background resources in PDF |
|
some CAM/IM publication links |
|
|
Valentine's: Columbia Studies of Black Cohosh, Whole Foods for Women Need $$ for Datat |
|
|
|
Written by John Weeks
|
Valentine's Appeal: Columbia Studies of Black Cohosh, Whole Foods for Women's Health Seek $$ for Data Analysis
Summary: Picture these. A top notch study on the value of a whole foods diet for women, looking at bone health, heart disease and breast cancer. A second NIH-funded study on black cohosh in limiting hot flashes. Now imagine that the treasured outcomes of this research are sitting, figuratively, at the bottom of the sea, unavailable to us. I learned recently that this is the case with two projects run by Fredi Kronenberg, PhD, founder of the Rosenthal Center for Complementary Medicine at Columbia University. I decided as a Valentine's appeal to use the Integrator as part of Kronenberg's work to cast a web to find the donors who will help us extract the value from this work ...
 Black cohosh, from NCCAM.gov
Last month, the Integrator featured work of the American Botanical Council (ABC) to
bring balance to the media accounts of a highly publicized, negative trial of
black cohosh to limit hot flashes in menopausal women. The dozen previous trials of black cohosh had all shown positive. I learned that a separate trial, also NIH-funded, was near completion at the Rosenthal Center for Complementary Medicine at Columbia University with Fredi Kronenberg, PhD, as principal investigator. I knew that Kronenberg has served for years as a trustee of ABC, and had co-founded the main botanical course in conventional academic medicine. I was intrigued by the results that she would be publishing.
A few weeks later, I got a call from Kronenberg. The news was, well, not good. Not about black cohosh's efficacy. Rather, about her trial. Make that two trials - one on black cohosh and the second an examination of the potential value to women of whole foods nutrition for their hearts, and protecting against bone loss and breast cancer. In both, Kronenberg's team have captured the data but they are sitting, figuratively, in a treasure chest at the bottom of the sea.
Kronenberg, who has floated that Center without institutional support for the last dozen years based on research and external grants, was unable to secure additional NIH funding to complete the work in either trial. Now she's working full-time trying to locate just the right part of the philanthropic universe: individuals who have the ability to lay down a good chunk of the $250,000 per study Kronenberg needs to keep her Columbia research team together and finish the work.
 Fredi Kronenberg, PhD, Columbia Rosenthal Center director and researcher
There are many funding needs out there. Each Integrator reader probably has one or more projects for which capital would be useful, thank you. (More than a few of you know that I am always scratching about to create support for the Academic Consortium for Complementary and Alternative Health Care and for the Integrator.) So I am not sure what got into me with this. Perhaps it is long-time respect for ABC's work, and Kronenberg's early leadership in botanical education. Perhaps it was mystification over the continuing pattern of NIH-funded studies suggesting botanicals are without worth after many others have shown a botanical to be beneficial. Maybe what is influencing me to publish this appeal is the content of the two studies combined with the proximity to Valentine's Day.
At any rate, here are two documents from Kronenberg. Maybe one or more of you are, or know, just the right people who will want to make sure treasure is brought up from the bottom of the data sea and made available to help with the health of some worthy Valentines among us. Kronenberg can be reached at (212) 342-0111.
__________________________
A Funding Appeal to Benefit Women’s Health
THE CHALLENGE:
Women should have the right to choose healthy
treatments based on good science.
There are insufficient funds with which to complete two studies of importance to women; thus, the
studies are at risk of having to close before the data are analyzed and
published. The studies have been funded
to date by the National Institutes of Health but now, due to reductions in
Federal funding for research, are one step short of completion.
WHAT is NEEDED:
Information on the safety and efficacy of non-hormonal approaches
to menopause-related health problems.
-
Research data on alternatives to hormone therapy
for menopausal women seeking treatment for hot flashes, maintenance of heart
and bone health
- Research data on ways to optimize overall health
and wellbeing for women during menopausal years.
THE QUESTIONS:
Two clinical studies
of great importance to women have been completed and the data are ready to be
analyzed. The studies involve menopausal
women and the quest for healthy alternatives to hormone therapy. They examine the:
- Effect of the herbal remedy, black cohosh, for treating
hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms
- Effect of eating more whole foods (beans, grains,
fruit, vegetables) on maintenance of heart and bone health and risk for breast
cancer
AT RISK:
The opportunity to
determine the safety and efficacy of an herbal treatment for hot flashes, and the
effect of healthy diets on the cardiovascular and skeletal health of women as
they age and provide critical
information valuable to the healthcare decision-making of women
THE OPPORTUNITY:
To raise
awareness about healthy alternatives to hormone therapy by funding the
completion of two studies vital to improving the women’s health.
HOW YOU CAN HELP:
$250,000 is needed to
complete each project. All contributions
are tax-deductible and appropriate recognition will be provided to funders who
sponsor the completion of these critical studies. To discuss your potential support, or for more interest on the studies, please
contact: Dr. Fredi Kronenberg, Columbia University College
of Physicians & Surgeons (212-342-0111).
__________________________
Black Cohosh and Whole Foods
Nutrition for Menopausal Health: Questions About Hormone Therapy and a Search for Alternative ApproachesHormone replacement therapy has long been the medical gold standard for
maintenance of health of menopausal women. It was thought to prevent heart
disease, maintain skeletal health and mental functioning, and to relieve hot
flashes and other symptoms that disrupt daily life.
This view changed with the results and termination of the
government-funded Women’s Health Initiative study. The study was halted when
predetermined safety endpoints defined unacceptable risk with long term use
of estrogen and progesterone. The
risks included increased cardiovascular events, stroke, venous thromboembolism,
cognitive decline, and breast cancer. Thus, purported health benefits of
hormone therapy have either been disproved, modified or are now discounted by
women who fear increased health risks associated with taking hormones.
Six years ago, with funding from the National Institutes of Health, the
Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine Research in Aging and Women’s
Health was established. The Center’s
goal has been to research important questions about how herbs and diet might
influence hormonal function and the health of women as they age, focusing on
hot flashes and other symptoms associated with menopause, cardiovascular and
bone health, and breast cancer. We
designed studies to address these issues, which have assumed even greater
importance in recent years.
Many women, more reluctant than ever to take estrogen therapy, are
turning to “natural” alternatives to treat their hot flashes, and looking to
food and other lifestyle changes for healthier bones and heart. The market is flooded with herbal
preparations and other dietary supplements for menopausal women. This includes
many forms of black cohosh, an herb native to the U.S., and soy foods and other beans
and grains that are touted for their estrogenic properties. It is of critical importance for women to
have a range of choices that are both effective and safe in addressing the
various problems that arise in the menopausal years.
As of yet, clinical studies are too few for definitive conclusions. Our research addresses these questions and
will provide information about the value of black cohosh and whole foods diets
as alternatives to estrogen therapy with respect to the treatment of menopausal
symptoms such as hot flashes - and including related concerns such as cognitive
function, bone and heart health.
Our goal is to increase knowledge about more natural approaches to
healthy aging, so that women and their doctors will be able to make better
informed choices. The information to be
gained is important for public health and will contribute to improving the
wellbeing of women.
|
|
|