US report calls for tighter controls on complementary medicine

Complementary medical treatments such as acupuncture, massage, and herbal and nutritional treatments must be evaluated with the same standards of quality, rigour, and ethics as conventional treatments, states the US Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

“First class scientific research is crucial to helping people—and those who care for them—make the wisest healthcare decisions,” said Dr James Gordon, the commission's chairman.

The commission, established two years ago by President Bill Clinton, was charged with making legislative and administrative recommendations to help develop public policies that would maximise the benefits, if any, …