The Carstens Foundation in Germany has created a database designed as a search tool for people interested in responsible information on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).

The aim of CAM-quest is not to rate clinical studies, but rather to demonstrate that a huge body of clinical research in the field of CAM does exist. The database includes research studies in nine therapy categories – acupuncture, anthroposophy, ayurveda, bioenergetics, homeopathy, manual medicine, mind-body medicine, phytomedicine and TCM – and searches can be made by disease, therapy and study design.

The CAM-quest ’quick search’ function provides a fast and easy way to find clinical research which assesses alternative treatments for many common diseases.  However, there is also the option of an ‘expert search’ which allows you to carry out a comprehensive search in CAM clinical research literature, including access to a large number of German homeopathic case reports.

The website presenting the CAM-quest database is currently available in English, French, Dutch and German, but will eventually be translated into all of the European languages.

www.cam-quest.org