In details, celebrex as a pain killer inhibits the development and
production of prostaglandins. They are represented as hormone-like
substances in your physical structure and they are considered to be
the actual source of all inflammation that can occur in your body. As
I have said already, the main sphere of celebrex and tramadol
administration is arthritis but pain in the back which is also closely
related to the inflammation in your spinal code can be treated this
both these medications. The medication to choose depends on the level
of your pain and the tolerance of this medication by a person.
Choosing the right medication for you can depend on a lot of factors
but it is the doctor who should carry out a lot of tests and
examinations to take the right decision and provide you with the
fastest pain relieve possible.

As for Celebrex, it is a powerful anti-inflammatory medication which
similar in its action to the nonprescription medication called
ibuprofen, in other words Motrin or Advil. The particularity of this
medication is that it is rather selective to against enzymes which are
responsible for causing pain in certain arthritis pain. Trmadol in its
turn is catagorised as a centrally acting opioid analgesic, the
effects of which are closely related narcotic drugs but tramadol is
not a narcotic. Researchers do not really know hor tramadol works but
it influences the central nervous system and provides pain
alleviation.What do you know about Celebrex and Tramadol? For those people who
suffer from inflammatory diseases, these two medications accompany
their lives all the time. It is not surprising as Celebrex is
considered to be an unti-inflammatory medication. All these two
medications can be prescribed to treat any painful conditions but
people who suffer from arthritis are prescribed them most of all. As
the condition of arthritis is closely related to inflammation caused
by the degeneration of your bones and joints and the loss of bone
mass. It is no wonder why these two medications are prescribed at the
same time.

They treat your painful conditions in different ways. Celebrex takes
away your inflammation turning you able to move your body parts and
Tramadol in its turn excludes any possibility of pain appearing .
Thanks to these two medication, a pain suffer can experience the
pleasures of everyday life again.

In details, celebrex as a pain kil ler inhibits the development and
production of prostaglandins. They are represented as hormone-like
substances in your physical structure and they are considered to be
the actual source of all inflammation that can occur in your body. As
I have said already, the main sphere of celebrex and tramadol
administration is arthritis but pain in the back which is also closely
related to the inflammation in your spinal code can be treated this
both these medications. The medication to choose depends on the level
of your pain and the tolerance of this medication by a person.
Choosing the right medication for you can depend on a lot of factors
but it is the doctor who should carry out a lot of tests and
examinations to take the right decision and provide you with the
fastest pain relieve possible.

As for Celebrex, it is a powerful anti-inflammatory medication which
similar in its action to the nonprescription medication called
ibuprofen, in other words Motrin or Advil. The particularity of this
medication is that it is rather selective to against enzymes which are
responsible for causing pain in certain arthritis pain. Trmadol in its
turn is catagorised as a centrally acting opioid analgesic, the
effects of which are closely related narcotic drugs but tramadol pills is
not a narcotic. Researchers do not really know hor tramadol works but
it influences the central nervous system and provides pain
alleviation.

“Unfortunately, we cannot find a well-designed and conducted trial at this stage,” said Taixiang Wu, an associate professor at Sichuan University in China.

Hyperthyroidism occurs when the thyroid gland produces too much thyroid hormone, causing problems that can mimic the effects of a shot of adrenalin, said Jeffrey Sandler, M.D., an endocrinologist with Scripps Mercy Hospital and Whittier Institute in San Diego. “It stimulates the heart rate, can raise blood pressure, breaks down muscle and can cause weakness and weight loss.”

Increased thyroid hormone can lead to higher body temperatures and warm, moist skin as well. The cause of hyperthyroidism is typically Graves’ disease, where cells of the immune system work against the thyroid gland.

Hyperthyroidism is most common among women and the drugs used to treat it have been around for about 50 years, Sandler said. In extreme cases, doctors turn to surgery and radiation.

In this new Cochrane Library review, the researchers looked for studies that compared hyperthyroidism patients who took Chinese herbal medicine alone to those who took it in combination with Western treatments.Chinese Herbal Medicine Unproven As Overactive Thyroid Treatment

The Cochrane Library, a publication of The Cochrane Collaboration, an international organization that evaluates medical research. Systematic reviews like this one draw evidence-based conclusions about medical practice after considering both the content and quality of existing medical trials on a topic.

