Can alternative treatments help Alzheimer’s or MS? Join this Web chat Tuesday to get answers

Alzheimer’s, MS and Parkinson’s are devastating diseases with no known cures. Some patients turn to alternative medicine hoping for pain relief and maybe even a cure. This expert can explain whether alternatives are worth a try or a waste of money.

Dr. Steven Novella, an academic clinical neurologist at Yale University School of Medicine, will be the guest of Chicago Tribune health reporter Trine Tsouderos during a live Web chat Tuesday (1 p.m. EST, noon CST, 10 a.m. PST) . Novella also is president and co-founder of the New England Skeptical Society and hosts a weekly science podcast called “The Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe.”

The National Institutes of Health offers guidelines on how to assess complementary and alternative medicine, or CAM. It says: “It is important to learn what scientific studies have discovered about the CAM therapy you are considering. Making a decision based on the facts is a better idea than using a therapy simply because of something you have seen in an advertisement or on a Web site or because someone has told you that it worked for them.”

Before you consider any alternative treatment, come to the Web chat and ask a question or two.