ad info




CNN.com
 MAIN PAGE
 WORLD
 U.S.
 LOCAL
 POLITICS
 WEATHER
 BUSINESS
 SPORTS
 TECHNOLOGY
 SPACE
* HEALTH
 AIDS
 Aging
 Alternative
 Cancer
 Children
 Diet & Fitness
 Men
 Women
 ENTERTAINMENT
 BOOKS
 TRAVEL
 FOOD
 ARTS & STYLE
 NATURE
 IN-DEPTH
 ANALYSIS
 myCNN

 Headline News brief
 news quiz
 daily almanac

  MULTIMEDIA:
 video
 video archive
 audio
 multimedia showcase
 more services

  E-MAIL:
Subscribe to one of our news e-mail lists.
Enter your address:
Or:
Get a free e-mail account

 DISCUSSION:
 message boards
 chat
 feedback

  CNN WEB SITES:
CNN Websites
 AsiaNow
 En Español
 Em Português
 Svenska
 Norge
 Danmark
 Italian

 FASTER ACCESS:
 europe
 japan

 TIME INC. SITES:
 CNN NETWORKS:
Networks image
 more networks
 transcripts

 SITE INFO:
 help
 contents
 search
 ad info
 jobs

 WEB SERVICES:

  health > alternative > story page AIDSAlternative MedicineCancerDiet & FitnessHeartMenSeniorsWomen

The new language of medicine: Part II

August 11, 1999
Web posted at: 10:12 AM EDT (1412 GMT)


In this story:

Prime examples

One haystack, many needles

A foggy brain, a book in the refrigerator

The promise of integrative medicine

RELATEDSicon



By William Collinge, M.P.H., Ph.D.

(WebMD) -- This is the second in a two-part series on integrative medicine, the combination of conventional and alternative therapies.

Mysterious diseases that neither seem to have a single cause nor a single cure are the most compelling forces behind the rise of integrative medicine. The diseases, called "complex chronic illnesses," have confounded doctors, who attempt to treat patients suffering from the conditions for which one form of medicine doesn't seem to be enough.

Complex chronic illnesses affect more than one system in the body. Because of this, patients recover most successfully with the use of an amalgam of therapies that involve both conventional and alternative approaches.

Prime examples

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and fibromyalgia are leading examples of complex chronic illnesses. Both conditions involve the immune, circulatory, digestive and nervous systems, which interact with each other in bewildering ways.

The immune systems of persons afflicted with CFS churn out abnormally high levels of the hormones normally responsible for stimulating immune cells into action. But high levels of these hormones can also create a deep sense of fatigue. Individuals with CFS can also have serious problems with memory and concentration ("brain fog"), sleep, pain and digestion.

Widespread bodily pain is the most characteristic symptom of fibromyalgia. While sufferers of the condition perceive the pain they experience as coming from their muscles, the muscles don't show any signs of disease. The pain occurs when the brain encounters disturbance while processing normal nerve impulses. Fibromyalgia sufferers can also experience CFS-like symptoms.

One haystack, many needles

A labyrinth of factors causes the two illnesses. While each factor by itself may not be sufficient to cause the illness, a multiplicity of factors can conspire to establish an insidious pattern of chronic symptoms that can be difficult to dislodge. With a sudden trauma or injury, extreme or chronic stress, environmental toxins, possibly certain germs and a person's genetic vulnerabilities, the factors all join together to wreak havoc, and a complex chronic illness results.

Because conventional medicine is based on diseases that have a single cause, mainstream physicians have, for the most part, failed to treat complex chronic illnesses. Individuals with CFS and fibromyalgia need more than a single drug, surgery or other high-tech solutions.

Complex chronic illnesses involve a "web of causality" with many factors that "are not linked to each other in a linear, predictable manner," explain researchers Pierre Philippe and Omaima Mansi of the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine at the University of Montreal.

A foggy brain, a book in the refrigerator

Abby, who didn't want her last name used, knows all about the result of interlaced factors. The 43-year-old psychotherapist received whiplash from an auto accident 11 years ago. For more than one year she suffered pain, which caused disturbed sleep and chronic stress, and it was during this time that she also became pregnant.

After giving birth, the Greenwich, Connecticut resident developed a series of bacterial infections. Her doctors put her on a heavy course of antibiotics, and one year later she developed a flu that never seemed to leave.

Abby was on a downward spiral, one that led her into a seven-year sojourn through CFS and fibromyalgia. At her worst she was barely able to get out of bed to go to the bathroom. Her brain fog was so severe that she once found a book in her refrigerator.

The promise of integrative medicine

With the help of a naturopath, Abby turned to herbal medicines and supplements and an organic, nonallergenic diet to support her digestive system. She practiced meditation and breathing exercises every day and received acupuncture regularly to stimulate her body's healing process.

To complement the alternative therapies, an understanding physician prescribed medications to treat depression, pain and sleep disturbance.

"I don't know what I would have done without those medicines, because they restored my sleep, when nothing natural would," Abby says. "Then my immune system had a chance to heal."

Today, while Abby occasionally suffers from mild symptoms during stressful times, she is able to jog three times a week, and she lives a full life with her husband and 10-year-old son. She continues to use herbs, supplements and a healthy diet.

Integrating the strengths of conventional and alternative therapies has been the key to Abby's healing and holds promise for countless others who face the challenges of complex chronic illness.

William Collinge, M.P.H., Ph.D., is a consultant for integrative health care and behavioral medicine. He has conducted research in behavioral medicine for cancer, AIDS and chronic fatigue syndrome. He is also the author of several books, including "The American Holistic Health Association Complete Guide to Alternative Medicine," "Recovering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Guide to Self-Empowerment" and "The Mind/Body Medicine Library."

Copyright 1999 WebMD, Inc. All rights reserved.



RELATED STORIES:
For more Health news, Custom News will bring you news from the areas and subjects you select.

RELATED SITES:
See related sites about Health

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.

LATEST HEALTH STORIES:
China SARS numbers pass 5,000
Report: Form of HIV in humans by 1940
Fewer infections for back-sleeping babies
Pneumonia vaccine may help heart, too
 LATEST HEADLINES:
SEARCH CNN.com
Enter keyword(s)   go    help

Back to the top   © 2001 Cable News Network. All Rights Reserved.
Terms under which this service is provided to you.
Read our privacy guidelines.