The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is warning people of the dangers of taking unlicensed herbal medicines containing aconite.

Aconite has recently been portrayed in the media as herbal valium, however, it is actually an extremely poisonous plant that is toxic to the heart.

It is also known as monkshood and herbal products containing this ingredient could be fatal or cause serious illness if consumed.

The MHRA has received two reports of suspected adverse reactions to aconite, one where a patient suffered kidney problems and another where the person was hospitalised after suffering dizziness and paresthesia.

MHRA Head of Herbal Policy, Richard Woodfield, said it was vital people did not confuse herbal medicines and homeopathic ones.

“Registered homeopathic products that contain aconite are considered acceptably safe as the active ingredient, aconite, is sufficiently diluted,” he said.

“Herbal medicines are made from plants and so can have a very significant effect on the body. In certain cases, such as with aconite, the medicine can be extremely potent.

“This is a classic case where natural does not mean safe.”

Mr Woodfield said recent media attention focused on a celebrity who allegedly took a product containing aconite to calm wedding day nerves.

“With unlicensed herbal medicines, people need to be aware that the standards vary widely and can be poor.

“However, an increasing range of herbal medicines made to assured standards are available on the UK market.”

Registered and licensed herbal medicines can be identified by the traditional herbal registration (THR) or the product licence (PL) number on the label.

Registered homeopathic products can also be identified by checking the label which should say Homeopathic medicinal product without approved therapeutic indications, as well as a homeopathic registration number prefixed with the letters HR.

Any side effects to herbal and homeopathic products can be reported to the MHRA via the Yellow Card Scheme yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/

The Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC) opens its register to reflexology practitioners which means that members of the public will be able to choose their registered reflexologist in the knowledge that they meet national standards of conduct and competence.

Launched with government backing through the Department of Health who recently said, “if patients choose to use complementary or alternative therapy, the Governments advice is to choose a practitioner registered with a reputable voluntary registration body such as the CNHC”, the register opened in January 2009. Members of the public who use complementary healthcare will for the first time be able to verify that their reflexologist is registered with the first UK wide regulator.

The voluntary register will open over the course of this year to a wide range of complementary and natural healthcare practitioners. Reflexology is the fourth discipline for which the register has opened this year, joining massage therapy, nutritional therapy and aromatherapy.

By registering with the CNHC, reflexology practitioners will be seen as meeting the gold standard within their field and will be entitled to display the quality mark which is given to practitioners upon registration.

Maggie Dunn, CEO of the CNHC explained “We are delighted that CNHC is today opening its register to reflexology practitioners. Members of the public who use or are interested in using reflexology will be able to check whether the practitioner theyre seeing is registered with the CNHC.”

Continues Maggie, “Public safety is paramount and it is vital that practitioners meet the CNHC minimum standards of qualification and/or experience and in addition, they are signed up to a rigorous code of conduct. Not only will people looking for a reflexologist have peace of mind but practitioners too will benefit through increased public confidence”

Reflexology is the physical act of applying pressure to the feet and hands using a variety of hand techniques. It is based on a system of zones and reflex areas that reflect an image of the body on the feet and hands. Reflexology practitioners believe that such work may bring about a physical change to the body, or improve general health.

Throughout the rest of 2009, the Register will be opened to further disciplines, as they become ready and wish to register, and include Yoga therapy, Shiatsu, Alexander technique, Bowen technique, Cranial therapy, Naturopathy and Reiki.

For further information about registration, visit cnhc.org.uk

Notes

The Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC) was established as a voluntary register in April 2008 with the purpose of protecting the public by means of a voluntary register for complementary and natural healthcare practitioners.

The CNHCs function is

To establish and maintain a voluntary register of complementary healthcare practitioners in the UK who meet its standards of competence and practice

To make the Register of practitioners available to the general public and to educate them about the CNHC quality mark as a quality standard

To operate a robust process for handling complaints about registered practitioners

To work with professional bodies in the complementary healthcare field to further develop and improve standards of professional practice

New research at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston suggests that ancient Chinese herbal formulas used primarily for cardiovascular indications including heart disease may produce large amounts of arterywidening nitric oxide. Findings of the preclinical study by scientists in the universitys Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine for the Prevention of Human Diseases (IMM) appear in the Sept. 15 print issue of the journal Free Radical Biology & Medicine.

