The use of alternative medicine in the treatment of hepatitis C

[aspen]

The use of alternative medicine in the treatment of hepatitis C.
Bean P.

Rogers Memorial Hospital, Oconomowac, WI, USA. pambean@charter.net

More than one-third of Americans use herbs for health purposes, yet patients and physicians usually lack accurate information about safety and efficacy of herbal remedies. In recent years, there has been a substantial increase in the use of so-called complementary and alternative therapies by patients with liver disease. Medical professionals and laboratorians need to be informed about popular alternative therapies and be open-minded to the possibility that some benefit may come from some therapies currently regarded as alternative. Silymarin extracted from the milk thistle is most widely subscribed to as a remedy for liver diseases. The beneficial effects of silymarin are most often seen in the patients who had cirrhosis as a result of alcohol abuse. An ongoing clinical trial will provide some insight as to whether milk thistle directly affects HCV. Silymarin has a good safety record and only rare case reports of gastrointestinal disturbances and allergic skin rashes have been published. The active component of licorice root, glycyrrhizin, has been shown to reduce alanine transaminase and aspartate transaminase values in the serum. This protective function has recently been explained as the inhibitory effects of glycyrrhizin on immune-mediated cytotoxicity against hepatocytes and on nuclear factor (NF)-kappa B, which activates genes encoding inflammatory cytokines in the liver. Finally, some patients with hepatitis C take St. John's Wort and ginger to treat the side effects caused by interferon therapy. An excellent review of this subject was recently published by the NCCAM.

Publication Types:
Review

Review, Tutorial

PMID: 12087634 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

[bazra]

i have been diagnosed with chronic active hep c for more than 10 years now. the cause, although not specified, seems to daTE BACK TO INTRAVENOUS DRUG USE IN THE 1970S. ALthough i had demostrated alcoholic tendencies from 14/15 through to 24. For more than 15 years i have been taking Epilem to treat epilepsy. This product, i am led to believe, is not especially good for the liver. In addition to this i have recently returned to antidepressants. A friend bought me some milk thistle and i've been taking it for a week. however, i feel nauseated, short of breath, and weak as water. Could this be as a result of mixing these medications? Should i see a dr? your info seems to indicate its a good idea for drs to be fully informed about such cocktails. it's not always easy to get to a dr as quick as you'd like tho, so i was hoping someone here could offer some advice.
sincerely yours
bazra

[Admin]

Thanks for the question.  I believe that keeping a doctor involved as much as possible is VERY important.  That said, seeing a good doctor is more important than seeing a bad doctor  .  I have not read any studies on the manifestation of such side effects with your particular drugs when combined with Sylimarine.  I can tell you that milk thistle often times interacts with the metabolism of drugs in the liver (meaning that it can slow down the breaking down of drugs thus making drugs stay in your system longer, or more commonly it can break down the drugs you are taking faster).  Having a doctor involved is important because then you have the freedom to monitor your drug levels and liver health. 

On a side note, I have had a couple patients in my clinic experience similar feelings of nausea, shortness of breath, and fatigue.  Usually this goes away.  I have my patients cut back there dosage in half.  Then slowly build back up again.  The reasons is that when bile is released into the intestines in a strong way, all three of these symptoms can appear if the gall bladder has not been stimulated in a long time.  Slowly increasing the stimulation to the Gall Bladder can lesson the side effects.  Best of luck.  -Mark