Hello,
The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, as
mentioned in the comment by pammypi, has a whole page dedicated to
alternative therapies and hepatitis C at
http://nccam.nih.gov/health/hepatitisc/index.htm
The conclusion of the Center is "No complementary medicine or
alternative medicine therapies have been scientifically proven to cure
or even ease symptoms of hepatitis C. However, some people are turning
to herbs for relief. They use herbs either to help with hepatitis
itself or to deal with side effects of interferon." They then go on
to summarise the results of scientific studies on milk thistle,
licorice root, ginseng, ginger and St John's Wort. At the bottom of
the page, you can find contact details if you wish to ask the Center
for further information. There are also links provided to other
organisations.
This site is a reputable source of information, because it appears in
the list of resources on hepatitis C provided by the National Library
of Medicine at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/hepatitisc.html The
page also provides links to information on conventional treatment and
other topics relating to hepatitis C. These links will have been
vetted for accuracy and currency by the NLM.
I used Medline (at http://www.nlm.nih.gov) to look at the medical
journal literature to see if there have been any other studies done
recently and found the following:
1. A study published last year in the European Journal of Medical
Research involved 25 patients being treated for 6 months with a
mistletoe preparation. The authors concluded that the "frequency and
intensity of clinical signs and symptoms in our patients decreased
significantly" (Eur J Med Res 2001 Sep 28;6(9):399-405 Effects of a
mistletoe preparation with defined lectin content on chronic hepatitis
C: an individually controlled cohort study. by Huber R, Ludtke R,
Klassen M, Muller-Buscher G, Wolff-Vorbeck G, Scheer R. of the Center
for Complementary Medicien, Department of Internal Medicine II,
University Hospital Freiburg, Germany.)
2. The herbal preparation Iscador (made from mistletoe by Weleda) was
given for one year to 5 patients with chronic hepatitis C. The
authors concluded: "Two patients showed 6-20 fold decreases in viral
load and normalisation of liver inflammation. The treatment was well
tolerated; no serious side effects were observed. The quality of life
improved on average." (Complementary Therapy and Medicine 2001
Mar;9(1):12-6 Iscador Qu for chronic hepatitis C: an exploratory
study. by
Tusenius KJ, Spoek JM, Kramers CW. of the Berg en Bosch Medical
Centre, Bilthoven, the Netherlands)
NB. PLEASE BE AWARE THAT MISTLETOE IS HIGHLY TOXIC. IF YOU WISH TO
EXPLORE THIS ROUTE, YOU MUST DO IT WITH A QUALIFIED HERBAL
PRACTITIONER
3. A review by the Cochrane Hepato-Biliary Group of a number of
studies on ten Chinese herbal preparations concluded that the Chinese
herbal compound Bing Gan Tang combined with interferon-alpha resulted
in better clearance of viral RNA from serum HCV than interferon-alpha
alone. The herbal compound Yi Zhu also helped viral RNA clearance. Yi
Er Gan Tang helped to normalise serum alanine aminotransferase levels.
However, the authors concluded "There is no firm evidence of efficacy
of any medicinal herbs for HCV infection" (Cochrane Database Syst Rev
2001;(4):CD003183 Medicinal herbs for hepatitis C virus infection. by
Liu JP, Manheimer E, Tsutani K, Gluud C. of the The Cochrane
Hepato-Biliary Group, Copenhagen Trial Unit, Centre for Clinical
Intervention Research, Copenhagen University Hospital, Dept. 7701, H:S
Rigshospitalet, Blegdamsvej 9, Copenhagen, Denmark, DK-2100)
4. Alternative Medicine Review - Volume 5, Number 4, August 2000
contains an article on “Hepatitis C: A Retrospective Study, Literature
Review, and Naturopathic Protocol” by W. Bruce Milliman, ND, Davis W.
Lamson, MS, ND, and Matthew S. Brignall, ND of the Naturopathic
Medicine Program, Bastyr University, Kenmore, WA. This article
mentions a number of herbal and dietary approaches to the treatment of
hepatitis C. You can read the full text at
http://www.thorne.com/altmedrev/.fulltext/5/4/355.html
Lastly, the Hepatitis Resource Centre at HealingWell
http://www.healingwell.com/hepatitis/ includes a message board and
chatroom, as well as providing information and lists of online
resources. You might perhaps be able to obtain some information about
the experiences of others with the condition.
Hope this helps you in making some informed decisions. |