Nitric oxide is crucial to the cardiovascular system because it signals the inner walls of blood vessels to relax, which facilitates the flow of blood through the heart and circulatory system. The messenger molecule also eliminates dangerous clots, lowers high blood pressure and reduces arteryclogging plaque formation.

The results from this study reveal that ancient Chinese herbal formulas “have profound nitric oxide bioactivity primarily through the enhancement of nitric oxide in the inner walls of blood vessels, but also through their ability to convert nitrite and nitrate into nitric oxide,” said Nathan S. Bryan, Ph.D., the studys senior author and an IMM assistant professor.

Herbal formulas are a major component of traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs), which also include acupuncture and massage. “TCMs have provided leads to safe medications in cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes,” said C. Thomas Caskey, M.D., IMM director and CEO. “The opportunity for Dr. Bryans work is outstanding given that cardiac disease is the No. 1 cause of death in the United States.”

In the study, researchers performed laboratory tests on DanShen, GuaLou and other herbs purchased at a Houston store to assess their ability to produce nitric oxide. Ancient Chinese herbal formulas used primarily for cardiovascular indications are made up of three to 25 herbs. The formulas can be administered as tablets, elixirs, soups and teas.

Most Chinese herbal formulas marketed in the United States are not considered drugs by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, said YongJian Geng, M.D., Ph.D., study coauthor and cardiology professor at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston. They are considered dietary supplements and are not regulated as strictly as drugs.

Scientists also tested the capacity of the storebought TCMs to widen blood vessels in an animal model. “Each of the TCMs tested in the assays relaxed vessels to various degrees,” the authors stated.

“Further studies should be considered in humans, particularly those with cardiac indications,” Geng said. “Hopefully, we will have more data to report in the near future.”

While fully integrated into the healthcare systems in some parts of Asia, ancient Chinese herbal formulas are often considered alternative medicines in Western nations. Part of the reason, according to Bryan, may be that until recently little was known about how they work.

“The next step is to identify the active components of the TCMs that are responsible for producing the NO. We are currently trying to isolate and identify the active component or components,” Bryan said.

Yaoping Tang, M.D., an IMM postdoctoral fellow, was the lead author of the study titled “Nitric oxide bioactivity of traditional Chinese medicines used for cardiovascular indications.” Also collaborating on the study was Harsha Garg, an IMM senior research assistant.

Bryan is the editor of a new book titled “Food, Nutrition and the Nitric Oxide Pathway Biochemistry and Bioactivity” published by DesTech Publishing and works in the IMM Center for Cell Signaling directed by Ferid Murad, M.D., Ph.D., who won the 1998 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine for his work with nitric oxide as a signaling molecule in the cardiovascular system. Bryan and Geng are on the faculty of The University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Houston.

Source
Robert Cahill

New research is needed into the clinical and cost effectiveness of the complementary therapies used by millions of Britons every year to improve and manage their health. So says a report by an independent advisory group convened by The Kings Fund and chaired by Professor Dame Carol Black published today.

Despite the increasing popularity of treatments like acupuncture, reflexology and osteopathy, the evidence as to whether and how they work is scarce, leaving the practices open to criticism. But lack of agreement on the best methods to test the efficacy and effectiveness of complementary therapies has proved an obstacle to addressing this problem.

This report hopes to establish a consensus on the ways in which research might be conducted that both the conventional and complementary health care communities can support.

Explaining the need for different types of research when assessing complementary practice, Professor Dame Carol Black said

It has become widely accepted that a stronger evidence base is needed if we are to reach a better understanding of complementary practices and ensure greater confidence in their clinical and cost effectiveness. The challenge is to develop methods of research that allow us to assess the value of an approach that seeks to integrate the physical intervention, the personal context in which it is given, and nonspecific effects that together comprise a particular therapy.

Commenting on the importance of making progress in this area, The Kings Fund Chief Executive, Niall Dickson said

Where complementary therapies are offered as part of the NHS it is imperative that those responsible for spending public money base their decisions on sound evidence. We need to understand more about the costs and benefits.

Doctors and patients need robust evidence to make informed decisions more research will play a vital role in showing what works and what does not, what is cost effective and what is not.

The report is the result of debate between experts in the fields of medical research, funding and practice, and was conducted over the course of more than two years.

Source
The Kings Fund