Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine and Aberrant Medical Practices (SRAM) is a scientific journal published by the Commission for Scientific Medicine and Mental Health.[1] It claims to be "the only peer-reviewed journal devoted exclusively to objectively analyzing the claims of "alternative medicine." A statement "In Defence of Scientific Medicine", welcoming the founding of SRAM, was signed by a long list of notable individuals, including five Nobel laureates, all of whom are thus signalling their critical attitudes towards alternative medicine.[2] It was welcomed by Science magazine when it started.[3]
The SRAM website states:
The purpose of the Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine is to apply the best tools of science and reason to determine whether hypotheses are valid and treatments are effective. It will reject no claims because it fits, or fails to fit, some paradigm. It will simply seek justified answers to two questions: "Is it true?" and "Does this treatment work?"
SRAM was founded by Dr. Wallace Sampson, a clinical professor of medicine at Stanford University, and Paul Kurtz, chairman of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal.[4]
According to its editor, SRAM was evaluated at least three times by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) for Medline/PubMed indexing, and rejected each time.[5] As of December 2007, the journal is not listed at PubMed.[6] (See also: Medline: Inclusion of journals.)
The most recent volume is volume 11 (2007).[7]