Objectives: This study sought to assess the use of clinical detoxification therapies used by licensed naturopathic doctors (NDs) in the United States.
Design: This was a qualitative, descriptive, online survey of a convenience sample of NDs.
Methods: An online survey was conducted of NDs who were licensed in the United States. Responses were analyzed descriptively regarding the use of clinical detoxification therapies. Respondents were recruited from a membership list provided by the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians, and from alumni e-mail lists of Council of Naturopathic Medical Education accredited naturopathic medical schools.
Results: Surveys were sent out to 1442 e-mail addresses (261 were returned to sender); a total of 196 respondents completed the survey (16.6%). Ninety-two percent (92%) of respondents reported using clinical detoxification therapies. Over 75% of respondents utilized detoxification therapies primarily to treat patients for environmental exposures, general cleansing/preventive medicine, gastrointestinal disorders, and autoimmune disease. Regarding methods used, >75% reported using dietary measures, reducing environmental exposures, and using botanicals as detoxification therapies. Eighty-three percent (83%) of NDs surveyed reported using follow-up measurements to determine efficacy of detoxification therapies. The most common were patient symptom questionnaires (66%), patient medical histories (54%), and urinary provocative challenge testing (53%).
Conclusions: The majority of NDs responding to this survey reported routine use of clinical detoxification therapies to treat a range of medical conditions utilizing multiple therapeutic approaches. Although the majority of NDs reported using some follow-up measurements after detoxification therapy, few of these are an objective means to determine treatment efficacy. Further research is needed in the field of complementary and alternative medicine clinical detoxification to determine the safety and efficacy of these approaches.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3239317 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/acm.2010.0572 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
A Rapid and Reliable Absorbance Assay to Identify Drug-Drug Interactions with Thiopurine Drugs.
Metabolites
December 2024
Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
Background: Thiopurine methyltransferase (TPMT) plays a crucial role in the detoxification of thiopurine drugs, including the antimetabolites azathioprine and 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP) used to treat autoimmune diseases and various cancers. These drugs interfere with DNA synthesis by inhibiting the production of purine-containing nucleotides, leading to the death of rapidly dividing cells. TPMT inactivates thiopurine drugs by methylating at the thiol group.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTHE EFFECT OF INTRANASAL ADMINISTRATION OF BIOLOGICALLY ACTIVE SUBSTANCES OF AMINO ACID AND PEPTIDE NATURE ON THE MONOAMINE SYSTEMS OF THE BRAIN.
Georgian Med News
October 2024
Institute of Translational Biomedicine, Saint Petersburg State University, 199034 Saint Petersburg, Russia.
Introduction: The annual growth of psychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases requires new therapeutic strategies for delivering active pharmaceutical molecules to the brain. Non-invasive intranasal drug delivery is a promising method that allows bypassing of the blood-brain barrier and the liver de-toxification system.
Results: The review discusses the main results of experimental studies of the effect of intranasal substances of amino acid and peptide nature on the monoamine systems of the brain.
Gut microbiota trigger host liver immune responses that affect drug-metabolising enzymes.
Front Immunol
December 2024
Department of Pharmacy, Shenzhen Longhua District Central Hospital, Shenzhen, China.
There is increasing evidence that the intestinal microbiota plays an integral role in disease pathogenesis and treatment. Specifically, the intestinal microbiota significantly influences the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of orally administered drugs through direct involvement in drug metabolism and, consequently, drug bioavailability. However, the gut microbiota also exerts immunoregulatory effects on the liver-the organ primarily responsible for drug metabolism-thereby indirectly impacting the body's capacity to metabolise and process drugs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLiver assistive devices in acute liver failure: Current use and future directions.
Best Pract Res Clin Gastroenterol
December 2024
Department of Critical Care Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada; Division of Gastroenterology (Liver Unit), University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada. Electronic address:
Article Synopsis
- * The only certain treatment for ALF is liver transplantation (LT); however, some patients, especially those with acetaminophen-related liver failure, might recover with medical support instead of needing LT.
- * Extracorporeal liver support (ECLS) is a growing area of interest in treating ALF, aiming to help the liver by removing toxins and promoting regeneration, with two main types: artificial ECLS (like dialysis methods) and bioartificial ECLS (which uses live hepat
A GSH-responsive oxidative stress nanoamplifier for self-augmented chemo/chemodynamic therapy to reverse cisplatin resistance.
Acta Biomater
December 2024
School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510006, PR China. Electronic address:
Drug resistance and off-target toxicity of cisplatin (CDDP) pose significant challenges in effectively treating non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Recently, chemodynamic therapy (CDT), an emerging reactive oxygen species (ROS)-mediated tumor-specific therapeutic modality, has shown great potential in sensitizing multidrug resistance tumor cells. Herein, a glutathione (GSH)-responsive Pt(IV) prodrug-based oxidative stress nanoamplifier (CuBSO@Pt) was developed for effective chemo/chemodynamic therapy to reverse CDDP resistance in NSCLC.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!