D. A Kennedy

The Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine · Research

Background The use of herbal medicines for health prevention and ailments is an increasing trend worldwide. Women in pregnancy are no exception; the reported prevalence of herbal medicine use in pregnancy ranges from 1 to 60 %. Despite a common perception of safety, herbal medicines may have potent pharmacological actions, and historically, have be...

Historically, alongside regulatory and jurisdictional differences in scope of practices, practice patterns of naturopathic doctors (NDs) have varied widely to promote holistic or whole-person treatment using a variety of therapies including: controlled substances, minor surgery, a variety of complementary therapies, as well as both novel and conven...

During the last decade critical new information has been published pertaining to folic acid supplementation in the prevention of neural tube defects (NTDs) and other folic acid-sensitive congenital malformations. These new data have important implications for women, their families and health care professionals. We performed a review looking for the...

Polysaccharide K, also known as PSK or Krestin, is derived from the Coriolus versicolor mushroom and is widely used in Japan as an adjuvant immunotherapy for a variety of cancer including lung cancer. Despite reported benefits, there has been no English language synthesis of PSK for lung cancer. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted a systema...

Objective: To determine the ability of several non-IgE mediated food allergy (NIMFA) test methods to identify which foods would elicit symptoms in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) sufferers. Methods: This was a correlative, hypothesis generating study. Participants (n=. 4) with IBS (Rome III >200) provided blood samples for various marketed NIMFA tes...

Stemming from an interplay of socioeconomic disparity, poverty, chronic food insecurity, poor feeding practices, and illness, more than two billion individuals worldwide are chronically malnourished and suffer from micronutrient deficiencies. Malnutrition is directly or indirectly responsible for 45 % of global deaths among children under 5 years o...

The use of complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) is growing in the general population. Herbal medicines are used in all countries of the world and are included in the top CAM therapies used. A multinational study on how women treat disease and pregnancy-related health ailments was conducted between October 2011 and February 2012 in Europe,...

Soy and red clover isoflavones are controversial due to purported estrogenic activity and possible effects on breast cancer. We conducted a systematic review of soy and red clover for efficacy in improving menopausal symptoms in women with breast cancer, and for potential impact on risk of breast cancer incidence or recurrence. We searched MEDLINE,...

. Flax is a food and dietary supplement commonly used for menopausal symptoms. Flax is known for its lignan, α-linolenic acid, and fiber content, components that may possess phytogestrogenic, anti-inflammatory, and hormone modulating effects, respectively. We conducted a systematic review of flax for efficacy in improving menopausal symptoms in wom...

Vitamin D has reported anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties modulated through gene transcription and non-genomic signaling cascades. The purpose of this review was to summarize the available research on interactions and pharmacokinetics between vitamin D and the pharmaceutical drugs used in patients with cancer. Hypercalcemia was the most f...

Background: Many women use black cohosh as a natural treatment for menopausal symptoms. However, controversy exists around safety in breast cancer, because of its purported estrogenic activity. We conducted a systematic review of black cohosh use in women with or at risk of breast cancer. Methods: We searched MEDLINE, Embase, the Cochrane Librar...

Background. The objective was to determine whether relationships exist between the methylene-tetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) polymorphisms and risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) and examine whether the risk is modified by level of folate intake. Methods. MEDLINE, Embase, and SCOPUS were searched to May 2012 using the terms "folic acid," "folate," "...

Many studies examining the teratogenic potential of antidepressants have been published. A variety of observational designs have been used with apparent conflicting results, although odds ratios were rarely >2. To examine whether these apparent differences were associated with research methods such as model, comparison groups, data source, data col...

The association between lead and hypertension in adults was first identified in the early 1980's and it has since been proposed that lead may also have a role in gestational hypertension (GH). This systematic review investigates whether lead may be associated with the development of GH or pre-eclampsia. MEDLINE, Embase and Web of Science were searc...

Background: Green tea is a beverage widely used by lung cancer patients and the public for its purported anticancer properties. The authors conducted a systematic review of green tea for the treatment and prevention of lung cancer. Methodology: Six electronic databases were searched from inception until November 2011 for human interventional and...

Question: One of my epileptic patients who takes carbamazepine is planning to become pregnant. She told me that Motherisk advised her to take 5 mg of folic acid daily until the end of the first trimester. Are there other women who need more than the regular dose of folic acid included in prenatal vitamins? Answer: Women who are at high risk of h...

Ionic footbaths are often used in holistic health centres and spas to aid in detoxification; however, claims that these machines eliminate toxins from the body have not been rigorously evaluated. In this proof-of-principle study, we sought to measure the release of potentially toxic elements from ionic footbaths into distilled and tap water with an...

