Development and implementation of a 'curriculum complementary and alternative medicine' at the Heidelberg Medical School]. [German] Joos S. Eicher C. Musselmann B. Kadmon M. Forschende Komplementarmedizin (2006). 15(5):251-60, 2008 Oct.BACKGROUND: The 9th revision of the Medical Training Regulations for Physicians (AAppO) in October 2003 included the new compulsory interdisciplinary subject 'Rehabilitation, Physical Medicine and Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM)' (QB 12). The present article describes the development of a 'CAM curriculum' for undergraduate education, its implementation in the QB 12 at the Heidelberg Medical School and its evaluation. METHODS: According to the 6-step approach by Kern, the following aspects are presented: requirements, experiences/interests of students, learning targets, development of practical training courses and lectures, implementation, and evaluation. Experiences/interests of students were assessed by a self-developed questionnaire. Practical training courses and lectures were evaluated by school marks (1 through 6) and by a modified version of the HILVE-I. RESULTS: A selection of CAM methods to be included in the curriculum was made by the participating lecturers based on the criteria 'evidence' and 'prevalence in health care'. Learning targets were defined in terms of knowledge, skills and attitudes. On this basis, practical training courses/lectures comprising classical naturopathy, acupuncture/ traditional Chinese medicine and neural therapy were developed and integrated in the QB 12. Regular evaluations of the practical training courses/lectures constantly reveal good results. 69% of the 219 students questioned indicated to be interested in CAM, 27% already had gained experience with CAM themselves. DISCUSSION: The well-evaluated CAM courses/lectures indicate a successful development and implementation of the 'CAM curriculum' in the QB 12 at the Heidelberg Medical School. Thus, the requirements of the AAppO are met. Moreover, implementation of CAM in undergraduate education allows for the importance CAM has in every-day care of patients in Germany. 2008 S. Karger AG, BaselClinical efficacy of neural therapy for the treatment of atopic dermatitis in dogs. Bravo-Monsalvo A. Vazquez-Chagoyan JC. Gutierrez L. Sumano H. Acta Veterinaria Hungarica. 56(4):459-69, 2008 Dec.The aim of this trial was to assess the clinical efficacy of neural therapy (NT) when treating canine atopic dermatitis. Eighteen dogs (no control group), with at least a 12-month history of having nonseasonal atopic dermatitis, were included. No medication with either glucocorticoids or cyclosporin was allowed during the trial. One set of NT was given by injecting an intravenous dose of 0.1 mg/kg of a 0.7% procaine solution, followed by 10 to 25 intradermal injections of the same solution in a volume of 0.1-0.3 mL per site. Dogs were given 6-13 sets of NT during the therapy. The dermatological condition of each patient was evaluated before and after the treatment using two scales: the pruritus visual analogue scale (PVAS) and the canine atopic dermatitis extent and severity index (CADESI). The reduction of pruritus was statistically significant using a Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-ranks test (P < 0.001). No adverse side effects were observed. NT seems to be an effective alternative to control signs related to canine atopic dermatitis.Patient satisfaction of primary care for musculoskeletal diseases: a comparison between Neural Therapy and conventional medicine. Mermod J. Fischer L. Staub L. Busato