Complementary medicine is popular, and may be effective, in the treatment of allergy

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

Traditional Chinese medicine and probiotics may play a useful role in treating allergy, according to new research.
Allergy includes various common disorders such as asthma, hay fever and eczema. Many patients turn to complementary medicine, such as herbs or acupuncture, for relief, even though there is little evidence that such remedies are really effective. For instance, echinacea is not proven to help with colds or hayfever, although it is popular. Indeed, it can even provoke allergies itself in patients who are sensitive to certain plants, such as ragweed.

However, researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, have been looking at a remedy called ASHMI from traditional Chinese medicine for asthma. They put a group of 91 patients on either ASHMI or the steroid prednisone for four weeks. They found improved lung function and suppression of inflammation among those on ASHMI and a trial is ongoing to see whether the remedy can reduce or replace steroids in moderate-to-severe asthma.

Meanwhile, scientists at the Walter Reed Hospital, Washington, DC, say that probiotics - products containing cultures of healthy bacteria - may benefit the immune system. Probiotics may play a role in prevention of eczema in infants if taken by the mother during pregnancy - although more research is needed to clarify this.

Source
American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology meeting 11th November 2006

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