EU to fund complementary medicine research

The Prince of Wales Foundation for Integrated Health has welcomed news that the European Union is to put €1.5 million into complementary medicine research over the next three years.

Called CAMbrella, the plan is to create a network of European research institutes that will focus on patients' needs, the role of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in healthcare systems, legal regulation, research methodology and terminology.

Professor George Lewith, who heads the CAM research unit at Southampton University, is one of the project's co-ordinators and a Foundation Fellow. He said:

'More than 100 million people in Europe and the UK are regular users of Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

'Yet compared with conventional medicine, there is a lack of research, very little funding and not enough scientific co-operation.

'That cannot be good for patients' safety.'

Lead co-ordinator Dr. Wolfgang Weidenhammer, Centre of Naturheilkunde, Technische Universität, Munich, Germany, said:

"We will develop a comprehensive understanding of the current status of CAM in Europe, which will serve as a starting point for future healthcare delivery and research".

The research group consists of 16 scientific partner organisations from 12 European countries. The UK is represented by Southampton University Medical School. The project is supported by an Advisory Board, which includes members of the relevant stakeholder organisations such as patient and practitioner organisations, providers and consumers.