Background The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in paediatric populations is common yet, to date, there has been no synthesis of the evidence of its effectiveness in that population. This overview of systematic review evaluates the evidence for or against the effectiveness of CAM for any childhood condition. Methods Medline, AMED and Cochrane were searched from inception until September 2009. Reference lists of retrieved articles were hand-searched. Experts in the field of CAM were contacted. No language restrictions were applied. Results 17 systematic reviews were included in this overview, covering acupuncture, chiropractic, herbal medicine, homeopathy, hypnotherapy, massage and yoga. Results were unconvincing for most conditions although there is some evidence to suggest that acupuncture may be effective for postoperative nausea and vomiting, and that hypnotherapy may be effective in reducing procedure-related pain. Most of the reviews failed to mention the incidence of adverse effects of CAMs. Conclusions Although there is some encouraging evidence for hypnosis, herbal medicine and acupuncture, there is insufficient evidence to suggest that other CAMs are effective for the treatment of childhood conditions. Many of the systematic reviews included in this overview were of low quality, as were the randomised clinical trials within those reviews, further reducing the weight of that evidence. Future research in CAM for children should conform to the reporting standards outlined in the CONSORT and PRISMA guidelines.

Arch Dis Child. 2010 Jul 6. Hunt K, Ernst E. Complementary Medicine, Peninsula Medical School, Universities of Exeter and Plymouth, Exeter, UK.

A previous study has shown that laser acupuncture is a useful healing method for the treatment of visceral postmenopausal obesity in combination with a low-calorie diet. We observe and evaluate the therapeutic effect of laser acupuncture in subjects of simple obesity with a non-restrictive diet protocol. Subjects included 73 women and 22 men with simple obesity and body mass indices >/= 27 kg/m(2). Daily energy intake recommendations for obese females and males were 1620.0 and 1894.2 kcal in average, respectively. The gallium aluminum arsenide Handylaser Trion was used to apply 0.25 J of energy to each of the following acupuncture points three times per week for four consecutive weeks: Stomach, Hunger, ST25, ST28, ST40, SP15, and CV9. The subjects' body weights and body mass indices were recorded before treatment, and four weeks after treatment, and the percent reduction in each parameter was calculated. Statistically significant reductions in body weight and body mass index were detected after four weeks of treatment. The mean reduction and mean percent reduction in body weight were 3.17 kg and 3.80% (p < 0.0001), respectively. The corresponding values for the body mass index were 1.22 kg/m(2) and 3.78% (p < 0.0001), respectively. We concluded that laser acupuncture was found to exert a therapeutic effect on simple obesity by reducing both body weight and body mass index. Moreover, subjects showed good compliance with this comfortable and non-restrictive diet protocol.

Hu WL, Chang CH, Hung YC. Am J Chin Med. 2010;38(5):861-867. Department of Chinese Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital Kaohsiung Medical Center, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Taiwan.