ADR adriamycin; ETS environmental tobacco smoke; GPx glutathione peroxidase; KI kidney; LV liver; MSA methylseleninic acid; NNK nitrosamine 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone; NR not reported; pXSC 1,4,-phenylenebis (methylene) selenocyanate; RBC red blood cells; SeCys selenocysteine; SeMet selenomethionine; SeMeSC selenium methylseleno...

Uncontrolled Phase I/II Trials for the Treatment of Lung Cancer in Order of the Form of Vitamin A. 5-FU 5-fluorouracil; adv advanced; bw between; CK: creatinine phosphokinase; CRA cis retinoic acid; d day; DLTs dose limiting toxicities; EFS event free survival; Gr Grade; IFN interferon; LFT's liver function tests; MIU = million IU; mo month; NS = n...

Methodologies of Controlled Human Studies for Vitamin A and Lung Cancer. CA cancer; CAD coronary artery disease; comb combination; f/u follow up; GI gastrointestinal; LTFU loss to follow up; NR not reported; NSCLC non small cell lung cancer; pop population; PS performance score; SCLC small cell lung cancer; w with. (DOC)

Outcomes of Controlled Human Studies for Vitamin A and Lung Cancer. 95% CI 95% confidence interval; Ad adenocarcinoma; Adj adjusted; AHR adjusted hazard ratio; AOR adjusted odds ratio; C control group; CR complete response; DS disease stabilization; DSR disease stabilization rate; EC epidermoid carcinoma; HR hazard ratio; LC large cell carcinoma; m...

Preclinical Evidence. 1,25 vitD 1,25 dihydroxyvitaminD; 4-HPR fenretinide; 9CRA 9 cis retinoic acid; 13CRA 13 cis retinoic acid; ATRA all trans retinoic acid; Bex bexarotene; CDDP cisplatin; d/o depends on; GCB gemcitabine; MDR multi drug resistance; NGF nerve growth factor; NSCLC non samll cell lung cancer; PAX paclitaxel; RRMs retinoid relateed m...

Selenium is a natural health product widely used in the treatment and prevention of lung cancers, but large chemoprevention trials have yielded conflicting results. We conducted a systematic review of selenium for lung cancers, and assessed potential interactions with conventional therapies. Two independent reviewers searched six databases from inc...

Background: Melatonin (MLT) is known to possess potent antioxidant, antiproliferative, immune-modulating, and hormone-modulating properties. Clinical evidence suggests that MLT may have a possible role in the treatment of cancer. The authors systematically reviewed the effects of MLT in conjunction with chemotherapy, radiotherapy, supportive care,...

Combination Effect, in vitro , Between Forms of Vitamin A and Chemotherapy Drugs. (DOC)

Despite reported antiproliferative activity of vitamin A and its common use for cancer, there is no comprehensive synthesis of its safety and efficacy in lung cancers. To address this issue we conducted a systematic review of the safety and efficacy of vitamin A for the treatment and prevention of lung cancers. Two independent reviewers searched si...

Background: The antifolate drug methotrexate is a mainstay of treatment for children diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). There have been concerns regarding the impact of folate fortification on the efficacy of methotrexate therapy and hence treatment outcomes of ALL. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether folate fortific...

Folic acid fortification and supplementation to prevent neural tube defects has led to concerns regarding increased risk of colorectal cancer. The results of existing studies have been inconclusive. The purpose was to examine the relationship between level of folate intake and the incidence of colorectal cancer. A systematic review and meta analysi...

Healthcare practitioners are deeply concerned about drug-herb interactions and how concurrent administration may affect both the safety and effectiveness of prescribed drugs. Interactions between botanical medicines and synthetic drugs can be clinically relevant and it is important to understand what kinds of interactions are possible. Better knowl...

Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer of women in North America. Despite advances in treatment that have reduced mortality, breast cancer remains the second leading cause of cancer induced death. Several well established tools are used to screen for breast cancer including clinical breast exams, mammograms, and ultrasound. Thermogra...

Health care spending in North America is consuming an ever-increasing share of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). A large proportion of alternative health care is consumed in the form of natural health products (NHPs). The question of whether or not NHPs may provide a cost-effective choice in the treatment of disease is important for patients, physician...

Abstract Aboriginal communities in Canada are plagued by chronic illness despite significant financial investment to increase access to primary health care facilities. The government has recognized that a new Aboriginal-driven health care approach must be developed and must respect traditional Aboriginal medicine. This can be a difficult challenge...

Despite the recommendation of the Task Force on Alternative Therapies of the Canadian Breast Cancer Research Initiative, little research has been published on the widely used herbal compound Essiac. We aimed to address this deficiency by conducting a series of assays to determine some of the purported activities of Essiac in vitro. The activity of...

Essiac is a herbal compound that has been in common use with cancer patients in North America for over 80 years. Despite its relatively widespread use, there are no peer-reviewed published reports of in vivo studies regarding the use of this compound. Essiac was administered orally to test animals prior to all experiments. Standard assays to test p...