Complementary and alternative therapies and dementia

Public interest in complementary therapies has grown at a significant rate, outpacing the research conducted into their safety and effectiveness. People are often attracted to the 'natural' and safe image of these therapies, particularly in treating chronic medical conditions, for which conventional treatments are often less than completely effective.

For an explanation of complementary and alternative therapy, examples of different therapies and their relevance or not to dementia see Factsheet 434, Complementary and alternative therapies and dementia