Bee
Sting Therapy
Last night I was speaking with a
young lady about her aunt who had the relapsing form of Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
who is trying bee sting therapy, also known as apitherapy. This technique has
been used as a treatment for many diseases in Egypt, Greece, and China for the
last 3-5000 years. The main component of bee venom that is usually looked at as
the source of the therapy derived benefits is melittin. This chemical exerts
strong anti-inflammatory properties and also prompts the body to produce
increased levels of cortisol. Apamin, another component of the venom, also
induced increased cortisol levels by stimulating the adrenal gland. Now to perform
a name drop from our physiology class, I would also like to mention that
adolapin (yet another peptide component of bee venom) blocks cyclooxygenase,
which you will remember can decrease production of prostaglandins and thus
exude an anti-inflammatory response.
The young said her aunt had a great response to bee sting
therapy, which constituted an apitherapist (not a doctor) administering about
15 stings per week. Excited and confused at how this therapy was supposed to
work, I researched a bit today and found that this individual’s results are
very rare. And most studies find no improvement in disease activity in patients
utilizing bee sting therapy vs. control patients.
I then looked at other diseases that do have studies that show a
significant improvement with the introduction of bee venom. The most common of
which was rheumatoid arthritis. In one particularly study I looked at, those
with the treatment showed significantly improved mobility and decreased pain
levels.
What really strikes me about bee sting therapy is the voluntary
willingness to be stung, sometimes up to 20 times per week. I recently was
stung a few times and was reminded how truly annoying a bee sting can be.
Though if I did have a debilitating disease and multiple bee stings were
suggested as a treatment option, I am sure I would explore that route.
References:
1.
Al-Samie MA, Ali M. Studies on bee venom and
its medical uses. Int J Adv Res Tech.
2012. 1(2):1-15.
2.
Wesselius
T, Heersema DJ, Mostert JP, Heerings M, Admiraal-Behloul F, Talebian A, van
Buchem MA, De Keyser J. A randomized crossover study of bee
sting therapy for multiple sclerosis. Nuerology. 65(11):1764-1768, 2005.
Liu XD, Zhang JL, Zheng HG, Liu FY, Chen Y. Clinical
randomized study of bee-sting therapy for rheumatoid arthritis. Zhen Ci Yan
Jiu. 2008; 33: 197-200.
I researched forms of MS therapy and wanted to share an interesting finding that I wasn't aware of:
ReplyDeleteVitamin D is currently being investigated for MS therapy because a hormonal analogue (1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3) of Vitamin D is effective at preventing a mouse model of MS. By looking at populations with a high rate of MS diagnosis and populations with a low rate of MS diagnosis, researchers suggest that sun exposure may have a protective effect against MS because sunlight induces production of Vitamin D. There were other interesting components to the study that I found such as individuals who eat fish (fish oils are rich in VitD) also have less reports of MS. I thought this possible altitude/sunlight component of MS disease process was interesting because the scientific community suggests that there is an environmental component to developing MS.
Hayes CE, Cantorna MT, DeLuca HT. Vitamin D and Multiple Sclerosis. Experimental Biology and Medicine. 1997, 216(1): 21-27.
My father-in-law has a very severe form of MS, and about ten years ago he moved to Guatemala to receive a therapy with blue-green algae. At that point in the development of his MS, he had limited lower limb movement, and according to him the therapy was improving his movements. He told me that if he had more time in Guatemala he would have been able to overcome MS. I thought this was extremely interesting because I have yet to find any research on this. Interestingly enough, I did find an article which researches the neurodegenerative effects in Alzheimer's disease. Blue-green algae releases a neurotoxic amino acid β- N-methylamino-l-alanine which has been suggested by the researchers is involved in activating neurodegeneration in vulnerable individuals.
ReplyDeleteCyanobacterial neurotoxin BMAA in ALS and Alzheimer’s disease. Pablo, J. J. et al. Acta Neurologica Scandinavica. 2009 120: 216-225.
I never would have thought that bee venom could be used to treat any diseases. After hearing this, I did some more research on what bee venom is currently being used to treat. I was completely shocked to find out that there are some people that are actually using bee venom to treat cancer tumors. Bee venom can induce apoptotic cell death by activating caspases and matrix-metalloproteinases.
ReplyDeleteOrsolic, N. (2011). Bee venom in cancer therapy. Cancer and metastisis reviews, 31, 173-194.