Current trends in the integration and reimbursement of complementary and alternative medicine by managed care, insurance carriers, and hospital providers

OBJECTIVES

To assess the status of managed care and insurance coverage of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and the integration of such services offered by hospitals.

METHODS

A literature review and information search was conducted to determine which insurers had special policies for CAM and which hospitals were offering CAM. Telephone interviews were conducted with a definitive sample of 18 insurers and a representative subsample of seven hospitals.

RESULTS

A majority of the insurers interviewed offered some coverage for the following: nutrition counseling, biofeedback, psychotherapy, acupuncture, preventive medicine, chiropractic, osteopathy, and physical therapy. Twelve insurers said that market demand was their primary motivation for covering CAM. Factors determining whether insurers would offer coverage for additional therapies included potential cost-effectiveness based on consumer interest, demonstrable clinical efficacy, and state mandates. Some hospitals are also responding to consumer interest in CAM, although hospitals can only offer CAM therapies for which local, licensed practitioners are available. Among the most common obstacles listed to incorporating CAM into mainstream health care were lack of research on efficacy, economics, ignorance about CAM, provider competition and division, and lack of standards of practice.

CONCLUSIONS

Consumer demand for CAM is motivating more insurers and hospitals to assess the benefits of incorporating CAM. Outcomes studies for both allopathic and CAM therapies are needed to help create a health care system based upon treatments that work, whether they are mainstream, complementary, or alternative.

Cortical and hippocampal volume deficits in temporal lobe epilepsy

PURPOSE

To use quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) methods to examine the extent of volume abnormalities in the hippocampus and in extrahippocampal brain regions in localization-related epilepsy of temporal lobe origin (TLE).

METHODS

Hippocampal, temporal lobe, and extratemporal lobe volumes were examined with 3-mm spin-echo coronal MRI scans in patients with unilateral TLE who were candidates for temporal lobe resection. Measures were adjusted for normal variation due to intracranial volume and age based on 72 healthy male controls. Group differences between 14 male TLE [7 left TLE (LTLE), 7 right TLE (RTLE)] patients and a subset of 49 age range-matched controls were examined with analysis of variance (ANOVA).

RESULTS

As compared with controls, patients with TLE had smaller temporal lobe and frontoparietal region gray matter volumes, bilaterally, smaller temporal lobe white matter volumes bilaterally, and larger ventricular volumes. In contrast to these bilateral tissue volume deficits, hippocampal volume deficits in TLE were ipsilateral to the epileptogenic temporal lobe.

CONCLUSIONS

Extrahippocampal volume abnormalities were bilateral and occurred in both temporal and extra-temporal cortical regions in TLE, whereas hippocampal deficits were related to the side of the epileptogenic focus. These data suggest that brain abnormalities in TLE are not limited to the epileptogenic region.

Up-regulation of GABAA receptor binding on neurons of the prefrontal cortex in schizophrenic subjects

