Alternative medicine on agenda.

Byline: The Register-Guard

Complementary and alternative medicine treatments, such as acupuncture, chiropractic treatments and herbal therapies, will be discussed at a national town hall meeting next week in Portland.

The meeting is sponsored by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, part of the National Institutes of Health, and is open to the public.

The meeting is from 2-5 p.m. Tuesday at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 S.W. Broadway, Portland. The meeting is free, but reserved seating is encouraged. Call toll-free [phone] to reserve seats. Written questions to be asked during the meeting may be be faxed in advance to [phone].

Portland was chosen as the site for the meeting because of Oregonians' interest in alternative medicine.

Portland is home to two research centers funded by NCCAM, one at Kaiser Permanente's Center for Health Research, and the other at Oregon Health & Science University.

The meeting's host is Dr. Stephen Straus, director of NCCAM, and Drs. Barry Oken and B. Alex White, directors of the OHSU and Kaiser research centers, respectively. Scientists from across the country, including several from Oregon, will present their findings on complementary and alternative treatments.