical School, Universities of Exeter and Plymouth celebrates its tenth anniversary. In 1993, thanks to a generous endowment by the Sir Maurice Laing Foundation the Department was founded as the first chair in complementary medicine worldwide. This was at a time when physicians and researchers began to realize the extent of its use and the sheer size of public demand (Eisenberg et al. 1993). Today, it is recognized as one of a number of ‘centers of excellence’ investigating the effectiveness and safety of complementary therapies (Hentschel, 2002). The Department at Exeter is now one of the most successful academic institution in terms of Medline-indexed publications (Hentschel, 2002). Indeed, an analysis of its published work indicates that between 1994 and 2002 it published 797 articles in indexed medical journals with an average impact factor increasing from 0.9 to 2.0 respectively (a full list is available on request). This suggests that highly rated medical journals increasingly recognized the importance and demand for studies on complementary medicine. The breadth of subjects covered by the work of the Department reflects the diversity of complementary medicine and apart from clinical trials and systematic reviews on herbal medicine, acupuncture and homeopathy also included studies on distant healing, aromatherapy, reflexology as well as the controversial areas of publication bias and patient consultations via the internet. From its beginnings the Exeter group believed in the concept of evidence-based medicine. Thus, the rigor of orthodox methodology and statistical analysis and the use of the randomized controlled trial, systematic review and meta-analysis was championed when testing the effectiveness and safety of complementary therapies (Sackett, 1993). Interestingly, the birth of the De-
partment and the development of its strategy coincided with the launch of the Cochrane Collaboration in October 1993 (Sackett, 1994). Therefore it can also be seen as a product of its time, and it is not surprising that the Complementary Medicine Group of the Cochrane Collaboration used the definition of complementary medicine developed by the Department as its working basis (Ernst et al. 1995). In addition, the active cooperation with a number of other Groups has resulted in a series of Cochrane reviews. The concept of scientific inquiry and rigorous methodology has not always made friends along the way (Ernst, 2001). The Department, however, can look back on ten years of high quality clinically relevant research and education, which is respected by its peers. Its review journal Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies – FACT, provides reports and comments on recent publications from a large number of distinguished editorial board members (www.ex.ac.uk/FACT). Both mainstream and complementary medicine journals have been favorable of it prompting, for instance, JAMA to comment that ‘…it brings together a broad range of relevant information in one journal, saving the busy practitioner both time and money’. In addition, the Desktop Guide to Complementary and Alternative Medicine has attracted more than 30 book reviews describing it as ‘diligent’, ‘a landmark’ and ‘a must’ – and its accompanying CD as a ‘good bit of kit.’ Finally, there is the Annual Symposium on Complementary Health Care, which is now the longest-running regular scientific meeting in complementary medicine. The mix of keynote lectures, clinical updates, workshops, short scientific papers and poster presentations seems highly attractive and draws researchers, physicians, practitioners and students each year from as far 0944-7113/03/10/08-686 $ 15.00/0
Ten years of complementary medicine of Exeter University as the US, Japan, Australia and South Africa. For the tenth Anniversary Symposium, which will take place at the Royal College of Physicians in London, UK on 21st–22nd November 2003 the organizers invite abstract submissions (www.ex.ac/FACT/sympo). This year’s first ‘Varro Tyler Memorial Lecture’, sponsored by Dr Willmar Schwabe Arzneimittel, Germany for an outstanding expert within herbal medicine has been awarded to Professor Dr H Wagner, Munich.