Recent investigations have reported a reduced density of interneurons and an increase of GABAA receptor binding occurring preferentially in layer II of the anterior cingulate cortex of schizophrenic subjects [Benes F.M. et al. (1992) J. Neurosci. 12, 924-929]. Since a reduction in the density of interneurons has also been found in layer II of the prefrontal cortex, this study has sought to determine whether an un-regulation of the GABAA receptor binding activity might also be found in this region of schizophrenics. A high-resolution autoradiographic analysis of bicuculline-sensitive [3H]muscimol (GABAA) receptor binding on individual neuron cell bodies in layers II, III, IV and VI has been applied to Brodmann area 10 from normal controls (n = 16) and schizophrenic (n = 7) subjects. A computer-assisted technique has been used under strictly blind conditions to determine whether differences in binding occur in the schizophrenic group. A significant increase of GABAA receptor binding activity has been observed in layers II, III, V and VI in the schizophrenic group. When the binding is expressed as a density with respect to neuronal cell size, there is a gradient of binding across layers II, III, V and VI, with neuronal cell bodies in layer II having the greatest density of grains. When different subpopulations of neurons distinguished according to size criteria are examined separately, large (pyramidal) neurons show significantly higher binding, particularly in layer II, where it was increased by 90% in schizophrenics. Small (non-pyramidal) cells do not show significant differences in binding in schizophrenics, except in layer VI, where there was a 135% increase. Potential confounding effects from age and post mortem interval do not explain the differences between the two groups, because both young and old schizophrenics, as well as schizophrenics with long and short post mortem intervals, showed increased GABAA receptor binding activity when compared to control cases distinguished in a corresponding fashion. These data suggest that there may be a preferential reduction of inhibitory GABAergic inputs to pyramidal neurons, particularly in layer II of the preferential cortex, in schizophrenia. This change could potentially result in an increased excitatory outflow from the prefrontal area to other cortical regions of the schizophrenic brain. Overall, these results are consistent with the idea that reduced amounts of GABAergic activity in the prefrontal cortex could be related to a perinatal disturbance and could be a potentially important component of the pathophysiology of psychosis.

Adynamic bone disease in patients with uremia

Adynamic (or aplastic) bone disease is a bone histologic pattern characterized by decreased bone formation rate, low cellularity, and normal or decreased osteoid thickness. It was first described in symptomatic patients undergoing dialysis who were overloaded with aluminum because of contaminated dialysate or chronic ingestion of aluminic phosphate binders; the evidence of the overload was extensive coloration (more than 25%) with aurin tricarboxylic acid, whereas the Perls stain coloration for iron was negative. We have, however, reported these histologic changes in asymptomatic patients with uremia who were never exposed to aluminum, in two patients before end-stage renal failure and in six patients undergoing dialysis. The main step in the prevention of adynamic bone disease is the absolute exclusion of aluminum exposition even by so-called "safe doses" of aluminum phosphate binders because in the long term they are never actually safe. Because idiopathic adynamic bone disease may nevertheless occur, parathyroid hormone suppressive treatment by oral calcium taken with meals as phosphate binders (+/- 1 alpha-hydroxyvitamin D3 derivatives) should be carefully monitored by measurements of plasma concentrations of not only calcium and phosphate but also of intact parathyroid hormone levels. In order to have normal bone formation rate levels, patient intact parathyroid hormone levels should be between one and three times the upper limit of the normal level. Although adynamic bone disease may not be a true bone disease when not due to aluminum, it is a risk factor for increased incidence of hypercalcemia and hyperphosphatemia and therefore for metastatic calcifications. Therefore, when hypercalcemia occurs with hyperphosphatemia and normal intact parathyroid hormone in patients treated with 1 alpha-hydroxyvitamin D3, it is proposed that the latter drug should be discontinued first, whereas oral calcium is increased to correct hyperphosphatemia, and calcium concentration is decreased in the dialysate to prevent hypercalcemia, even though plasma parathyroid hormone may increase up to three times the upper limit of the normal level. In patients previously exposed to aluminum, a deferoxamine test should be performed and a deferoxamine treatment started if the test is positive.

Non-aluminic adynamic bone disease in non-dialyzed uremic patients: a new type of osteopathy due to overtreatment?