The reviewers were only able to find 13 relevant studies whose authors were available to interview. The researchers excluded 52 other studies whose authors they could not reach.

According to the reviewers, the 13 studies with 1,770 people were all of “low quality.” Types of herbal treatment varied widely, with 103 different formulations included.

None of the studies analyzed death rates, health-related quality of life or participants’ willingness to follow the regimens. And none used a “double-blinding” approach, in which both researchers and subjects are initially prevented from knowing who’s getting which treatment.

The studies indicated that combinations of Chinese herbal medicines and Western antithyroid drugs might lower relapse rates, reduce side effects and relieve symptoms of hyperthyroidism, but the Chinese treatments didn’t seem to have much of an effect on the functioning of the thyroid itself.

While understanding of hyperthyroidism is a product of modern times, Chinese doctors have presumably been treating patients with the condition for some 2,000 years, said Subhuti Dharmananda, director of the Institute for Traditional Medicine in Portland, Ore. Chinese research focused on specific treatments, however, only goes back to the 1970s and 1980s, he said.

Should hyperthyroidism patients consider combining Chinese and Western medicine? “At this point, there is no wisdom available one way or the other,” Dharmananda said. “My recommendation to people is that if they are drawn to using Chinese medicine as part of their therapy, that they find a good practitioner in their area and undertake a program of treatment to see if it helps.”

He added, “It is possible that Chinese medicine can, for example, alleviate some of the symptoms of hyperthyroidism or help maintain good health after modern treatment for the disease.”

As for the current Western treatment, “we do pretty well with what’s currently available and standard,” Sandler said.

Regarding alternative treatments, “the problem is that when you’re dealing with a disease where it’s important to have the right dosage of medication,” Sandler said. Indeed, the proper dose of one thyroid medication can range from 50 to 1,200 milligrams depending on the person, he said

“Things like herbal medicines and supplements are not reliably predictable, and the doses may vary from batch to batch or manufacturer to manufacturer,” Sandler said. “You’re dealing with a situation where there isn’t a great deal of control.”

The Cochrane Collaboration is an international nonprofit, independent organization that produces and disseminates systematic reviews of health care interventions and promotes the search for evidence in the form of clinical trials and other studies of interventions. Visit http://www.cochrane.org for more information.

Zen XX, et al. Chinese herbal medicines for hyperthyroidism. (Review). Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2007, Issue 2.

Health Behavior News Service
Center for the Advancement of Health 2000 Florida Ave. NW, Ste 210
Washington, DC 20009
United States

Statutory regulation of practitioners of herbal medicine and acupuncture has been advocated by a House of Lords’ Select Committee and by three subsequent DH working groups as well as the vast majority of respondents to a previous DH consultation on this subject. Having looked closely at all other options, the NIMH is strongly in support of statutory regulation of this sector. All other options considered, only statutory regulation of this sector can enable the public to identify qualified practitioners and maintain the availability of a full range of herbal medicines in herbal practice.

The Report on Extending Professional and Occupational Regulation published 16 July 09 said “Government has also agreed to extend regulation to practitioners of acupuncture, herbal medicine, and traditional Chinese medicine practised in the UK. ” It also reports that the Health Professions Council has recommended these groups of healthcare professionals for statutory regulation. Given this it seems clear that statutory regulation of this sector should now proceed without further delay.

The public are at risk of having a much reduced access to herbal remedies from herbal practitioners unless the Government is able to get statutory regulation in place before the EU Directive on Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products comes into force in 2011.” says Jane Gray, President of the NIMH.

