Li Xiu-Min, Srivastava Kamal
Department of Pediatrics, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York 10029, USA.
Curr Opin Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2006 Jun;14(3):191-6. doi: 10.1097/01.moo.0000193199.40096.f7.
The trend of increasing prevalence of allergic diseases in westernized countries poses a significant health problem and lasting cures for them are often not available. Many suffering from allergies and asthma seek alternative therapies including traditional Chinese medicines, fueling a surge in western interest in traditional Chinese herbal remedies. Information regarding the efficacy and safety of traditional Chinese herbal remedies is scant but studies appearing in English language journals are on the rise. This review summarizes the important publications focusing on traditional Chinese medicine therapies for allergic disorders in the year 2005.
Very few studies describing well controlled clinical trials testing traditional Chinese herbal therapies for allergic diseases appeared in PubMed in 2005. Food allergy specifically does not seem to be a disorder traditionally recognized in the traditional Chinese medicine literature. Most in-vitro studies for anti-allergic properties of traditional Chinese herbs and formulas focus on mast cell inhibition.
Clinical trials for anti-asthma traditional Chinese medicine formulas, anti-asthma herbal medicine intervention, anti-asthma herbal medicine intervention, and modified Mai Men Dong Tang, show promise as efficacious treatments for asthma. Food Allergy Herbal Formula-2 is a traditional Chinese medicine formula with good potential for a long-lasting treatment for food allergy. More rigorous studies are needed to fully elucidate the benefits and safety of traditional Chinese herbal medicines and the mechanisms that mediate their effects.
在西方国家，过敏性疾病患病率呈上升趋势，这构成了一个重大的健康问题，且往往没有持久的治愈方法。许多过敏和哮喘患者寻求替代疗法，包括中药，这促使西方对传统中草药的兴趣激增。关于传统中草药疗效和安全性的信息很少，但发表在英文期刊上的研究正在增加。本综述总结了2005年聚焦于治疗过敏性疾病的中医疗法的重要出版物。
2005年，在PubMed上很少有描述对过敏性疾病进行传统中草药疗法的对照良好的临床试验的研究。食物过敏似乎并不是传统中医文献中传统认可的疾病。大多数关于传统中草药及其配方抗过敏特性的体外研究都集中在肥大细胞抑制方面。
抗哮喘中药配方、抗哮喘草药干预、抗哮喘草药干预以及改良麦门冬汤的临床试验显示，有望成为治疗哮喘的有效疗法。食物过敏草药配方2是一种传统中药配方，对食物过敏进行长期治疗具有良好潜力。需要更严格的研究来充分阐明传统中草药的益处和安全性以及介导其作用的机制。
