Is integrative medicine the next new frontier in medicine?

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) methods are increasingly being used by patients in the Western world to treat autoimmune or allergic diseases. Patients use these methodologies of their own accord, frequently against the advice of their physicians. Integrative medicine hopes to merge the benefits of both conventional Western medicine and CAM. More and more research is being conducted to decipher the secrets behind the thousands of years of experience that CAM offers. Are these treatments effective, and are they safe? Or do they act simply by the "placebo effect." This unique issue attempts to bring integrative medicine to greater awareness among Western physicians and practitioners.