Background

The publication of The Joint Consultation on the Report to Minsters from the Department of Health Steering Group on the Statutory Regulation of Practitioners of Acupuncture, Herbal Medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine and Other Traditional Medicine Systems Practised in the UK marks a significant further step in the move towards statutory regulation of acupuncture, herbal/traditional medicine and traditional Chinese medicine. This process has been consistently and fully supported by the Department of Health since it made, in 2001, a positive response to the report on CAM by the House of Lords’ Select Committee on Science and Technology that called for the immediate regulation of acupuncture and herbal medicine practitioners. Since that time the DH has undertaken a scoping study and published timetables for statutory regulation of this sector as well as the results of a previous DH public consultation about statutory regulation of these modalities that had an overwhelming 98.5% response in favour of such statutory regulation. More recently, the Government launched an independent working Group, under the chairmanship of Professor Michael Pittilo, to look again at the statutory regulation of this sector following publication in 2007 of the White Paper Trust, Assurance and Safety – The Regulation of Health Professionals in the 21st Century.

The Pittilo report published in June 2008 recommended that:

“There is an urgent need to proceed without delay with the statutory regulation of practitioners of acupuncture, herbal medicine, traditional Chinese medicine and other traditional medicine systems.” The primary reasons for this recommendation are to safeguard the public by allowing removal of failing practitioners from the statutory register and to enable informed choice by those who wish to access these forms of treatment

* Statutory regulation of this sector will continue to permit the manufacture of herbal medicines by a third party for the use of individual patients. After the Traditional Medicinal Herbal Products Directive is fully implemented in 2011, this important facility will disappear unless these practitioners are statutorily regulated and thus able to have such products made up under Article 5 of Directive 2001/83/EC (the main EU Medicines Directive).

* Following the Government suggestion made in the White Paper (2007), ‘Trust, assurance and safety – the regulation of health professionals in the 21st century’, this sector should be regulated by the Health Professionals Council.

Source
National Institute of Medical Herbalist

The use of herbal medicines in the United States is becoming increasingly popular. Yet, because most American health care providers receive little or no formal training in herbal medicine, physicians and nurses are often unprepared to answer questions patients have about the efficacy or dangers of herbal medicines, either as supplements to more conventional treatment methods or as a stand-alone therapy to treat or prevent disease. Furthermore, patients are not always aware of the potential side effects many of these herbal remedies may have, particularly when combined with more conventional forms of medication.

“This is an excellent chance to explore the advantages and disadvantages of herbal medicine in a scientific way,” said Dr. Arthur Rubenstein, MBBCh, Dean, School of Medicine, Executive Vice-President of the University of Pennsylvania for the Health System, and whose remarks will open the second day of symposium activities.

A host of nationally recognized speakers are scheduled to appear including: Mr. Mark Blumenthal, Executive Director of the American Botanical Council; Dr. Steven King, Vice President of Ethnobotany and Conservation for Napo Pharmaceuticals; Dr. Robert McCaleb, President of the Herb Research Foundation; Dr. Marc Micozzi, physician-anthropologist and Penn alum; Mr. Simon Mills, Past-President, British Herbal Medicine Association; Dr. John M. Riddle, distinguished author, scholar, and professor at North Carolina State University; and Dr. Chun-Su Yuan, the Cyrus Tang Professor in the Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care at the University of Chicago.

The two-day symposium begins on September 19 at the Morris Arboretum in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia. The evening will feature tours of herbal plants in the arboretum’s gardens, dinner, and an address by keynote speaker Dr. John M. Riddle. The symposium continues the following day, September 20 at the University of Pennsylvania, Biomedical Research Building II/III: Lobby and Auditorium where further lectures and discussions will be led by Penn professors Peter Wilding, PhD, and Alfred Fishman, MD.

PENN Medicine is a $2.9 billion enterprise dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and high-quality patient care. PENN Medicine consists of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (founded in 1765 as the nation’s first medical school) and the University of Pennsylvania Health System.

Penn’s School of Medicine is ranked #2 in the nation for receipt of NIH research funds; and ranked #3 in the nation in U.S. News & World Report’s most recent ranking of top research-oriented medical schools. Supporting 1,400 fulltime faculty and 700 students, the School of Medicine is recognized worldwide for its superior education and training of the next generation of physician-scientists and leaders of academic medicine.

The University of Pennsylvania Health System includes three hospitals, all of which have received numerous national patient-care honors, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania; Pennsylvania Hospital, the nation’s first hospital; and Penn Presbyterian Medical Center; a faculty practice plan; a primary-care provider network; two multispecialty satellite facilities; and home care and hospice.

