You are here >  News & Events
Register   |  Login

News & Events

Alternative medicines may pose risk



U.N. warns herbal, spiritual remedies could be misused
  
GENEVA, May 16 "Increasingly popular alternative medicines, from Chinese herbal remedies to spiritual therapies, are often misused and may harm patients, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday.
  
THE UNITED NATIONS health agency called for further clinical research to establish the safety and efficacy of such products, consumed by up to 80 percent of people in developing countries.

WHO urged its 191 member states to regulate traditional medicines and make them safer and more accessible. Only 25 countries operate licensing systems to ensure quality.

"We hope to strengthen recognition of traditional medicines and their integration into national health systems," Jonathan Quick, director of WHO’s essential drugs and medicines policy, told a news briefing.

But he added that alternative, or traditional remedies, needed to be subjected to the same type of rigorous testing as modern pharmaceuticals.

Advertisement

"We need to get evidence and information so people can make a choice between different therapies,"Quick said.

Indigenous products and therapies, handed down through generations of Africans and Asians, have caught on in the West "despite the skepticism of some health care professionals.

“In North America, over one-half of the population has used or continues to use traditional (alternative) Advertisement medicine. In the last decade, in the United States and France, the use of various methods of complementary care has doubled,"Quick said.

“Three out of four people living with HIV/AIDS "in San Francisco, London or South Africa "have used complementary medicine as part of their care,"he added.
  
MISUSE CAN BE FATAL

Yet incorrect use of alternative therapies has caused deaths in wealthy countries, where more and more patients rely on them, according to “WHO Traditional Medicine Strategy 2002-2005."/p>

The herb Ma Huang (ephedra), used in China to treat short-term respiratory congestion, was marketed in the United States as a dietary aid. But its long-term use “led to at least a dozen deaths, heart attacks and strokes,"the WHO said.

“In Belgium, at least 70 people required renal transplant or dialysis for interstitial fibrosis of the kidney after taking the wrong herb from the Aristolochiaceae family, again as a dietary aid,"it added.

Xiaorui Zhang, WHO coordinator on traditional medicine policy, said 70 countries regulated herbal medicines, up from 50 just four years ago. “Only through regulation can we ensure quality, safety and efficacy,"she said.

But she cited difficulties in conducting clinical trials of herbal remedies. Patients could often detect placebos due to a different taste and quality control was tricky as products often combine various plants, each with different chemical compounds.

Zhang, who is from China, declared: “Western medicine came to China about 100 years ago. That Chinese people survived for thousands of years without Western medicine shows that it (traditional medicine) works."br />   

From MSNBC.com

Statement | About us | Job Opportunities |

Copyright 1999---2024 by Mebo TCM Training Center

Jing ICP Record No.08105532-2