Management of female infertility with Chinese Herbal Medicine can improve pregnancy rates 2-fold within a 4 month period compared with Western Medical fertility drug therapy or IVF.

Efficacy of Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine in the management of female infertility: A systematic review.

Ried K, Stuart K. Complement Ther Med. 2011 Dec;19(6):319-31. Epub 2011 Oct 5.

Original information from http://www.pubmed.gov

Source

Discipline of General Practice, School of Population Health & Clinical Practice, The University of Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia.

Abstract

OBJECTIVES:

To assess the effect of Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine (CHM) in the management of femaleinfertility and on pregnancy rates compared with Western Medical (WM) treatment.

METHODS:

We searched the Medline and Cochrane databases and Google Scholar until February 2010 for abstracts in English of studies investigating infertility, menstrual health and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). We undertook meta-analyses of (non-)randomised controlled trials (RCTs) or cohort studies, and compared clinical pregnancy rates achieved with CHM versus WM drug treatment or in vitro fertilisation (IVF). In addition, we collated common TCM pattern diagnosis in infertility in relation to the quality of the menstrual cycle and associated symptoms.

RESULTS:

Eight RCTs, 13 cohort studies, 3 case series and 6 case studies involving 1851 women with infertility were included in the systematic review. Meta-analysis of RCTs suggested a 3.5 greater likelihood of achieving a pregnancy with CHM therapy over a 4-month period compared with WM drug therapy alone (odds ratio=3.5, 95% CI: 2.3, 5.2, p<0.0001, n=1005). Mean (SD) pregnancy rates were 60±12.5% for CHM compared with 32±10% using WM drug therapy. Meta-analysis of selected cohort studies (n=616 women) suggested a mean clinical pregnancy rate of 50% using CHM compared with IVF (30%) (p<0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS:

Our review suggests that management of female infertility with Chinese Herbal Medicine can improve pregnancy rates 2-fold within a 4 month period compared with Western Medical fertility drug therapy or IVF. Assessment of the quality of the menstrual cycle, integral to TCM diagnosis, appears to be fundamental to successful treatment of female infertility.

read more:

www.ChineseMedicineDoctor.us

www.vitcm.org

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Chinese medicine, acupuncture stoped my large scale of skin rash. By Nancy S. Northern Virginia.

In mid-February I began noticing some itchy rash spots on my scalp and back and hips.  These would come and go, but by March it was very widespread– front and back of both legs, buttocks, hips, both arms, a few spots on the back and abdomen.  The front of my thighs was particularly bad.  It was hot, red and very itchy, especially in the evenings when it was so uncomfortable that I had a lot of trouble getting to sleep.  On March 28, I saw my primary physician, who gave me hydrocortisone cream, then the next week when I told him it hadn’t worked and the rash was spreading, he sent me to a dermatologist. On April 1, the dermatologist diagnosed “eczema probably triggered by dry skin” and she gave me stronger steroid cream and a moisturizer, then on April 8 when the rash showed no improvement and was still spreading she took a biopsy (which was later found to be “inconclusive but consistent with eczema or drug rash”) and prescribed a stronger cream and oral Prednisone.  I was reluctant to take the Prednisone, especially since the steroid creams were having no effect at all, and the list of side effects for Prednisone was daunting.  So I postponed taking the Prednisone, and took some time to consider options, do research and collect suggestions from friends. 

 Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) kept coming up as one of the few approaches that has an approach to skin rashes.  Apparently, skin rashes result from an imbalance (“too much heat in the blood”) and TCM uses herbs to help rebalance.  When I first heard this I was reluctant to put anything new into my system, but the more I read (and itched!) it seemed worth trying.  Every home remedy I had found (and there were dozens) made absolutely no difference in the itching, and I was ready to try the herbs.  Several TCM doctors and acupuncturists were recommended by friends, but I had had a good experience with Dr. Fan a couple years ago when I had inflamed biceps tendons, and knew he had a very thorough and careful manner and had been an actual doctor in China, trained in both Chinese medicine and western medicine.  So I contacted Dr. Fan’s office on April 12 and saw him on April 13.  He did indeed have herbs to help and also did acupuncture treatment on me, and within a few days the rash stopped spreading and began to not be so hot and red.  We continued the treatments about twice a week and there was gradual improvement every day, although the itching continued for another 5 weeks or so.  As of June 1, my skin is back to normal and no longer itching.  I am very grateful.

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Liu Wei Di Huang Wan 六味地黄丸

Last Sunday I had a lecture for alumni Association of Chinese Medicine in Washington DC. The topic is Liu Wei Di Huang Wan 六味地黄丸.

Here is my Power Point file.六味地黄

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Dr.Arthur Fan’s New Publication in Herb Safety Study. Preclinical safety evaluation of the aqueous acetone extract of Chinese herbal formula Modified Huo Luo Xiao Ling Dan.

Fan AY, Lao L, Zhang RX, Zhou AN, Berman BM. Preclinical safety evaluation of the aqueous acetone extract of Chinese herbal formula Modified Huo Luo Xiao Ling Dan. Zhong Xi Yi Jie He Xue Bao. 2010 May;8(5):438-47.

Objective: To investigate the safety of oral administration of Modified Huo Luo Xiao Ling Dan (HLXLD), a compound traditional Chinese herbal medicine. Methods: The toxicological information of HLXLD and its individual constituent herbs was searched in cintcm or TCMlars (www.cintcm.com), PubMed (MEDLINE), Chinese Herbal Medicine (1999) and WHO Monographs on Selected Medicinal Plants (Vol. I- III). Single-dose acute toxicity was assessed by using the highest possible dosage. Motor function test was used to determine whether the herbal formula might cause motor impairment. Nine-day HLXLD repeat-dose sub-chronic toxicity/adverse effects, and 42-day chronic toxicity/adverse effects in rats were also assessed. Results: The literature searches showed that HLXLD and its eleven ingredient herbs had no side/adverse effects listed in the traditional Chinese medicine literature. Under the dosages proposed in the formula, the HLXLD formula had no side/adverse effects according to MEDLINE, Chinese Herbal Medicine and WHO Monographs on Selected Medicinal Plants. The studies in rats showed: (1) in single-dose acute toxicity assessment, the maximal feasible single oral dose, 9.20 g/kg HLXLD, showed no significant effect on clinical signs, or body weight and mortality over a 14-day period in rats; (2) during motor function test, nine-day repeat-dose of daily HLXLD treatment at 4.60 g/kg did not cause motor impairment; (3) in nine-day HLXLD repeat-dose sub-chronic toxicity/adverse effects assessment, there were no noticeable abnormal behavioral changes or obvious adverse reactions and signs in complete Freund’s adjuvant inflamed rats (highest observed dosage: 4.60 g/kg), and no noticeable adverse effects were observed during, or 14 days after nine-day treatment at 4.60 g/kg in non-inflamed rats; (4) during 42-day chronic toxicity/adverse effects assessments, no noticeable abnormal behavioral changes, no obvious adverse reactions and signs were observed in normal rats administered with HLXLD at a dose of 2.30 g/kg and the values of serum biochemistry and histopathology were in normal range. Conclusion: Both existing information and animal data support that Modified HLXLD is a safe herbal product for clinical application.

PMID: 20456842 [PubMed – in process]

Free Full Text at http://www.jcimjournal.com/articles/publishArticles/pdf/201051481790.pdf

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