The University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing is the only undergraduate nursing school in the Ivy League offering programs at the bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral levels. Among its many “firsts,” Penn Nursing was the first to be named a World Health Organization Collaborating Center, the first to offer a PACE program offering hands-on care to frail elders, and started the first private Center for Nursing Research. The School currently receives the most NIH funding of any private School of Nursing.

The Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania is located at 100 Northwestern Avenue in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia. The 92-acre horticulture display features a spectacular collection of mature trees in a Victorian landscape. The Arboretum contains numerous picturesque spots such as the formal rose garden, Japanese gardens, swan pond, meadows and the elegant Fernery. The Morris Arboretum is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is the official arboretum of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Contact: Rick Cushman
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

In order to register, new practitioners will require a degree in herbal medicine, while existing practitioners will have two years to prove they have sufficient knowledge and expertise to receive a licence. The government, says the Sunday Telegraph, is expected to consider the report.

Regulation of herbalists – of whom there are thought to be around two thousand operating in the UK – has been on the cards for several years following fears that some herbal medicines are not safe. There have, for instance, been several reports of liver and kidney problems as a result of taking herbal medicines, as well as at least one death. In 2007, student Ling Wang, from Newcastle upon Tyne, died after using a Chinese herbal medicine.

The move aims to protect the public against unqualified practitioners and therefore make taking herbal remedies safer. However, some experts who are sceptical about the efficacy of herbal medicines claim the proposed regulation will simply endorse remedies that are at best ineffective and – at worst – could be dangerous.Meanwhile, the number of available over-the-counter herbal medicine products could be slashed unless more manufacturers submit applications for their remedies to be registered under the European Union Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products Directive (THMPD). The deadline for registration is April 2011, yet according to the British Herbal Medicines Association, only around 100 UK registration applications had been lodged by last October. Any herbal product that is not registered by April 2011 will be taken off the shelves.

The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has approved just 14 applications since the directive was enacted in 2005, with another 21 applications pending. Unless there’s a huge rush of applications between now and the registration deadline, hundreds of herbal products could be banned from sale.

Herbal safety guide

Until herbal medicine practitioner regulations and product registrations are firmly in place, how are practitioners and users of herbal medicines to make sure the remedies they recommend and take are safe?

Traditional Herbal Medicines – a guide to their safer use by Hammersmith Press is an indispensable guide for herbal practitioners and users of herbal medicines alike.

The authors – all experts at the Medical Toxicology Unit of Guy’s & St Thomas’ Hospital in London – have brought their significant knowledge of traditional medicines to produce a comprehensive herbal compendium: Dr Lakshman Karalliedde spent 10 years at the MTU and is now a toxicologist with the Chemical Hazards and Poisons Division of the Health Protection Agency; Debbie Shaw heads the MTU’s Chinese Medicine Advisory Service; and Indika Gawarammana is a former registrar at the MTU.

Traditional Herbal Medicines covers traditional herbal remedies from around the world including Chinese, Afro-Caribbean, Unani and Ayurvedic traditional medicines, describing their sources, known effects and side effects, dosages, interactions and – most importantly – precautions. It’s a must for anyone involved in prescribing either conventional or traditional herbal medicines – as well as the people who are taking them.

While the studies are in the early stages, the findings suggest that thymoquinone could eventually have some use as a preventative strategy in patients who have gone through surgery and chemotherapy or in individuals who are at a high risk of developing cancer.

According to Hwyda Arafat, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of Surgery at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, nigella sativa helps treat a broad array of diseases, including some immune and inflammatory disorders. Previous studies also have shown anticancer activity in prostate and colon cancers, as well as antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.

Using a human pancreatic cancer cell line, she and her team found that adding thymoquinone killed approximately 80 percent of the cancer cells. They demonstrated that thymoquinone triggered programmed cell death in the cells, and that a number of important genes, including p53, Bax, bcl-2 and p21, were affected. The researchers found that expression of p53, a tumor suppressor gene, and Bax, a gene that promotes programmed cell death, was increased, while bcl-2, which blocks such cell death, was decreased. The p21 gene, which is involved in the regulation of different phases of the cell cycle, was substantially increased. She presented her findings at the Digestive Disease Week in San Diego.