Adynamic bone disease, characterized by a low bone formation rate with normal or reduced amount of unmineralized osteoid, is supposed to be the consequence of aluminum intoxication in uremic patients. However, the emergence of adynamic bone disease has been recently reported in hemodialyzed patients in the total absence of aluminum overload. This study was aimed to assess whether such a histological pattern of adynamic bone disease was already present in uremic patients not yet on dialysis. Twenty-seven asymptomatic uremic patients (mean age +/- SD 43 +/- 10 years, mean creatinine clearance 19 +/- 3 ml/mm) were studied and bone biopsies were repeated in 16 of them after 18 +/- 10 months of treatment with oral calcium carbonate (1-3 g of elemental calcium/day) and calcidiol (21 +/- 14 micrograms/day). None of the patients received aluminum hydroxide, and the search for bone aluminum deposits was negative in all patients both before and after treatment. Two patients fulfilled the criteria of adynamic bone disease on their post-treatment biopsies. They originated from patients classified as having normal bone histology before treatment. Comparison with the other patients showed that they had comparable plasma C-terminal PTH but higher plasma creatinine than patients with normal bone histology and lower plasma C-terminal PTH than patients with osteitis fibrosa but comparable plasma creatinine. The plasma levels of 1,25(OH)2D reached values above normal after treatment in these two patients. It is suggested that adynamic bone disease not related to aluminum intoxication can develop in uremic patients independently of dialysis, and is favored by a relative hypoparathyroidism for the degree of renal failure, possibly induced by elevated plasma concentrations of calcitriol.

Comparison of intact, midregion, and carboxy terminal assays of parathyroid hormone for the diagnosis of bone disease in hemodialyzed patients

The predictive value of three different RIAs of PTH for the diagnosis of the histological type of bone disease has been compared in 24 asymptomatic patients on chronic hemodialysis who had never been exposed to aluminum intoxication and who agreed to have a bone biopsy after double tetracycline labeling. The serum concentrations of PTH were measured using a two-site immunoradiometric assay for intact PTH(1-84) and region specific assays directed against the C-terminal (53-84) fragment or the midregion (44-68) of the molecule. The bone histomorphometric analysis showed that six patients had nonaluminic adynamic bone disease with low bone formation rate (BFR), eight had mild hyperparathyroidism characterized by increased bone resorption and normal BFR, nine had severe hyperparathyroidism with increased BFR, and only one had true osteomalacia with increased osteoid seam thickness. All PTH assays correlated with the various parameters of bone resorption and bone formation and were able to differentiate the histological type of bone disease only when groups of patients were considered. For classifying individual patients into severe hyperparathyroidism and adynamic bone disease groups, the intact PTH assay had the best predictive value with a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of at least 70%. A nonaluminic adynamic bone disease was observed in more than 50% of the patients who had normal intact PTH levels (6/11). It is concluded that the intact PTH measurement is superior to C-terminal and midregion assays for the prediction of the histological type of bone disease in hemodialyzed patients and should be of considerable value to adapt their treatment in order to avoid the emergence of both severe hyperparathyroidism and adynamic bone disease. In the absence of aluminum intoxication it seems that maintaining intact PTH concentrations 1 to 1.5 times the upper limit of normal would correspond to the best bone histology.

Destructive spondyloarthropathy with beta 2-microglobulin amyloid deposits in a uremic patient before chronic hemodialysis

We report a case of erosive arthropathies discovered radiologically before dialysis in a uremic patient with Alport syndrome. This patient had no hereditary amyloidosis or causes of acquired generalized amyloidosis (no chronic infections or inflammatory disease, neoplasia, lymphoma or monoclonal gammapathy). Erosive spondyloarthropathies of the cervical spine at the C5-C6 and C6-C7 levels, erosive arthropathy of the right acromioclavicular joint, metacarpal lacuna of the right hand, and lacuna of the left femoral neck were discovered 24 months before starting dialysis in this patient with chronic renal insufficiency of 17 years duration. Puncture of the vertebral disc before starting dialysis took a fragment showing amyloid deposits with permanganate-sensitive Congo red staining and positive staining with anti-beta 2-microglobulin antibodies. This observation suggests that beta 2-microglobulin amyloidosis in uremia may not be exclusively related to chronic kidney replacement therapy, but to uremia per se, especially when the latter is of long duration.

Unilateral post-tuberculous lung destruction: the left bronchus syndrome

In a prospective study of 13 patients requiring pneumonectomy for unilateral post-tuberculous lung destruction the left side was found to be affected in 12. Review of a further 172 cases showed the left lung to have been destroyed in 109 (63%). It is suggested that this predominance of the left side is due to the anatomical characteristics of the left main bronchus and that disordered haemodynamics also appear to play a part.

