The Duke Encyclopedia of New Medicine: Conventional and Alternative Medicine for All Ages

Features

• Cover Type: Hard Cover with 640 pages
• Published by: Rodale Books
• Edition: 1st Edition November 14, 2006
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 1594864942
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-1594864940
• Book Dimensions: 11 x 8.3 x 1.4 inches
• Weighs: 4.8 pounds

From Booklist
This encyclopedia is among the latest additions to the rapidly growing collection of consumer health books on alternative medicine. But as the full title indicates, this well-illustrated work is not a enyclopedia of unusual remedies but rather a resource about an approach that combines both conventional and alternative practices, a method often termed "integrative medicine." With contributions from a team of health-care professionals, mostly from the Center for Integrative Medicine at Duke University, the encyclopedia starts with brief but helpful preliminary chapters describing the integrative-medicine approach. Following this, part 1 includes 15 anatomically or systemically organized chapters (for example, "Eyes," "Respiratory System"), each containing 8 to 23 articles on individual health conditions. Articles are concise, and each includes a description of the condition, its causes, prevention, diagnosis, and treatments from both conventional and nonconventional perspectives. Part 2 consists of six chapters (for example, "The Natural World," "Energy Therapy"), each with 8 to 16 articles describing specific alternative therapies. Here the reader learns about well-known practices, like acupuncture, and some exotic ones, like chakra balancing, all associated with the "Scale of Evidence," a tool for assessing safety and effectiveness. The purpose of the encyclopedia is to provide "a comprehensive resource on integrative medicine," but compared to other titles—for example, the four-volume Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine (2005)—it falls significantly short in depth and breadth. As a basic guide, it is disappointingly limited in the number of references, with no real bibliography. Moreover, its selection of topics may not reflect the requirements of its intended lay audience; for example, the account of herbals, a common therapeutic option utilized by many Americans, is cursory. The Duke Encyclopedia of New Medicine is at best an introduction to integrative medicine and a way to inform patients of the options it offers. It is not a priority purchase for libraries. Hoffecker, Lilian

Product Description
This superb new medical reference from the world-renowned Duke Center for Integrative Medicine presents a state-of-the-art approach to integrative care

Increasingly the trend in health care is away from a disease-oriented, physician- and technology-centered model toward a wellness-oriented, patient-centered approach that combines alternative healing therapies with conventional medicine. Nowhere is this holistic philosophy of healing practiced at a higher level than at the Duke Center for Integrative Medicine (DCIM).

This medical reference, with hundreds of full-color images, is the most authoritative and comprehensive ever published on integrative care. It contains:

• individual entries for more than 200 common health concerns with a detailed description of Duke’s integrative approach to treating each condition

• profiles of nearly 100 complementary and alternative healing therapies—from acupuncture to ayurveda, magnet therapy to massage, vitamin and mineral supplementation to Zen meditation

This book is an essential medical resource for the 21st century—one that belongs in every home.

Reader Reviews
This is a big, nicely put-together hardcover. It is really an introduction to integrative medicine, and not for readers/practitioners who are looking for more specific information. I considered returning it, but it is quite inexpensive for a general overview of CAM, and I thought there might be some use for it. I already own a number of books on the specific treatment of a great number of conditions using alternative and integrative medicine, so this book was disappointing. In addition, I got the idea that Duke is the only traditional treatment center really using integrative medicine, and soon learned that this is not the case. This may be the only center that has published a book of this type, however. If you want to find out more than what is available in integrative medicine at allopathic hospitals, do a web search for CAM and/or integrative medicine; in addition, you can find hundreds, if not thousands of books and journals probing more deeply into current research, protocols, description and use of herbs, vitamins, supplements, nutrition and complementary medicine. The Duke Encyclopedia is an OK starting point, but you'll find yourself wanting to know more, and it's out there.