Dr. Arafat and her co-workers also found that thymoquinone caused “epigenetic” changes in pancreatic cancer cells, modifying the cells’ DNA. She explains that these changes involve adding acetyl groups to the DNA structure, specifically to blocks of proteins called histones. This “acetylation” process can be important for genes to be read and translated into proteins. In this case, it could involve the genes that are key to initiating programmed cell death.

“We looked at the status of the histones and found surprisingly that thymoquinone increased the acetylation process,” Dr. Arafat says. “We never anticipated that.”

At the same time, adding thymoquinone to pancreatic cancer cells reduced the production and activity of enzymes called histone deacetylases (HDACs), which remove the acetyl groups from the histone proteins, halting the gene transcription process. Dr. Arafat notes that HDAC inhibitors are a “hot” new class of drugs that interfere with the function of histone deacetylases, and is being studied as a treatment for cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. Finding that thymoquinone functions as an HDAC inhibitor, she says, “was very remarkable and really exciting.”

Pancreatic cancer, the fourth-leading cause of cancer death in this country, takes some 34,000 lives a year. The disease frequently is detected after it has spread and only 4 percent of individuals with pancreatic cancer live for five years after diagnosis.

In a paper presented at the 2009 American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF) Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO in San Diego, researchers sought to explore the pattern of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use in patients with a prior diagnosis of CRS at a rhinology outpatient clinic in Aberdeen, Scotland.

CRS is defined as a group of disorders characterized by inflammation of the mucosa of the nose and paranasal sinuses of at least 12 weeks duration. The group of CRS disorders annually accounts for as many as 22 million office visits and more than 500,000 emergency department visits in the U.S., according to some estimates.

Questionnaires were provided to 75 patients over a two-month period. The questionnaire consisted of demographic information and whether they had ever used CAM from a list of 49 herbal and non-herbal alternative therapies (such as acupuncture, massage, aloe vera, and cod liver oil). Subjects were also asked why they used CAM, where they learned of CAM, whether they found it efficacious, and whether their general practitioner was aware they were using it.

Sixty-five percent of patients had used CAM. Thirty percent of patients used it for chronic rhinosinusitis. Women were significantly more likely to use CAM than men, according to the statistics. Patients who were employed, married, and had university degrees were also more likely to use CAM. Only 43 percent of CAM users had informed their doctor about the use of the therapy.

Researchers noted that patients were reticent about telling their physician about usage of CAM. Clinicians should enquire as to all the medications being taken by patients, and the dangers of non- compliance with conventional medications should be emphasized to CAM users by their treating physician.

Title: Complementary medicine usage in chronic rhinosinusitis
Presenters: Jon Newton, Muhammad Shakeel, DO-HNS, Louise Santangeli

Source:
Jessica Mikulski
American Academy of Otolaryngology — Head and Neck Surgery

In several studies included in the review, taking tongxinluo improved angina patients’ electrocardiogram results. Overall, though, the review did not provide solid evidence that the medicine routinely benefits cardiac patients with angina.

“Tongxinluo is one of the most successful traditional Chinese medicines on the market in China,” said lead author Wu Taixiang.

Tongxinluo, widely used in parts of Asia, is composed of eight herbs and insects, which are mixed together, ground to a fine powder and enclosed in capsules. Patients taking it for cardiovascular conditions typically consume three to four capsules, three to four times daily, for four weeks.

Because of the medicine’s popularity, Taixiang, an associate professor at Sichuan University, West China Hospital, in Chengdu, Sichuan, and his coauthors say they felt a “social responsibility” to investigate possible clinical benefits.

The review appears in the current issue of The Cochrane Library, a publication of The Cochrane Collaboration, an international organization that evaluates research in all aspects of health care. Systematic reviews draw evidence-based conclusions about medical practice after considering both the content and quality of existing trials on a topic.

