By David Douglas
Mon Oct 17, 2:42 PM ET

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051017/hl_nm/chinese_herbal_medicine_eff
ective_for_ast_dc_2

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A plant-based compound using extracts of
three herbs, dubbed the anti-asthma herbal medicine intervention
(ASHMI), significantly improves lung function in patients with
moderate to severe asthma. Moreover, the agent produces results
comparable to those achieved with the steroid drug prednisone,
according to researchers in the United States and China.


"This is the first well-controlled study in which an anti-asthma
Chinese herbal medicine has been found to be as effective as a
corticosteroid drug," senior investigator Dr. Xiu-Min Li told
Reuters Health.

In the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Li of Mount Sinai
School of Medicine, New York and colleagues note that ASHMI has
shown benefit in mouse studies of asthma. It is a simplified version
of a 14-herb based traditional medication used to treat asthma in a
Beijing hospital.

To investigate further, the researchers conducted a study with 91
patients who were randomly assigned to the oral ASHMI and a placebo
or oral prednisone and a placebo.

At four weeks, lung function significantly improved in both groups.
There was slight, but significantly greater improvement in the
prednisone group.

In both groups, there was a significant and similar reduction in
symptom scores, the need for beta-2 bronchodilator therapy and a
blood marker of inflammation

Although both agents were almost equally effective in treating
asthma, the investigators conclude, "ASHMI had no negative effect on
adrenal function."

Li added that "additional clinical studies of ASHMI in the United
Sates are planned. ASHMI may become an important addition to
currently used drugs for asthma."

SOURCE: Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, September 2005.