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Mind Medicine: What Proof?

Washington Post, USA
Mar. 21, 2006
January W. Payne, Washington Post Staff Writer
www.washingtonpost.com

ReligionNewsBlog.com • Thursday March 23, 2006

A research review published in 2002 in an Australian medical journal linked transcendental meditation (TM) to decreased hypertension. The authors concluded that the technique was promising for prevention and treatment of heart disease.

A similar review published last year in the Journal of Hypertension found insufficient evidence to conclude whether TM lowers blood pressure.

Inconsistent results like these leave people understandably baffled about the value of so-called mind-body treatments, a branch of alternative and complementary therapy that includes meditation, hypnosis, imagery and mindfulness-based stress reduction. Each of these techniques assumes that altering one’s mental state can affect bodily health. Enthusiastic testimonials and gripping media reports notwithstanding, the research record on mind-body medicine remains thin and inconclusive.

Still, these techniques are used, both with and without standard medical treatments, by millions of people seeking relief from conditions ranging from stress to heart disease. Many users report benefits; risks are low. The chart below examines the uses and research findings for several mind-body approaches. Scientific investigation continues.

How to Locate the (Few) Credible Web Sources on Mind-Body Medicine

Among the most credible Web resources for mind-body medicine are the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine ( http://nccam.nih.gov/ ) and the Mayo Clinic’s primer. Other high-quality sources of information include:

Meditation
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/meditation/HQ01070 , which explains how and why meditation can be useful, and http://nccam.nih.gov/health/meditation .

Imagery
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fitness/SM00001 , which includes tips for using this technique.

Hypnosis
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hypnosis/SA00084 ; choosing a therapist, more details. Also see http://nccam.nih.gov/ (search “hypnosis”) .

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction
http://dukehealth1.org/int_med/stress.asp ; Duke University’s Center for Integrative Medicine offers such information as a list of conditions this approach may be useful in treating. Mindfulness researcher and evangelist Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Center for Mindfulness at the University of Massachusetts Medical School has information, including research summaries, at http://www.umassmed.edu/cfm/ .

When seeking information on alternative therapies, you’re likely to encounter material of suspect quality. For a reality check, visit http://www.quackwatch.com/ , a site that applies scientific standards to alternative care.

PBS will air “The New Medicine,” a two-hour documentary on the latest uses and research into mind-body treatments, on March 29 at 9 p.m. Information: http://www.thenewmedicine.org/ .