'U,' studies examine alternative medicine

With the soothing chants of monks in the background, Elena Gillespie runs her hands over her patients' still bodies.

Like practitioners of the ancient Indian practice of Reiki thousands of years earlier, Gillespie attempts to alter her patients' energy fields to ease pain and treat disease.

For many years, the medical establishment dismissed Reiki and other forms of alternative medicine. But now, the field, which has enjoyed a recent resurgence, is gaining more acceptance with patients and doctors.

Yesterday, the American Medical Association held an alternative medicine conference in Washington, D.C. Researchers presented results from five studies to be published in today's issue of AMA's journal.

One of the reports found that four out of 10 Americans use alternative medicine therapies, spending an estimated $27 billion in 1997.

JESSICA JOHNSON/Daily Elena Gillespie attempts to tap into a patient's energy field yesterday in her Ypsilanti home, using an ancient alternative medicine method called Reiki, to treat the body.

Among the most popular alternative medicine methods were herbal remedies, massage, megavitamins, energy healing and homeopathy.

The renewed interest in alternative medicine has not escaped the attention of the University Health System.

Last month, after submitting a comprehensive 250-page proposal, the system received a $6.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to study various alternative medicine therapies.

The newly created Complementary and Alternative Medicine Research Center will serve as a resource for those interested in learning more about the ancient remedies and will also examine the effectiveness of such energy healing, such as Reiki and a Chinese practice called Qi Gong.

The center also will research whether the herb Hawthorne helps treat heart failure and whether religious or spiritual beliefs assist in patient recovery after surgery.

Skepticism of alternative medicine methods abounds, but cardiac surgery Prof. Steven Bolling, co-director of the center, said he's keeping an open mind about the therapies.

"I'm not a believer, not a disbeliever or a nonbeliever," Bolling said. "The question is - do these techniques help? Yes or no."

Gillespie, a co-investigator in the study on the effectiveness of Reiki energy healing helping diabetic patients, said the idea of using her specialty to treat diabetic neuropathy, a condition in which nerves in a patient's legs are damaged, came to her about a year ago.

Working as a research assistant in endocrinology, Gillespie said she wondered whether the Reiki she practiced on the side could help the diabetic patients with whom she worked.

"Reiki is based on the idea that the body has an energy field," Gillespie said. "In case of chronic pain, it can be extremely effective where drugs are not."

While Gillespie's experience is anecdotal, the center will establish scientifically whether Reiki is medicine or humbug.

But the studies presented in the nation's capital yesterday show some alternative medicine therapies do work.

One of the studies found that burning certain herbs during a woman's pregnancy increased the odds that the baby would born in the correct head-first position.

Another study determined that a Chinese herbal medicine improved the symptoms of patients afflicted with irritable bowel syndrome. Both treatments have been used in China for hundreds of years.

Other studies suggested that two popular alternative medicine therapies were not effective.

One report found that a widely available herbal medicine did not produce weight loss as claimed. The researchers tested 14 over-the-counter products containing Garcinia cambogia and concluded they did not lead to weight loss.

Another study showed spinal manipulation - a specialized form of back massage - did not help ease frequent headaches resulting from tension.

Patients are increasingly switching to alternative medicine therapies to treat chronic ailments unaffected by standard medical practices, said family medicine research fellow Sara Warber, co-director of the center.

"We've had all these great technological advances but people have found that medicine can't solve all their problems," Warber said. "So they're turning to methods that have been around for thousands of years."

11-11-98