Complementary and alternative medicine and gastrointestinal diseases

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is becoming increasingly utili zed as a form of health care, with recent studies suggesting that over 40% of Americans use some form of CAM. This has major financial implications fo r the health care industry. Traditional physicians frequently are unaware o f CAM use by their patients, and there are potential interactions between C AM and traditional forms of medical therapy. Many of the medicinal CAM agen ts have been used for their postulated anti-inflammatory and/or antifibroti c effects. CAM is especially frequently used in patients with chronic disea ses. This review discusses CAM use in three types of chronic gastrointestin al diseases-liver disease, irritable bowel syndrome and dyspepsia, and infl ammatory bowel disease. (C) 2000 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc.