EU to fund complementary medicine research

Called CAMbrella, the plan is to create a network of European research institutes that will focus on patients’ needs, the role of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in healthcare systems, legal regulation, research methodology and terminology.

Professor George Lewith, who heads the CAM research unit at Southampton University, is one of the project’s co-ordinators and a Foundation Fellow. He said:

'More than 100 million people in Europe and the UK are regular users of Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

'Yet compared with conventional medicine, there is a lack of research, very little funding and not enough scientific co-operation.

'That cannot be good for patients’ safety.'

Lead co-ordinator Dr. Wolfgang Weidenhammer, Centre of Naturheilkunde, Technische Universität, Munich, Germany, said:

”We will develop a comprehensive understanding of the current status of CAM in Europe, which will serve as a starting point for future healthcare delivery and research”.

The research group consists of 16 scientific partner organisations from 12 European countries. The UK is represented by Southampton University Medical School. The project is supported by an Advisory Board, which includes members of the relevant stakeholder organisations such as patient and practitioner organisations, providers and consumers.

ENDS

Notes to editors:

1.      For further information and interviews with Professor Lewith, please contact Pat Goodall, 01246 410707, 07789 871234 or pat.goodall@fih.org.uk  More detail is at  www.cambrella.eu

2.      The Prince’s Foundation for Integrated Health was founded by HRH The Prince of Wales in 1993. Its principal aim is to make sure that everyone can access good integrated healthcare. That means treating patients as whole human beings – paying attention to body, mind and spirit and understanding that what affects one affects all three. It may include access to proven complementary therapies, but the Foundation does not suggest that is necessarily the best course of action for all conditions and all patients. More information about the Foundation can be found at www.fih.org.uk

3.      Professor George Lewith DM FRCP is a medical doctor and Professor of Health Research at the University of Southampton Medical School, where he is Head of the Complementary and Integrated Medicine Research Unit. He has acted as a consultant in complementary medicine to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the USA Federal Drug Administration and the American National Institute of Health. He is one of the thirty three eminent medical scientists and clinicians who are Fellows of the Prince’s Foundation for Integrated Health.

4.      camBRELLA is a European Framework 7 co-operation project that will create an EU strategy for future research within Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) in Europe. The project will begin January 2010.