The meta-analysis compiled data from 18 randomized controlled trials, all conducted in China, comprising 1,413 patients ranging in age from 25 to 88. Most of the trials examined the effect of tongxinluo when used in conjunction with traditional angina treatments compared to traditional treatments alone.

Angina is chest pain, squeezing or discomfort that occurs when the heart fails to get enough blood. It often occurs as a symptom of coronary artery disease, the most common type of heart disease.

With stable angina, patients experience a regular pattern of chest pain. In unstable angina, patients experience unpredictable pain due to a restriction or blockage in blood flow. A third type of angina, called variant angina, occurs rarely.

“There are very clearly drawn guidelines for treating unstable angina based on numerous clinical trials,” said James L. Weiss, M.D., director of the cardiology fellowship and training program at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Weiss was not affiliated with the review.

Conventional pharmacological treatment for patients with angina typically includes medications such as nitrates, which relax and widen blood vessels; beta-blockers, which slow the heart rate and lower blood pressure; calcium channel blockers, which relax blood vessels and slow heart rate; and heparin, which prevents clot formation.

In seven of the studies in the review, patients with unstable angina treated with tongxinluo and conventional treatment who underwent EKGs had better results than patients treated with conventional treatment alone. An EKG measures the electrical activity of the heart and helps physicians detect cardiac problems or changes.

Evidence from ten of the studies indicated that the herbal medicine improved angina symptoms, such as chest pain and discomfort. In three of the studies, tongxinluo’s results appeared as effective as those of nitrate medications.

Tongxinluo’s beneficial role in treating angina did not surprise Taixiang, who called the review “an encouraging exploration.”

However, more work needs to be done, according to the study authors. The studies did not show that the use of tongxinluo reduced the number of heart attacks, sudden death or the need for cardiac procedures such as bypass or angioplasty.

The review also linked the herbal medicine to uncomfortable side effects, including gastrointestinal symptoms and blood vessel breakage under the skin.

The studies offered only short-term analysis for a small number of patients. Most of the reviewed trials involved fewer than 100 participants, and all of the studies evaluated tongxinluo’s effects for no longer than eight weeks.

But the main shortcoming of the studies that evaluated the medicine was their poor quality. “Some trialists selected an incorrect drug as the control in their trial, thus resulting in a wrong conclusion,” Taixiang said. As a result, he said, “we cannot recommend the use of [tongxinluo] based on current evidence that resulted from poor quality trials.”

Weiss agreed that the review lacked evidence that the herbal medicine benefits angina patients. “It would require a controlled randomized clinical trial with a fairly large number of patients – hundreds at least – to see whether this agent added to usual treatment would benefit patients,” he said.

People with new, worsening or persistent chest pain should be treated immediately in the emergency department of a hospital.

Taixiang W, et al. Tongxinluo (Tong xin luo or Tong-xin-luo) capsule for unstable angina pectoris (Review). The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2006, Issue 4.

The Cochrane Collaboration is an international nonprofit, independent organization that produces and disseminates systematic reviews of health care interventions and promotes the search for evidence in the form of clinical trials and other studies of interventions

Nevertheless, based on the available data, Dan Shen treatment showed a tendency to improve short-term neurological deficits in stroke patients, say researchers at Sichuan University in Chengdu, China.

However, the short-term result “should be interpreted cautiously because of the poor methodological quality of included trials and the small numbers of patients,” said review co-author and neurology professor Ming Liu.

The review appears in the current issue of The Cochrane Library, a publication of The Cochrane Collaboration, an international organization that evaluates research in all aspects of health care. Systematic reviews draw evidence-based conclusions about medical practice after considering both the content and quality of existing trials on a topic.

Obstruction of a blood vessel supplying blood to the brain can result in ischemic stroke, which accounts for about 83 percent of all strokes.

In China, post-stroke use of herbal medicine is part of standard care in both Western-style hospitals and in traditional Chinese medicine hospitals. Dan Shen, in various pill, tablet and injection formulations, is the herb most commonly given for ischemic stroke; its use in that context spans more than three decades.

However, few researchers have tested the herb’s effectiveness in rigorous clinical trials that approach current international standards.

The reviewers found six studies that met inclusion criteria for the review randomized or quasi-randomized and controlled involving 494 acute ischemic stroke patients.

