April 13, 1999 – A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, in the fall of 1998, found that the Traditional Chinese Pharmacopoeia (TCP) improves symptoms for some people with irritable bowel syndrome.
The study was carried out from 1996 to 1997 with 116 patients who were recruited through 2 university hospitals and 5 private gastroenterology clinics. The patients were divided into three groups receiving either a placebo, an individualized herbal treatment of PTC, or the standard treatment of PTC. Patients were to take 5 herbal or placebo capsules, three times a day, for 16 weeks. They were assessed regularly by a master herbalist in PTC and a gastroenterologist. None of the study participants (patients, herbalists and gastroenterologists) knew who was receiving what.
The results showed that the patients receiving the PTC treatments (individualized and standard) had a significant improvement compared to the placebo group. This observation was shared by both patients and gastroenterologists. Another conclusion of the study seems paradoxical: while the research did not allow to detect a significant difference between the results of individualized treatments and of standard treatment, the follow-up of the patients, 14 weeks after the end of the study, showed that only patients who received individualized treatment maintained improvement in their condition.
The researchers conclude that traditional Chinese pharmacopoeia appears to improve symptoms in some patients with irritable bowel syndrome.
HealthPassport.net
Bensoussan A, Talley NJ, Hing M, Menzies R, Guo A, Ngu M. Treatment of irritable bowel syndrome with Chinese herbal medicine: an randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 1998; 280: 1585-1589
