NIH Complementary and Alterative Medicine Scientific Interest Group (CAM-sig) Many NIH employees and their associates practice or have intellectual interest in Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM), but they do not have a venue to share and develop ideas regarding CAM. The NIH Complimentary and Alternative Scientific Interest Group (CAM-sig) has been created to address this need. Objectives: CAM-sig is primarily a learning organization having the following objectives: (1) to facilitate constructive dialogue and scientific inquiry about CAM practices, (2) to facilitate learning about them, (3) to suggest appropriate research related to understanding their mechanisms, (4) to determine their efficacy, (5) to inspire active discussion about the present philosophical underpinnings of science, and (6) to re-examine the long-standing epistemologic default assumptions about reality held by modern science. Proposed Structure: We plan to establish monthly or bimonthly meetings of the following kind:: (1) a CAM practice will be briefly demonstrated or taught, followed by a talk, (2) CAM practitioners will just describe their practice and explain its mechanism, (3) scientists will discuss CAM research, (4) attendees will present and discuss scientific papers bearing on interpretations of a CAM topic, and (5) there will be open group dialogues on specific or general relevant topics. The purpose of demonstrations would be to give consenting attendees some subjective experience with the technique in order to have a better basis for understanding its subjective effects and to form hypotheses about its mechanism, since many of the techniques are mind-body techniques that may involve effects of belief, imagery, and relaxation. All event types will include group discussions. Those having computational interests will have opportunities to develop computational methodologies that could be helpful in deciding individual responses to various CAM interventions, as well as being helpful in proving or disproving the efficacy of certain CAM practices. Complimentary and Alternative Medicine: NCCAM defines complementary and alterative medicine (CAM) as “a group of diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not generally considered part of conventional medicine” (western or allopathic medicine). Over time, however, CAM practices are sometimes adopted by conventional medicine. NCCAM groups CAM into categories of natural products (e.g. herbal medicines, vitamins, minerals, and other natural products) mind and body medicine (e.g. meditation, yoga, acupuncture, tai chi, guided imagery, hypnotherapy), and body manipulation practices (e.g. spinal manipulation, massage therapy). Other CAM practices include movement therapies (e.g. Feldenkrais method, Rolfing Structural Integration), and bio-energy therapies (e.g. healing touch, Reiki, and light therapy). Despite a substantial rift between conventional and alternative medicine, conventional medicine and science are beginning to appreciate and confirm many CAM practices. Naturopathic concepts like Leaky Gut syndrome, the importance of omega-3 fatty acids, and healthy bacteria are on the forefront of biomedical research Light therapy has been found to have substantial clinical effects (blue light, for example, kills antibiotic-resistant MRSA; Enwemeka et al 2009), and rigorous studies and meta-analyses are finding significant support for bioenergy therapies (e.g. Jain & Mills 2010, Kiang et al 2005, and the NCCAM Think Tank on Biofield Energy Medicine Meeting Summary, 2006). Evidence for positive health effects of yoga, guided imagery,are quite strong. Yet, integration of these findings into conventional medical practice and theory lags behind. This may be for several reasons: 1) history of stigma against CAM practices, 2) association of CAM practices found efficacious with those not found efficacious, and 3) lack of the sufficient quantity and caliber of research in many areas of CAM. Others feel that CAM includes healing factors that current scientific measures are unable to quantify. CAM research is a particularly exciting area of research because it is a source of ideas and theories that are often quite different from those in conventional medicine, such that their confirmation is of greater impact to scientific theory. CAM techniques are also frequently utilized as preventative techniques, moving conventional medicine closer to a goal of preventative medicine. CAM research is also especially useful to study because of the issues of philosophy of science and epistemology that it frequently raises. Where a CAM technique appears incompatible, or not interpretable, within conventional western medicine, it becomes an especially useful tool to deconstruct our scientific assumptions, our social and cultural beliefs, and our epistemological axioms about what kind of evidence supports what kind of scientific conclusion. For example, it is commonly said that “extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.” Should data in CAM research thus be held to a higher standard of evidence than data from conventional studies? What if an effect is strong and replicable, but the mechanism is not understood, or the putative mechanism is not compatible with tenets of conventional medicine? Laura Case and Jim DeLeo CAM-sig Co-founders and Chairs