The Cochrane reviewers found that methods of randomly assigning study subjects to Dan Shen or placebo were unclear, and that this could have led to results exaggerating a positive treatment effect by 30 percent to 41 percent. “It is therefore plausible that Dan Shen is truly ineffective and the apparent benefits are simply due to bias arising from the methodological weaknesses of the studies,” they say.

Since treatment and follow-up in these studies ranged from 14 to 28 days, it was not possible to assess the long-term effects of Dan Shen.

“We found no evidence to support the routine use of Dan Shen agents for ischemic stroke,” Liu said. “However, if the apparently beneficial effects on neurological impairment were confirmed in methodologically rigorous trials, it would lead to a useful treatment for stroke being identified,” she added.

Ted Kaptchuck, O.M.D., associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, said, “in Chinese society, at this time, basic science and laboratory evidence seems to be enough to gain widespread acceptance and adoption for the use herbal and other medications. In the West, we think it is a long shot to go from basic laboratory evidence to demonstrated clinical efficacy in randomized trials. We are not at the point where it is clear that a traditional Chinese herb has a major role in health care.”

Liu agreed: “The designs of these trials need to be improved in the future research, not only in the clinical trials on Dan Shen agents, but also in trials on other Chinese herbal medicine.”

The Cochrane Collaboration is an international nonprofit, independent organization that produces and disseminates systematic reviews of health care interventions and promotes the search for evidence in the form of clinical trials and other studies of interventions. Visit http://www.cochrane.org for more information.

Wu B, Liu M, Zhang S. Dan Shen agents for acute ischaemic stroke (Review). Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2007, Issue 2.

Health Behavior News Service
Center for the Advancement of Health 2000 Florida Ave. NW, Ste 210
Washington, DC 20009
United States

At present, there is no statutory regulation of practitioners who offer acupuncture, herbal medicine and traditional Chinese medicine in the UK.

The consultation will seek views on whether a regulatory system should be established to govern the practice of these complementary and alternative therapies. The three Health Ministers for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have agreed that this consultation should be UK-wide.

Once the consultation responses have been considered, a decision will be made on whether or not to move towards statutory regulation of these professions. Any final decision will be based on an assessment of the likely risk of harm to patients and the public, and consideration as to whether this harm could be reduced or avoided by other means. These factors are all taken into account in the consultation as well as looking at alternatives to statutory regulation.

Ann Keen, Health Minister, said:

“Patient safety is paramount, whether people are accessing orthodox health service treatments or using alternative treatments, privately or through the NHS.

“This UK-wide consultation will help us find the best and most appropriate ways of ensuring that those who choose to receive acupuncture, herbal medicine and traditional Chinese medicine can be reassured that those practitioners meet professional standards of care and safety.

“We very much want to hear people’s views on the range of options set out in the consultation, so that we can give these complex issues proper consideration.”

The consultation follows publication of a report from the Extending Professional Regulation (EPR) Working Group, published 16 July 2009, which considers the approach to the regulation of currently unregulated roles and alternatives to statutory regulation in the future.

Dr Michael Dixon, GP and medical director for the Prince’s Foundation for Integrated Health, said:

“As long standing campaigners for the regulation of complementary therapies, we are delighted that the public will be given the chance to have their voice heard. In line with previous consultations and surveys, we are confident there will be overwhelming support for the recommendations of the Working Group.

“There is good evidence for herbal medicine, acupuncture and Chinese medicine in the treatment of some conditions but, as in all healthcare, these therapies require properly trained practitioners.”

Mike O’Farrell, Chief Executive of the British Acupuncture Council and Chair of the Chinese Medicine Working Group, said:

“The British Acupuncture Council is delighted that the recommendations of the Joint Working Group on Acupuncture, Herbal Medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine are now being included in the expanded consultation process.

“We believe that it is an important step in ensuring that the public understand the professional standards needed to work in these therapies and that they will be able to identify the professionals concerned. The British Acupuncture Council has long supported the proposals for statutory regulation of acupuncture and looks forward to the implementation of the original recommendation.”

Source
Department of Health