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DIRECTORY OF DATABASES

An Alternative and Complementary Medicine Resource Guide


The literature on clinical and scientific research into alternative medicine treatments is widely scattered, as is background information on alternative medicine systems and approaches. The following is a compilation of established research resources in the USA, Europe and Asia, designed to facilitate research by both professionals and the public. Information may be clinical, biomedical, review, meta-analytical or survey research. The listing is hyperlinked to existing Web sites where available and further details are provided on: type of literature covered; whether fee-based access or free; size of the holding; and mode of access.

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1. Major Biomedical Bibliographic Databases

The major bibliographic databases that offer comprehensive coverage of biomedical research literature also contain a significant number of citations on alternative and complementary medicine information. These databases index a relatively small but growing number of alternative medicine journals but generally have a policy of indexing the entire contents of the predominantly peer-review journals they include. So, as increasing numbers of articles on alternative medicine are published in mainstream journals, they are being indexed. There is partial overlap in the alternative medicine subsets of these databases.

Database Fee or Free Access Information
PubMed
PubMed has become the predominant means of accessing MEDLINE, the world's largest single biomedical database, produced by the National Library of Medicine (NLM), USA. Approximately 5,000 journals in 37 languages are indexed and the over 15 million references go back to 1950. Indexing keywords are known as MeSH terms.
Free Public web access
Embase
Produced by Elsevier Science BV, The Netherlands, Embase has extensive coverage of pharmacological as well as biomedical research. Embase.com allows online searching of the Embase database along with selected MEDLINE records.
Fee Subscription based online access
ISI Web of Science - now Thomson Reuters
Science Citation Index and Social Science Citation Index
These two databases are now part of Thomson Scientific providing access to current and retrospective bibliographic information, author abstracts, and cited references from the world's leading scholarly science, social science, and technical journals worldwide.
Fee Subscription based online access

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2. Main Databases specific to Complementary and AlternativeMedicine (CAM)

Database Fee or Free Access Information
AMED (Allied and Complementary Medicine Database)
Produced by the British Library Health Care Info. Service, this database contains primarily European references, much of which is not found in MEDLINE or EMBASE.
Fee CD, Online library services, or individual subscription. Search service available. Also via Internet (licensed by various sites).
CAM on PubMed
NCCAM and the National Library of Medicine (NLM) partnered to create a Complementary and Alternative Medicine subset of NLM's PubMed, providing access to relevant citations from the MEDLINE database and additional life science journals.
To access, go to PubMed and click on the "Limit" function. From the Subsets pull down menu, select "Complementary Medicine" and then search from within this subset. 
Free Public web access
Cochrane Collaboration, Complementary Field
This international alliance of researchers maintains and updates a registry of randomized controlled trials and systematic reviews. Reviews can be searched by topic or field. The Complementary Medicine Field is based at the University of Maryland.
Free The Cochrane Library is available by subscription, CD-ROM, and single reviews on a pay-per-view basis.
DATADIWAN - English index
The German, Patienteninformation fur Naturheilkunde, (Patient information for natural therapies) has a searchable database on line, much of it in English, providing information on holistic medicine and a network linking research institutions and organizations worldwide.  There are over 6,000 bibliographic entries and 6,000 addresses.
Free Publicly available on DATADIWAN website

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3. Medical, Pharmaceutical or Scientific Bibliographic Databases

The following databases also contain a considerable number of references on alternative and complementary medicine: 

Database Fee or Free Access Information
AGRICOLA
AGRICultural OnLine Access is a bibliographic database created by the National Agriculatural Library, USA, and contains citations on medicinal plants.
Free Public web access
CABI - CAB ABSTRACTS
Bibliographic database from UK, covers agriculture, forestry, aspects of human health, nutrition, and management and conservation of natural resources.
Fee Print and electronic access
CINAHL
Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health covers primarily nursing journals and includes CAM citations.
Fee Access through EBSCO service
InteractionsGuideTM
Web application providing research information on herb, nutrient and drug interactions from MedicineWorks.com.
Fee Purchase directly from web site
NAPRALERT
Relational database, from University of Illinois, of worldwide literature on natural products: ethnomedical, pharmacological/biochemical, clinical studies. Similar information is available for secondary metabolites.
Fee Web-based interface provides access to specific reports, generated from queries. Payment is by credit card at time of search, based on number of citations.
NLM Databases
Provides access to many useful databases, including ToxNet and ClinicalTrials.gov. Bioethics, Cancer Information, and HIV/AIDS can be accessed from PubMed. To access, go to PubMed and click on the "Limit" function. From the Subsets pull down menu, select the subset. 
Free Public web access
PsycINFO
Psychological abstracts from 1800s to present includes mind-body and other CAM information.
Fee Online search service for individuals or institutions

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4. Traditional Systems of Medicine Databases