687
Ernst E (2001) Reply to paper by Morley et al. J Altern Comp Med 7: 79–82 Hentschel C (2002) Profiling ‘centres of excellence’ in CAM research. Comp Ther Med 10: 46–48 Sackett DL (1993) Rules of evidence and clinical recommendations for the management of patients. Can J Cardiol 9: 487–489 Sackett DL (1994) Cochrane Collaboration. BMJ 309: 1514–1515
References Eisenberg DM, Kessler RC, Foster C, Norlock FE, Calkins DR, Delbanco TL (1993) Unconventional medicine in the United States. Prevalence, costs, and patterns of use. N Engl J Med 328: 246–252 Ernst E, Resch KL, Mills S, Hill R, Mitchell A, Willoughby M et al. (1995) Complementary medicine – a definition. Br J Gen Pract 45: 506
Address M. H. Pittler, M.D., Complementary Medicine, Peninsula Medical School, Universities of Exeter and Plymouth, 25 Victoria Park Road, Exeter, EX2 4NT, UK Tel.: ++44-1392-424989; e-mail: [email protected]
Phytomedicine
SHORT COMMUNICATION
Ten years of complementary medicine at Exeter University M. H. Pittler Complementary Medicine, Peninsula Medical School, Universities of Exeter and Plymouth, UK
Complementary Medicine at the Peninsula Medical School, Universities of Exeter and Plymouth celebrates its tenth anniversary. In 1993, thanks to a generous endowment by the Sir Maurice Laing Foundation the Department was founded as the first chair in complementary medicine worldwide. This was at a time when physicians and researchers began to realize the extent of its use and the sheer size of public demand (Eisenberg et al. 1993). Today, it is recognized as one of a number of ‘centers of excellence’ investigating the effectiveness and safety of complementary therapies (Hentschel, 2002). The Department at Exeter is now one of the most successful academic institution in terms of Medline-indexed publications (Hentschel, 2002). Indeed, an analysis of its published work indicates that between 1994 and 2002 it published 797 articles in indexed medical journals with an average impact factor increasing from 0.9 to 2.0 respectively (a full list is available on request). This suggests that highly rated medical journals increasingly recognized the importance and demand for studies on complementary medicine. The breadth of subjects covered by the work of the Department reflects the diversity of complementary medicine and apart from clinical trials and systematic reviews on herbal medicine, acupuncture and homeopathy also included studies on distant healing, aromatherapy, reflexology as well as the controversial areas of publication bias and patient consultations via the internet. From its beginnings the Exeter group believed in the concept of evidence-based medicine. Thus, the rigor of orthodox methodology and statistical analysis and the use of the randomized controlled trial, systematic review and meta-analysis was championed when testing the effectiveness and safety of complementary therapies (Sackett, 1993). Interestingly, the birth of the De-
partment and the development of its strategy coincided with the launch of the Cochrane Collaboration in October 1993 (Sackett, 1994). Therefore it can also be seen as a product of its time, and it is not surprising that the Complementary Medicine Group of the Cochrane Collaboration used the definition of complementary medicine developed by the Department as its working basis (Ernst et al. 1995). In addition, the active cooperation with a number of other Groups has resulted in a series of Cochrane reviews. The concept of scientific inquiry and rigorous methodology has not always made friends along the way (Ernst, 2001). The Department, however, can look back on ten years of high quality clinically relevant research and education, which is respected by its peers. Its review journal Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies – FACT, provides reports and comments on recent publications from a large number of distinguished editorial board members (www.ex.ac.uk/FACT). Both mainstream and complementary medicine journals have been favorable of it prompting, for instance, JAMA to comment that ‘…it brings together a broad range of relevant information in one journal, saving the busy practitioner both time and money’. In addition, the Desktop Guide to Complementary and Alternative Medicine has attracted more than 30 book reviews describing it as ‘diligent’, ‘a landmark’ and ‘a must’ – and its accompanying CD as a ‘good bit of kit.’ Finally, there is the Annual Symposium on Complementary Health Care, which is now the longest-running regular scientific meeting in complementary medicine. The mix of keynote lectures, clinical updates, workshops, short scientific papers and poster presentations seems highly attractive and draws researchers, physicians, practitioners and students each year from as far 0944-7113/03/10/08-686 $ 15.00/0
Ten years of complementary medicine of Exeter University as the US, Japan, Australia and South Africa. For the tenth Anniversary Symposium, which will take place at the Royal College of Physicians in London, UK on 21st–22nd November 2003 the organizers invite abstract submissions (www.ex.ac/FACT/sympo). This year’s first ‘Varro Tyler Memorial Lecture’, sponsored by Dr Willmar Schwabe Arzneimittel, Germany for an outstanding expert within herbal medicine has been awarded to Professor Dr H Wagner, Munich.
687
Ernst E (2001) Reply to paper by Morley et al. J Altern Comp Med 7: 79–82 Hentschel C (2002) Profiling ‘centres of excellence’ in CAM research. Comp Ther Med 10: 46–48 Sackett DL (1993) Rules of evidence and clinical recommendations for the management of patients. Can J Cardiol 9: 487–489 Sackett DL (1994) Cochrane Collaboration. BMJ 309: 1514–1515
References Eisenberg DM, Kessler RC, Foster C, Norlock FE, Calkins DR, Delbanco TL (1993) Unconventional medicine in the United States. Prevalence, costs, and patterns of use. N Engl J Med 328: 246–252 Ernst E, Resch KL, Mills S, Hill R, Mitchell A, Willoughby M et al. (1995) Complementary medicine – a definition. Br J Gen Pract 45: 506
Address M. H. Pittler, M.D., Complementary Medicine, Peninsula Medical School, Universities of Exeter and Plymouth, 25 Victoria Park Road, Exeter, EX2 4NT, UK Tel.: ++44-1392-424989; e-mail: [email protected]