Another gift from the rain forest

Here's an article I found interesting. When I review medication research a huge percentage of the off-label uses of medications are in the area of chronic pain. Catuama is a medication that appears to help with inflammatory-based pain. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to help with neuropathic pain. (That's the kind of pain diabetics get after having the disease for awhile.)

A Pub Med search found only 7 articles, and the ones I felt strong enough to share were one suggesting that Catuama also has a mild antidepressant effect and one suggesting that it may help with ventricular fibrillation.

A very huge disclaimer here...I did not see anything about interactions with other medications and I did not see anything about toxicity. That doesn't mean these are not potential risks, it mostly means research is so new this may not yet be published. So please don't mix this med with your heart medications and please don't just stop taking medications because you read this post. If you'd like to try Catuama it's a good idea to coordinate this with the person who is managing any prescription medications you may be taking.

I couldn't find a decent photo to show you what it looks like. The most I can gather is that it comes from Brazil. But if the information helps some of you...then I wanted to share it.

Have a great weekend!

Quintão NL, Ferreira J, Beirith A, Campos MM, Calixto JB. Evaluation of the effects of the herbal product Catuama in inflammatory and neuropathic models of nociception in rats. Phytomedicine. 2008 Apr;15(4):245-52.

Campos MM, Fernandes ES, Ferreira J, Bortolanza LB, Santos AR, Calixto JB.Pharmacological and neurochemical evidence for antidepressant-like effects of the herbal product Catuama. Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 2004 Aug;78(4):757-64.

Pontieri V, Neto AS, de França Camargo AF, Koike MK, Velasco IT.The herbal drug Catuama reverts and prevents ventricular fibrillation in the isolated rabbit heart. J Electrocardiol. 2007 Nov-Dec;40(6):534.e1-8. Epub 2007 Sep 24.