Disappearance of aluminic bone disease in a long term asymptomatic dialysis population restricting A1(OH)3 intake: emergence of an idiopathic adynamic bone disease not related to aluminum

In dialysis centers using reverse osmosis-treated water but not restricting A1(OH)3 administration, a high prevalence of histological aluminum bone disease has been reported. To assess whether this is also the case in our center where A1(OH)3 intake has always been restricted and even completely given up after 1980 thanks to high doses of CaCO3, we reviewed 42 bone biopsies performed between 1975 and 1985 in patients dialyzed for a mean duration of 56 months. Seventeen of these patients had been dialyzed before 1978 with softened water moderately contamined by aluminum, 15 had always been dialyzed with reverse osmosis-treated water and 10 had been exclusively treated by hemofiltration. The prevalence of aluminum bone disease in the whole population was 9.5% (4 patients) and consisted only of adynamic bone disease, osteomalacia being totally absent. When the patients dialyzed with aluminum-contaminated water were excluded as well as 1 diabetic patient who had taken A1(OH)3 for 1.5 years the prevalence of aluminum bone disease was null in this population. When the whole population is considered the prevalence of the other types of bone disease was 76% for osteitis fibrosa and 14.5% for a non-aluminic adynamic bone disease (6 cases). These latter cases differed from the osteitis fibrosa group only by a relative hypoparathyroidism not explained by higher plasma concentrations and higher oral cumulative doses of calcium, magnesium and aluminum or by lower plasma concentrations of phosphate and bicarbonate. None had previous parathyroidectomy, one had an unsuccessful transplantation and one was diabetic. Iron overload was excluded by negative Perls staining.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Magnesium hydroxide as a complementary aluminium-free phosphate binder to moderate doses of oral calcium in uraemic patients on chronic haemodialysis: lack of deleterious effect on bone mineralisation

To control hyperphosphataemia without hyperaluminaemia, A1(OH)3, which was given in addition to high doses of oral calcium, was replaced by Mg(OH)2 for 6 months in 20 haemodialysed patients and for 20 months in 12. The treatment during the control period was 110 +/- 91 mmol/day of oral calcium element given as CaCO3 and/or Calcium Sorbisterit and 1.05 +/- 1.47 g/day of A1(OH)3. Haemodialysis treatment was 4 h, thrice weekly. To prevent hypermagnesaemia, dialysate magnesium was decreased from 0.75 mmol/l to 0.375 mmol/l. After a control period of 3 months, Mg(OH)2 was given at a mean dose of 2.6 +/- 2 g/day and oral calcium supplements were decreased to 76 mmol/day. Two subsequent bone histomorphometry studies were performed at 8 month intervals in four patients and at 20 month intervals in seven patients. The results show a good control of plasma calcium (mean +/- SD: 2.43 +/- 0.1 mumol/l); phosphate (1.76 +/- 0.4 to 1.66 +/- 0.3 mmol/l); aluminum (1.3 +/- 0.1 mumol/l to 0.6 +/- 0.1 mumol/l); alkaline phosphatase (135 +/- 65 to 125 +/- 40 IU); and PTH fragments (PTH C terminal decreased from 260 +/- 214 to 185 +/- 182 pg/ml, PTH medium from 4185 +/- 5113 to 2270 +/- 4880 pg/ml). Plasma magnesium increased from 0.96 +/- 0.2 to 1.54 +/- 0.2 mmol/l. Bone histomorphometry shows no change in mineralisation, and a borderline decrease of resorption parameters. The main side-effects are (1) diarrhoea, which was well controlled by transient treatment with karaya gum, and (2) an increased need for potassium binders.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Effect of thyrotoxicosis and its treatment on mineral and bone metabolism

