Our new trial will investigate the effectiveness of a high strength cranberry supplement in treating recurrent urinary tract infections (UTI) among women.
Our new trial will investigate the effectiveness of a high strength cranberry supplement in treating recurrent urinary tract infections (UTI) among women.
Worth an estimated $4.6 billion in 2016, the Australian complementary medicine industry has grown to the point where the consumption of various pills has become a normal part of life for many Australians.
But do they work?
In 2012 the Australian Medical Association said: ”There is a substantial gap between the use of complementary medicine and the evidence to support that use.” It went on to say ”Evidence-based scientific research in the form of randomised trials is required to validate complementary medicines…”
Five years on from that statement there is still a significant gap between the number of people using complementary medicines and the evidence to support their effectiveness. There is a clear need for impartial, rigorous scientific method to validate the effectiveness of complementary medicines- so who better to do this than Australia’s national science agency?
Today we’re starting a trial to determine the effectiveness of cranberry supplements in treating recurrent urinary tract infections (UTI) among women.
A troublesome problem faced by many women in various stages of life, recurrent UTI often involves repeated doses of antibiotics, which can sometimes come with untoward effects. A lot of people that have previously contracted a UTI have sworn that cranberry works for them, and it’s true that cranberries contain a number of bio-active components that are suggested to contribute to good urinary tract health.
However, there is conflicting scientific evidence to support this. A literature review published in 2012 concluded that “…cranberry juice cannot currently be recommended for the prevention of UTIs”. However, as well as citing low compliance and a high dropout rate with the studies, the reviewers suggested that the products “may not have had enough potency to be effective” due to a lack of the “active ingredient”.
It was like comparing apples with pears.
Our trial, which will investigate the effectiveness of high strength cranberry supplement, will run for two years and include 300 participants recruited in sites across Australia and China.
It is the start of a three-year program that is financially supported by Swisse Wellness, during which we will investigate the efficacy of a number of products across the spectrum of vitamins, herbals, minerals and supplements.
When the initial announcement was made that we had signed an agreement to work with Swisse Wellness, the largest provider of complementary medicines in Australia, it raised a few eyebrows.
Why are we, Australia’s eminent scientific organisation, working with the complementary medicine industry?
Every piece of research we undertake needs to pass the test of whether it is delivering national benefit. With millions of Australians using complementary medicines every day, the need to find out whether complementary medicines work or not passes that test – it’s a no brainer.
As well as answering important questions for the community, conducting more research in this area will grow Australia’s capability in conducting clinical trials. Although the clinical trials industry currently adds $1 billion to our economy every year, a recent report we released highlights the huge opportunity for Australia to establish itself as an international hub for clinical trials and drug development.
Doing so will grow commercial opportunities, foreign investment and improve local access to cutting edge medicines. It would also provide jobs for Australia’s next generation of STEM professionals, negating the need to move elsewhere.
People have a right to ask questions and to expect that the science is rigorous, undertaken without fear or favour. All results from the cranberry trial, good or bad, will be published in a peer-reviewed journal and made available to the public.
Swisse will be paying for the research, but not the results.
29th May 2017 at 5:36 pm
It would be even better to see CSIRO do a study on something that hasn’t already been proven otherwise it feels like a waste of public money. I love that CSIRO are getting behind natural medicine however this is not innovative enough.
29th May 2017 at 10:48 am
This is a great start!
Would love to see herbal medicine studied, where plant medicine is given in a more natural form (eg. fresh herbs brewed into a cup of tea and consumed regularly that way, or cannabis oil used to treat people with epilepsy or cancer, and not the kind that has been messed with in a lab). I know nobody can patent a product and profit from this, but as allergies, intolerances and unexplainable autoimmune issues and disease are on the increase, allopathic medicine is failing many, and we are turning to more natural complementary medicine with great results.
As someone who reacts negatively to most processed products and supplements (vomit if I take panadol, stomach upset with multi-vitamins, skin develops bad dermatitis/eczema from most creams or makeup (for a simple skin moisturiser I have to use pure herbal cream with minimal processing), I was never helped by allopathic medicine, it continued to make me worse, until I realised I need to stay away from it unless absolutely necessary, and only use products with low human interference.
I have since reversed my own autoimmune illness, with my GP taking scans and bloods and telling me that whatever it is I am doing I should continue doing it, as I can no longer be classed as having the syndrome I had previously been diagnosed with. And I’m seeing more and more people suffering with similar issues, until they turn to nature for healing and see great results also. Considering I had what were called ‘breast mice’ continuing to increase rapidly in size at the time I was most unwell, but was told by Drs they were nothing to worry about, and have since discovered my Aunt is now suffering with breast and brain cancer, my sister is now suffering with a rare blood cancer, (and knowing that my dad died of a brain tumour) I am glad I took my healing into my own hands and reversed what was going on in my body to the point there are no ‘breast mice’ left, and last checked the cysts on my ovaries had been continuing to dramatically decrease in size and number. This is why the complementary medicine industry is growing fast, people are losing faith in allopathic medicine for good reason- they are seeing and feeling first hand how powerful natural medicine can be, when allopathic medicine has failed them and given no decent answers, explanations or cures, and instead has just offered more of the same chemical crap that probably made them sick in the first place.
From someone who is fed up with the system, who is seeing people everywhere being made to suffer unnecessarily with seizures and cancers, while cannabis oil truly appears to bring great relief and healing when all else is failing, I believe we need natures medicine to be studied in a big way, and it has been a long time coming. People are being denied their right to heal with natural medicine, that no synthetic product created in a lab, for profit, can replace.
That little boy, Chase, needs to be given back to his parents before these Drs kill him.
28th May 2017 at 8:57 am
I understand the funding issue, but this doesn’t further the credibility of Complimentary Medicine one way or the other.
The issues people have with CM is that they are funded by the industry & sample sizes are small. The two things you are replicating in this study.
Then again, pharmaceuticals are self-funded too which is never mentioned.
26th May 2017 at 7:47 pm
Thank you, this sounds like a valuable step forward. I would only like to add that since CSIRO is a publicly funded organisation I think all results should be made available under an open-access licence.