| A bee sting can be painful and dangerous, especially if | | | | conference at the University of West Australia, |
| you're allergic to bee venom. But some doctors claim | | | | Nepalese entomologist Ratna Thapa said he had a 50 |
| the latter can help people with arthritis who don't | | | | - 60 percent success rate in treating arthritis with bee |
| respond well to traditional medications. | | | | venom, and a 90 percent success rate when this |
| That's the buzz from Dr. Christopher Kim, medical | | | | substance was used to treat lower back and shoulder |
| director of the Monmouth Pain Institute in Red Bank, | | | | pain. But the idea is not new. |
| New Jersey, who has used bee venom therapy or | | | | "Bee venom therapy has been around for thousands |
| apitherapy on 3,000 patients. Writing in the German | | | | of years. Reference to the treatment can be found in |
| medical journal "Rheumatologie," Kim said that | | | | ancient Egypt and Greek medical writings. Also known |
| apitherapy is safe, effective, and free of serious side | | | | as apitherapy, the technique is more widely used in |
| effects. | | | | Eastern Europe, Asia and South America. Treatments |
| Kim's endorsement of bee venom therapy follows a | | | | supposedly started after beekeepers, who were stung |
| two-year- study he conducted on 108 patients with | | | | many times, noticed their arthritis pains were relieved. |
| rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis who were not | | | | Some practitioners still use live bee stings to deliver the |
| helped by conventional painkillers. He first gave the | | | | venom," according to Charles Downey of WebMD. |
| subjects twice weekly injections of been venom and | | | | What's the secret behind the success of bee venom? |
| gradually increased the shots. After 12 injections, most | | | | Cohen says it contains mellitin, an anti-inflammatory |
| of the patients showed marked improvement. | | | | agent that is a hundred times stronger than cortisone, |
| Kim is not the only doctor using this controversial | | | | and adolapin which also fights inflammation and pain. |
| technique. Over 50 American physicians report good | | | | Practitioners believe these ingredients work together |
| results using bee venom to treat not only pain but | | | | and help the body release natural healing compounds |
| arthritic conditions, multiple sclerosis, high blood pressure, | | | | that improve blood circulation and reduce swelling. |
| asthma, hearing loss, and even premenstrual | | | | Still, others are not convinced of its efficacy, especially |
| syndrome. | | | | since most of the evidence is anecdotal and there are |
| Dr. Lawrence Cohen of Danbury, Connecticut, said one | | | | no double blind studies supporting this therapy. Skeptics |
| of his patients suffered pain as a result of two hip | | | | warn that one to five percent of the population is |
| replacement operations. Louise Chirasello of Brewster, | | | | allergic to bee venom and the injections or bee stings |
| New York, had tried all kinds of painkillers but none | | | | can be painful. |
| helped her. | | | | "Evaluations of most US medical treatments are |
| "I was so sore, you could not touch my hips without | | | | based on double-blind studies - where neither the |
| me crying out," she recalled. | | | | subject nor researcher knows who is getting the real |
| The 84-year-old widow claims she was cured by a | | | | medicine or a placebo. Most reports about bee venom |
| shot of bee venom. She received several injections of | | | | therapy are anecdotal. Even those studies looking at |
| bee venom from Cohen weekly until her dose was | | | | more than one patient, such as Kim's, have not |
| reduced to one injection every two or three weeks. | | | | included a placebo group for comparison," Downey |
| After a year, she was still pain-free. | | | | said. |
| At the eighth annual Asian Apicultural Association | | | | |