Integrating Complementary and Alternative Medicines into Conventional Therapies for Metabolic Disorders
1Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
2University of British Colombia, Vancouver, Canada
3University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
Integrating Complementary and Alternative Medicines into Conventional Therapies for Metabolic Disorders
Description
The prevalence of metabolic disorders, such as diabetes mellitus, obesity, dyslipidaemia, osteoporosis, and metabolic syndrome, is increasing worldwide. Although in recent decades modern medicine has achieved significant developments in the treatment of metabolic disorders, the usage of complementary and alternative therapies (CAMs) is increasing. In addition, herbal medicines are the cornerstone of many synthetic drugs.
There is a current crisis in the treatment of people with chronic disorders, due to high levels of economic cost and burden, and this has driven interest in non-pharmacologic approaches to care and management. Alternative medicines are often viewed favourably by patients due to their low cost and rare adverse effects. However, our knowledge on the impact of the usage of complementary and alternative medicines for metabolic disorders is still limited in terms of pharmaceutical research.
The aim of this Special Issue is to determine the impact of complementary and alternative therapies on the care and management of metabolic disorders and introduce effective interventions to policymakers and the pharmaceutical industry. In this Special Issue, we intend to invite researchers and authors to submit both original research and review articles on the usage of complementary and alternative medicine for a range of metabolic disorders.
Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:
- The impact of CAMs on care and management of metabolic disorders and related complications compared to pharmaceutical drugs
- Traditional medicines of different regions, such as Iran, China, Africa, or Europe
- Nutrition and Dietary Supplements
- Drug discovery based on CAMs
- Pharmaceutical analysis to assess the safety and efficacy of CAMs
- Comparative analysis of cost effectiveness/cost benefit of CAMs compared to pharmaceutical drugs
- Interactions between CAMs and pharmaceutical drugs