[MPWG] NCCAM Echinacea angustifolia, low dose revision

[myron hardesty]

>
>
> NCCAM Revises Report of Echinacea Study, Notes Criticism of Low Dose
>  2005-10-12  -  American Herbal Products Association (AHPA)
>
> (Silver Spring, MD, October 12, 2005) -- The National Center for  
> Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) has revised its  
> website to correct erroneous statements it had made previously  
> about a study on low-dose preparations of Echinacea angustifolia  
> root published in the New England Journal of Medicine on July 28,  
> 2005. The revisions were made only one week after the American  
> Herbal Products Association (AHPA) requested such corrections in a  
> letter dated October 4, 2005, to Stephen Straus, MD, NCCAM’s director.
>
> “It is satisfying to think that someone at NCCAM actually listened  
> to our well-reasoned arguments,” commented AHPA President Michael  
> McGuffin. “We have also requested that NCCAM now make some effort  
> to broadcast this corrected message widely, so that the  
> misinformation that was so broadly distributed in July might be  
> clarified.”
>
> A particular grievance voiced in AHPA’s letter to Straus identified  
> as “a gratuitous criticism” NCCAM’s statement about herbal  
> products, specifically, “… what's on the label may not always be  
> what's in the bottle.” That statement has now been removed.
>
> AHPA’s letter also discussed comments that had been attributed to  
> Dr. Straus in numerous media reports, some of which appeared to  
> defend the researchers selection of the low dose (900 mg per day)  
> of Echinacea angustifolia root used in the study, and others which  
> dismissed all echinacea products as ineffective, regardless of dose  
> or species. The revised page on the NCCAM site addresses both of  
> these complaints. For example, a new sentence has been added to  
> acknowledge that “critics of this study believe the dose of E.  
> angustifolia used was too low,” and a concluding sentence on the  
> lack of efficacy found in this research is now careful to identify  
> these findings in the context of “preparations of E. angustifolia  
> at the 900 mg per day dose.” In addition, the revised NCCAM review  
> has completely removed an extensive commentary by Dr. Straus, in  
> which he described the recent study as “well-designed” and the low- 
> dose used as “internationally recognized.”
>
> “AHPA will continue to monitor communications about herbs and  
> supplements made by NCCAM and other federal offices,” added  
> McGuffin. “It is essential that all such communications are factual  
> and do not mislead the public.”
>
> AHPA’s October 4 letter to Dr. Straus is available online at the  
> AHPA website, at http://www.ahpa.org/05_1004_LetterToStraus.pdf.  
> The current revision of NCCAM’s review of the recent low-dose  
> Echinacea angustifolia root study can be accessed at http:// 
> nccam.nih.gov/clinicaltrials/echinacea_rr.htm.
>
> ###
>
> The American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) is the national  
> trade association and voice of the herbal supplement industry, the  
> only trade association devoted solely to herbal issues. AHPA is the  
> recognized leader in representing the responsible center of the  
> botanical trade, and is comprised of the finest growers,  
> processors, manufacturers and  marketers of herbal products. AHPA’s  
> mission is to promote the responsible commerce of herbal products.  
> AHPA committees generate self-regulations to ensure the highest  
> level of responsibility with respect to the way herbs are  
> manufactured, labeled and sold. Website: www.ahpa.org
>
>
> Contact:
> Karen Robin, Director of Communications
> Telephone:  (301) 588-1171, x-107
> Email: KRobin at ahpa.org
> Website: www.ahpa.org
>
>
>
>

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