Mineral metabolism and bone histomorphometric status were evaluated in 31 hyperthyroid patients (HT) without clinical or radiological bone disease, both before and after treatment of hyperthyroidism. Blood and urine biochemical data were compared with those obtained in sex and age-matched controls. Iliac bone biopsies were available from 12 untreated HT and from 6 of them after treatment for analysis of trabecular bone. Mean plasma calcium was increased in HT but true hypercalcemia was seen in only one case and mean plasma immunoreactive parathormone (iPTH) was normal. Urine calcium excretion was markedly increased, especially in the fasting state. Biochemical parameters decreased after treatment, except for serum alkaline phosphatase and iPTH that, respectively, remained high and increased. Untreated state was characterized by an hyperremodelling state with enhanced activities of bone formation and bone resorption. Bone mineralization was normal. The mineral and bone changes were related to serum thyroid hormone levels. After treatment, the extent of formation surfaces still increased. The fact that, even though calcium metabolism abnormalities were corrected, active resorption surfaces did not change, suggests that trabecular osteoclastic resorption is not an important cause of mobilization of bone calcium to extracellular fluids in HT.

[Destructive spondylarthropathy with amyloid deposits in 3 patients on chronic hemodialysis]

Destructive spondyloarthropathy is a recently described complication of chronic hemodialysis. Three patients presenting spondyloarthropathy with destructive discovertebral lesions of the cervical or lumbar sections of the spine underwent surgery due to neurologic complications: persistent radiculalgia (two cases), regressive tetraparesis (one case). Discal lesions were associated with dislocation of the posterior intervertebral articulations and slipping of vertebrae. These patients had been receiving chronic hemodialysis for more than ten years; two presented hyperparathyroidism and blood aluminum was markedly increased in all cases. Two patients had undergone surgery for bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome. Anatomopathological examination of surgical specimens demonstrated the presence of amyloid deposits in the intervertebral disc. This suggests that amyloidosis, which is frequently seen with carpal tunnel syndrome in patients receiving prolonged hemodialysis, also plays a role in the development of spondyloarthropathy.

Comparative evaluation of bone aluminum content and bone histology in patients on chronic hemodialysis and hemofiltration

In order to compare hemofiltration (HF) and hemodialysis (HD) in connection with the risk of aluminum overload and renal osteodystrophy, double bone biopsies after double tetracycline labeling and a desferrioxamine test were performed in 12 patients on HF and 15 patients on HD. The aluminum concentration was low (less than 0.6 mumol/l) both in the dialysate and the substitution fluid. The duration of treatment (about 2 years) and the cumulative doses of Al(OH)3 and CaCO3 were comparable in the two groups. None of the patients was taking 1 alpha-OH-D. The aluminum balance during an HF run ranged from -22 to +1.8 mumol/l, the balance being positive only when the plasma aluminum was less than 0.5 mumol/l. Basal plasma aluminum and its increase induced by desferrioxamine were comparable in the two groups. Bone aluminum content was also comparable, but was about 10 times higher than in 7 nonuremic controls. Bone aluminum content and plasma aluminum increase after desferrioxamine were correlated to the Al(OH)3 cumulative dose. None of the patients had florid osteomalacia with increased osteoid thickness, and only 1 in each group had traces of stainable aluminum. The mineralization front was decreased in 8 of 12 HF and in 9 of 14 HD patients, so that no difference was observed between the means of the two groups. The predominant histological bone picture of the patients was osteitis fibrosa which was present in 10 of 12 HF and in 13 of 15 HD patients. Mean osteoclast count and active resorption surface were comparable in the two groups, but was increased (5-10 times the mean of the controls).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

[Long-term effects of a combination of 25-hydroxycholecalciferol and 1-alpha-hydroxycholecalciferol on osteodystrophy in chronic hemodialysis patients]

vitamin compounds to the basic dialytic treatment of renal osteodystrophy is of contestable interest. Because 1) optimum conditions of dialysis without D vitamin addition prevent efficiently the progress of severe gyperparathyroidism and osteomalacia 2) the D vitamin compunds could render the phosphatemia control more difficult thus contributing to aggravate the histologic lesions of hyperparathyroidism.