Dianewax @ aol.com,9/28/97 4:46 PM,alternative med

 

From: Dianewax@aol.com

Date: Sun, 28 Sep 1997 17:46:10 -0400 (EDT)
To: varmus@nih.gov

cc: dw20a@nih.gov

Subject: alternative med

Status: RO

PROPOSAL FOR FOCUS ON COMPLEMENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE

Establish a new focus for complementary and alternative medicine (CAM)
under the Assistant Secretary for Health. The issues of complementary and
alternative medicine are broad and relate to the responsibilities of CDC,

FDA, NIH and AHCPR. The new office would broaden the activity beyond NIH
interests and expertise to include those of CDC, FDA, and AHCPR. For
example, CDC EIS officers could participate in the preliminary gathering of

field data from practicing physicians using CAM modalities.

Its mission would be broader than the current mission of the NIH Office of
Alternative Medicine (OAM), yet would include all of the elements that the
OAM has: evaluation of alternative treatment modalities; research training;
and an information clearinghouse.

Research activities, for example, evaluating CAM modalities, would be
carried out primarily through research contracts, an effective targeted
approach for managing clinical trials. Some possibilities might include St.
John's Wort for depression; melatonin for jet lag and sleep disorders; and
DHEA for male aging. In this way, it would be possible to identify a few of
the thousands of complementary and alternative modalities, conduct
well-designed studies, and establish convincingly whether these products have
beneficial effects.

Oversight could be provided by an outside advisory committee, such as the
advisory council for the NIH OAM, as well as by the Assistant Secretary for
Health and senior representatives from the CDC, FDA, NIH and AHCPR. The NIH
would establish a trans-Institute committee composed of senior officials from
the relevant Institutes to help coordinate research activities and provide
advice to the new office.

The responsibilities and resources of the current NIH OAM would be
transferred to the new entity [$12m and 14FTEs]. Additional funding would be
derived from the participating agencies in accord with recommendations by the
Assistant Secretary for Health. NIH Institute-supported CAM research--for
example, studies of the mechanisms of action of alternative therapies, such
as acupuncture; and chemical studies designed to identify the active
ingredients of herbal preparations--would continue to be supported by the

 

Printed for Harold_Varmus @nih.gov
Dianewax @aol.com,9/28/97 4:46 PM,alternative med

 

respective Institutes.

This activity would be established for a specific period of time, e.g., 5-6
years, after which an outside review group--organized by, for example, the
Institute of Medicine--would evaluate the accomplishments, as well as the
effectiveness, of this new entity.

 

Printed for Harold_Varmus @nih.gov