Newswise — As people search for kinder, gentler aspects of medicine, the number of Americans using some form of alternative medicine continues to climb. Yet, only a small handful of medical schools have endowed professorships devoted to sorting out whether treatments, substances and healing approaches not generally taught in medical schools or used in hospitals are safe and effective, either alone or integrated into standard medical practice.
The University of Michigan Medical School is installing Steven F. Bolling, M.D., as the first Gayle Halperin Kahn Professor of Integrative Medicine, thanks to a generous $2 million endowment gift from Mark Kahn in memory of his wife, Gayle.
Kahn's gift will help Bolling, who is a U-M professor in the Division of Cardiac Surgery, to focus on research designed to close the scientific gap between medicine as it is practiced in Western countries, and what is commonly referred to as complementary and alternative medicine.
Definitive research can then be used to help advance the field of integrative medicine, which combines conventional and complementary approaches to treat the whole person " body, mind and spirit. In treating the whole person, integrative medicine emphasizes the therapeutic relationship and makes use of all appropriate therapies, both conventional and alternative.
"By sorting out what works from what doesn't, there may well be a fusion or integration of medical approaches that changes how doctors deliver care in the next 50 years or so," says Bolling. "It's up to the physician and scientist to apply clinical and basic research techniques to alternative medicine in the same way we study and refine current medical practice."
Bolling points out that 60 percent to 70 percent of Americans already practice some form of alternative medicine, although not a lot is known about what works, or even what could be harmful.
Meditation is practiced in many cultures as a way to achieve mental, spiritual and physical well-being. Scientifically, meditation has been proven in numerous studies to be an effective means of treating hypertension. In addition, a study published earlier this year in the American Heart Association Journal, Stroke, showed that using meditation as a means of stress reduction by itself or in conjunction with medication can reduce arteriosclerosis without changes in diet and exercise.
Research has also uncovered alternative therapies that don't work. For example, gugulipid, a substance from the mukul myrrh tree, has been touted as a treatment to lower cholesterol. However, recent research has proven that gugulipid is ineffective in controlling cholesterol. Another substance " laetrile, which is a term used to describe a purified form of the chemical amygdalin, found in many plants " has been used for over a century as a cancer treatment. A small trial revealed that it actually hastens death.
"Mr. Kahn's generous gift will provide support for both basic and clinical research already taking place at the Medical School, and this will lead to additional funding from the National Institutes of Health," Bolling says. "We are committed to studying and evaluating alternative, complementary and holistic healing techniques in order to improve and enhance patient care, and create better education for medical students on integrative practices."
Bolling directs the U-M Program for Integrative Medicine and the U-M Complementary and Alternative Medicine Research Center. Because he is a cardiac surgeon, people often show surprise when Bolling mentions his research interests in integrative medicine. He explains by discussing his ongoing involvement with Project Hope. Each year Bolling travels to a country such as India, Malaysia or China to volunteer his surgical skills.
"It was a slow process for me, but through my observations in countries whose medical systems are thousands of years old, I've come to value integrative medicine. By applying science to these varied traditions, we can help make sure people get therapies that work," Bolling concludes.
The Regents of the University of Michigan approved the installation of Bolling as the first Gayle Halperin Kahn Professor of Integrative Medicine during their September meeting. A ceremony installing Bolling to the named professorship takes place Monday, September 29, 2003.
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