Database Fee or Free Access Information
African Health Anthology
A bibliographic reference resource that incorporates several Indigenous African medicine Databases
Fee CD-Rom format
American Indian Ethnobotany Database
Dr. Moerman's database of Foods, Drugs, Dyes and Fibers of Native American Peoples, derived from plants is based at the University of Michigan
Free Web search interface
China TCM Patent Database
Established by the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) of People's Republic of China, the English language section containsa subset of formulas from 1985 to present.
Free Web search interface
FRLHT - Bio-Informatics on Medicinal Plants and Traditional Knowledge
Based in India, the Foundation for Revitalisation of Local Health Traditions has compiled a comprehensive database of 7,500 botanical names. The primary purpose of FRLHT is to preserve and revitalise local knowledge of plants and their uses.
Fee No public access. Searches may be requested
JICST-EPlus
Comprehensive bibliographic database with English citations and abstracts, covering Japanese literature on science, technology, and medicine from 1985
Fee Subscription access information from Thompson-Reuters
TCM Database System
A series of databases of traditional Chinese medicine, set up by the Institute of Information on Traditional Chinese Medicine, China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, comprises 10 Chinese databases and 2 English, including TCMLARS (Traditional Chinese Medlical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System) and TCDBASE (Traditional Chinese Drug Database). Uses a common search strategy.
Fee Web or CD
TEK*PAD
Traditional Ecological Knowledge*Prior Arts Database is an index and search engine of existing Internet-based, public domain documentation concerning indigenous knowledge and plant species uses, maintained by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Free Web search interface
TradiMed
Built by the Natural Product Research Institute at Seoul National University, Korea, from Chinese and Korean medical classics,TradiMed represents a combination of traditional medicine knowledge and modern science Medicine, Seoul.
Fee Individual subscription access via Web

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5. Therapy or Modality-Specific Bibliographic Databases or Search Services

Database Fee or Free Access Information
ACUBASE
An acupuncture and TCM practice management tool and a modifiable reference library.
Fee CD format for PC and Mac
Acubriefs
Searchable database with over 16,000 citations, many with online links to citation or text, partly sponsored by the Medical Acupuncture Research Foundation
Free Web search interface
EthnobotDb
EthnobotDb is one of Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases on the US Agricultural Research Database covering ethnobotanical uses for plants.
Free Web search interface
HerbMed
An evidence-based herbal database providing hyperlinked access to the scientific research on herbs, categorized and summarized, with dynamic updating. A project of the Alternative Medicine Foundation. A professional version, HerbMedPro, is available for licensing and subscription. See public website for details on how to apply.
Free Browsable and searchable on the web
HOM-INFORM
This database contains over 25,000 articles and book references on homeopathy, compiled by the Glasgow Homoeopathic Hospital, UK, library service, Hom-Inform, is an individualised search, query and document supply service available to all.
Free and fee Free web searching and fee based services
IBIDS
The database, International Bibliographic Information on Dietary Supplements, from the Office of Dietary Supplements, NIH, covers vitamins, minerals, and herbs.
Free Searchable on the web
MANTIS
The database, updated monthly, mainly covers chiropractic literature, but includes citations on osteopathy homeopathy, and manual medicine. Records are from over 1,000 journals from 1900 to present.
Fee Individual subscription access via Web.
Qi Gong Database
2050 citations from varied sources on clinical and experimental research on Qigong.
Fee CD format for PC and Mac
Treuherz Collection
The private homeopathy reference library of Francis Treuherz holds 6,000 volumes. Inquiries can be made through the Society of Homeopaths.
Fee CD format for PC and Mac

See also HerbMed Related Links for further information on herbal databases and collections

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6. Clinical Trial and Research Project Databases

These listings are of interest to researchers, professionals and patients, providing active links to trials that are currently recruiting.
Database Fee or Free Access Information
AIDSinfo
AIDSinfo is a central resource for federally and privately funded clinical trials for AIDS patients and others infected with HIV.
Free Browsable and searchable on the web
Bandolier
Plain English summaries, from UK group, of evidence-based medicine published research presented as searchable documents to provide advice about particular treatments or diseases for healthcare professionals and consumers.
Free Web search interface and downloadable documents
CenterWatch
A searchable listing of over 4,100 industry and government-sponsored ongoing clinical trials categorized by therapeutic area and geographic region; useful patient resource
Free Browsable and searchable on the web
ClinicalTrials.gov
Provides regularly updated information about federally and privately supported clinical research using human volunteers.
Free Browsable and searchable on the web
Cochrane Library
The Cochrane Library consists of a collection of evidence-based medicine databases, including The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews - updated quarterly. Abstracts are freely publicly search and browsable.
Fee Available as Web subscription or CD
CRISP
This searchable database of NIH funded research and intramural research projects contains mainly conventional biomedicine, but contains a growing proportion of alternative medicine research pro jects and clinical trials.
Free Web search interface
iEdison
Interagency resource to helps government grantees and contractors comply with a federal law, the Bayh-Dole Act, that requires that government funded inventions be reported to the federal agency who made the award
.
Free Web search interface
NCCAM Sponsored Research
This listing by year is not in database format but provides an overview of all extramural research sponsored by the National Center for Complementary Medicine
Free Browsable listing
USPTO
The US Patent and Trademark Office is an important and relatively unexplored source of information and, often unpublished, research data relevant to studies in alternative and complementary medicine.
Free Web search interface

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The original categorized Directory of Databases was developed in collaboration with a group who first met in Vienna, Austria in June 1994 at the Wiener Internationale Akademie fur Ganzheitsmedizin (The Vienna International Academy for Integrated Medicine), and was co-funded by the Rosenthal Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (1993-2007). This early pioneering project has inspired many similar compilations, both electronic and paper publications.

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New Resource Guide: June 15, 2009
Most recent update: March 29, 2010

Author: Jacqueline C Wootton, M.Ed.

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