Small News/Politics Graphic Recruitment undersway for IBS trials in Australia (6/3/97)
By Rada Rouse, AAP National Medical Correspondent
Copyright 1997 The Australian Associated Press.


BRISBANE, May 26 AAP - Recruitment is underway in Sydney for one of the largest controlled trials of Chinese herbal medicine ever undertaken in the West, to test its effectiveness in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

Seven gastroenterologists are referring patients for assessment as participants in the trial being conducted by the Macarthur Research Unit for Complementary Medicine in western Sydney.

Alan Bensoussan, head of the unit, aims to have 150 patients diagnosed with IBS enrolled in the trial to take Chinese herbs or a placebo.

"Irritable bowel syndrome now affects almost one in five people in Australia," he said.

"No reliable treatment is available, with doctors only able to treat the individual symptoms such as pain and constipation or diarrhoea.

"I want to put Chinese medicine to the test in the West because the rigor of study is inadequate in China."

In one arm of the trial, the true practice of traditional Chinese medicine will be tested by allowing participating Chinese herbalists to treat the patients as individuals and tailor prescriptions accordingly.

This is the first clinical trial where patients may be treated individually yet remain blinded as to the treatment they are getting, Mr Bensoussan said.

In order to fully control the trial, the tailored dose, the standard dose of 20 different herbs, and the placebo will all be delivered in capsule form.

"The usual method of taking these herbs is to boil up raw herbs and drink the result - but we thought we would get a high drop-out rate," Mr Bensoussan said.

Gastroenterologists Professor Nick Talley, of Nepean Hospital, and Dr Meng Ngu, of Concord Hospital, are co-investigators. Dr Ngu, who is ethnic Chinese and "grew up with" herbal treatments, said he was keeping an open mind.

"This trial may prove worthwhile because the standard treatments for irritable bowel syndrome simply are not satisfactory," he said.

Current treatments, after ruling out disease from cancer or ulcers, include anti-spasmodics to combat abdominal pain, changes in diet for constipation, drugs for diarrhoea, and sometimes anti-depressants.

Dr Ngu said analysis of the trial results may eventually lead to active ingredients in the herbs being pinponted, although the prescription of individual compounds would fly in the face of traditional holistic practice.

Mr Bensoussan said a positive result for individualised herbal treatment would raise issues about the current push for evidence-based medicine.


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