NEW YORK, Oct 26 (Reuters Health) -- Chinese herbal remedies are becoming increasingly popular among Western consumers. However, one expert believes that the effectiveness of Oriental therapies can only be confirmed in standard scientific trials.
Chinese herbal medicine "(has) been the principal provider of healthcare for a quarter of the world for centuries. Although not everything will be of value, there are bound to be some jewels there," said Dr. Alan Bensoussan, an expert in complementary medicine at the University of Western Sydney Macarthur in Australia.
Bensoussan spoke Sunday at the American Medical Association's 18th Annual Science Reporters Conference, held this week in Los Angeles.
As reported previously by Reuters Health, research is suggesting that various Oriental remedies can help treat Alzheimer's disease, diabetic ulcers, lupus, and even cancer.
"There's good preliminary evidence that Chinese medicine has something to offer in a number of important clinical areas," Bensoussan said. But he cautioned that "the research needs to be repeated." As it stands right now, he said, "we have more or less single, or at the most, two or three studies in any one area."
Many consumers are embracing a wide range of alternative therapies before any real evidence on the safety and effectiveness of these treatments is in, he said. On one hand, this 'openness' to new treatment approaches may a good thing. "We are really a very fortunate generation," Bensoussan said, "because we have access to different forms of clinical practice" in the fight against disease.
On the other hand, he pointed out that Western practitioners of Chinese herbal medicine often lack the training of their colleagues in the East. In countries like China or Korea, herbalists typically spend 5 to 6 years learning how to mix various compounds to create specific remedies.
Furthermore, many patients in the West are taking alternative and conventional medicines at the same time -- without informing their doctor. This is a potentially dangerous trend, Bensoussan said, since drug interactions can have damaging consequences for health.
The Australian researcher adds, "The degree of dialogue between Chinese herbal medicine practitioners and Western doctors is far too low, especially with the numbers of patients straddling both fields."
According to US National Institutes of Health statistics, 40% of US citizens say they used some form of alternative medicine in 1997, with total US spending on alternative medicine practitioners exceeding $21.2 billion.
