[MPWG] Echinicaea on the hot seat

[Patricia_DeAngelis at fws.gov]

>From msn Health & Fitness
http://articles.health.msn.com/id/100108670/site/100000000


Study Gives Echinacea the Cold Shoulder
Herbal treatment ineffective in preventing or treating colds, researchers
say
By Serena Gordon, HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, July 27 (HealthDay News) -- While the herbal remedy echinacea
purportedly helps reduce the incidence and severity of the common cold, a
new study says that's just not so.


In a study that included about 400 healthy volunteers, researchers found
that echinacea neither prevented colds nor eased the symptoms for people
already infected with a cold.


"We found no effect of echinacea used for prophylaxis or for treatment on
either infection rates or symptoms," said Dr. Ronald Turner, lead author of
the study and a professor of pediatrics at the University of Virginia.


"At this point, any claims of benefit for echinacea should be viewed with
skepticism, and the burden of proof should now be on the folks that think
it works," he added.


Results of the study appear in the July 28 issue of the New England Journal
of Medicine.


Echinacea is an herbal remedy made from the roots of the Echinacea
angustifolia plant. It was used by Native Americans to treat infections and
wounds, according to background information in the article. And it was in
the 1800s that echinacea first became popular as a cold remedy.


While early studies on echinacea's benefits were small and inconclusive,
more recent research has clearly shown that the herb isn't effective
against the common cold, according to Dr. Wallace Sampson, an emeritus
clinical professor of medicine at the Stanford University School of
Medicine, who wrote a perspective piece accompanying the study in the same
issue of the journal.


This study, said Turner, should put the echinacea debate to rest. "It puts
it to rest in my mind," he said. However, he also said there will likely
still be people who continue to believe that echinacea works against the
common cold.


For the double-blind, placebo-controlled study, the researchers made three
different echinacea preparations from a single lot of echinacea root.


A group of 399 volunteers were then divided into seven groups to assess
each preparation and compare it to a placebo for both the prevention and
treatment of colds. Three groups were given one of three echinacea
preparations three times daily for seven days prior to being exposed to the
virus -- rhinovirus -- that causes the common cold, and then for five days
after exposure. Three groups weren't given the echinacea preparation prior
to being exposed, but were given the herbal remedy for five days after
rhinovirus exposure. The final group received a placebo both before and
after rhinovirus exposure.


The dosage of echinacea contained the equivalent of about 300 milligrams of
echinacea root, according to the study.


The researchers then monitored nasal secretions for signs of infection and
inflammation. They found no significant differences between the groups for
infection rates or illness severity.


"This study adds to the bulk of literature that shows that echinacea
doesn't work," said Sampson.


While Sampson said he felt this was a well-done study, he added that the
larger question is why the scientific community continues to conduct
large-scale clinical trials on remedies that are largely unproven.


"It puts the cart ahead of the horse to do large clinical trials to
disprove efficacy," he said. "What's happened in the past 30 years is that
advocates of alternative medicine successfully turned things around to put
the burden of proof on the scientific community and the taxpayers."


Normally, before large clinical trials are done, a medication has to be
proven safe and effective in smaller studies first. Sampson said some
people argue that researchers have to test these products because so many
people are using them. But, he said, even when products are discredited,
people continue to use them. He said that research, and limited public
funding, should focus on products that have a "reasonable chance of
efficacy."


When it comes to herbal remedies, the bottom line is "that they are drugs
and toxins and most plant species out there have a more likely chance of
harming one than helping one," said Sampson.

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>From msn Health & Fitness
http://articles.health.msn.com/id/100099816

Echinacea didn't ease child cold symptoms in study
Anne Thompson


(HealthDayNews) -- If your child starts getting cold symptoms, your first
thought may be to him echinacea.


But don't run to the health food store just yet.


A study by researchers at the University of Washington and Bastyr
University found that echinacea is not effective in young children. The
researchers reported that use of echinacea from the onset of symptoms did
not lessen the number of days the colds lasted or the severity of symptoms.


The researchers concluded that the "results do not support the use of
echinacea for treatment of upper respiratory infections in children 2 to 11
years old." They also suggested further research to determine whether
echinacea has any role in preventing colds.