Since 1994, any herbal remedy sold as a dietary supplement -- no matter what their real purpose -- the FDA has no authority over them,

There cannot be two kinds of medicine.

The more research we have, the better, ... Those treatments that are found to be effective will, believe me, be incorporated in the mainstream.

I think it's scary, ... Doctors and patients have come to believe that prescription drugs are more effective and safer than they probably are.

[Many drugs are prescribed outside their official recommendations, she says. Neurontin, for example, was initially approved only for epilepsy. But, after a slow start, it grew to become a $US2.3 billion ($3 billion today) blockbuster for its owner, Pfizer, in 2003.] About 80 per cent of the prescriptions were for unapproved uses - conditions like bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, insomnia, restless legs syndrome, hot flashes, migraines and tension headaches, ... In fact, Neurontin has become a sort of all-purpose restorative for chronic discomfort of almost any type - yet there is almost no good published evidence that it works.

Patients may postpone getting needed effective treatment, because they are instead relying on alternative remedies that haven't been tested, ... The second danger is that they may actually be harmful.