Alternative & Integrative Medicine

Background: Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is still popular worldwide. This study investigates and compares the choices of health care and social work students between CAM and conventional medicine (COM) on a 5 point severity scale of diseases.
Methods: In a cross-sectional survey 595 (49.6% response rate) health care and social work students at the University of Debrecen, Faculty of Health completed the questionnaire. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics.
Results: The more serious the disease was, the frequency of primarily COM and secondly CAM increased (from 37.1% up to 62.4%), while it decreased in only COM (from 26.2% to 23.5%), in primarily CAM and secondly COM (from 28.7% to 10.8%), in only CAM (from 7.9% to 3.2%). Significantly more health care than social work students chose only COM on moderate level (34.0% vs. 24.2%; p<0.05) Significantly more social work than health care students chose primarily COM and secondly CAM on moderate, serious and the most serious levels (62.9% vs. 49.9%; 69.4% vs. 58.8%; 71.8% vs. 59.9%; p<0.05). Significantly more males than females chose only COM on the most serious level (36.4% vs. 21.6%; p<0.05). Significantly more females than males chose only CAM on the mildest level (8.9% vs. 1.3%, p<0.05) and primarily COM and secondly CAM on serious and the most serious levels (62.7% vs. 49.4%, 63.9% vs. 51.9%; p<0.05).
Conclusions: Our results suggest that beside conventional medicine most health care and social work students consider CAM to be an important element of healing process, although social work students are more open towards the combined use of CAM and conventional medicine. Our results supported that females have more positive attitudes towards CAM than males.

Background: Today, complementary and alternative medicine and a variety of traditional medicine, along with conventional medicine, are used to prevent and treat diseases. In Iran, Persian medicine is taught academically and its services are being provided to patients. The aim of this study is to evaluate the patient satisfaction with Persian medicine and the reasons for follow up or non-follow-up of treatment by patients referred to Behesht Persian medicine clinic of Iran university of Medical Sciences.
Methods: 394 cases were selected among patients who were treated by Persian medicine in the Behesht clinic in 2016. After extracting the data, a semi structured questionnaire regarding the degree of satisfaction with the treatment and the reasons for follow up or non-follow up of the patients was completed by making phone calls with participants. Data were then analyzed using software (Microsoft Excel 2016).
Results: Women were referred to the Persian medicine clinic more than men (72.5% versus 27.5%). The most common causes of referral were gastrointestinal diseases (15.1%) and musculoskeletal disorders (13.5%). 35% of the patients referred only once and did not follow the treatment. The most common causes of non-referral were the patient’s own lack of attention to taking medication and follow-up (24.2%), disease recovery (23%), lack of appropriate response to treatment (20.8%) and relocation of the therapist (11.6%). 91.4% of participants did not mention any complications and 95.84% were satisfied with the behavior of doctors. Overall, 82.6% of patients had a tendency to recurrent referral to the clinic.
Conclusion: Despite the problems with referral of patients to the Persian medicine clinic, there is a high inclining rate that reflects the satisfaction of the treatment. Therefore, planning to solve existing problems and facilitating the referral of patients can increase the satisfaction rate of Persian medicine. More studies are needed in other Persian medicine centers to evaluate patients’ satisfaction.

Premature ejaculation is a male sexual dysfunction characterized by ejaculation which occurs within about one minute of vaginal penetration and inability to delay ejaculation on the vaginal penetrations. The individuals suffering from the premature ejaculation will reach orgasm before even the minimal penile or sexual stimulation, prior to or immediately after penetration. Premature ejaculation is the most prevalent male sexual dysfunction. It has detrimental effects on the relationship of the partners; it may cause mental distress, anxiety, and depression. Its prevalence rates run the gamut from 20% to 30%.

The etiology of this problem is unknown, yet again there are some hypotheses in this regard including anxiety, penile hypersensitivity, and serotonin receptor dysfunction.

The use of the Persian Medicine and herbal remedies for the treatment of diseases has a long historical background. Nutrition is the principal stepping stone of the treatment in the Persian Medicine; it proffers various food and remedy options for treating premature ejaculation. Therefore, the authors of the present paper aimed at taking into account the nutritional advice and suggestions of the Persian Medicine to ameliorate the aforementioned issue.

In this review article, the seminal and original books of the Persian Medicine on the male sexual dysfunction have been thoroughly reviewed.

A list of available, inexpensive and effective foods and medications which has been experienced for centuries was elicited. Due to the prevalence and the effects of the premature ejaculation on both marital relationships and subsequently fertility, constructing treatments like this list can be efficacious for to solving this problem.

Post Herpetic Neuralgia (PHN) is one of most common diseases in elderly. It may occur in about 5% of patients of PHN after acute phase of herpes zoster or zona. PHN has various course with variable and different pain in affected area which some of them may be intractable to be treated. According to previous experiences (during last 20 years), this report will try to present all practical manipulations in regard to PHN pain management.

For the last three decades, scientists have conducted research for medical therapy interventions of Chinese calligraphy handwriting (CCH). Clinical research has found CCH has positive effects on behavioral and psychosomatic disorders: Depressive symptoms in cancer patients, psychiatric and cognitive disorders in elderly people, stress reduction, hyperarousal symptoms after earthquake, changes in theta waves and other diseases such as hypertension and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity.

Depression and anxiety are common among people diagnosed with cancer. CCH as a medical intervention was tested in Nasopharyngeal cancer patients (stage II and III). CCH improved certain stress symptoms and mood disturbances.

All studies showed a notable paucity for CCH intervention in medical therapy. However, to apply CCH for improving depressive symptoms in cancer patients and to strengthen the evidence, further research is required.