Park Acupuncture

Acupuncture and herbs are both used to treat high cholesterol.

Many herbs are used to lower cholesterol levels. For example, Shan Zha, also known as Hawthorn berry, have been known to lower LDL cholesterol and blood pressure. Most herbal medicines are a combinations of many herbs specially suitable for each individual patient depending on his or her symptoms and signs.

Another example is berberine which is found in an popular herb used in traditional Chinese medicine. According to the studies conducted by Dr. Jian-Dong Jiang of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City published in the Nature Medicine, berberine lowers LDL cholesterol and works in a way that is distinct from statin drugs like Lipitor or Zocor. When Dr. Jiang and colleagues analyzed patients who were not taking any other medications or herbs before or during the study, they found that berberine lowered total cholesterol by 29 percent and LDL cholesterol by 25 percent. 

Berberine, an herb used in traditional Chinese medicine, lowers LDL ("bad") cholesterol and works in a way that is distinct from statin drugs like Lipitor or Zocor, a new study shows.
Because the herb works in a different way, it could potentially be combined with a statin to reduce cholesterol levels even further.

Dr. Jian-Dong Jiang of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City and colleagues describe their animal and human studies of berberine in the journal Nature Medicine. The drug is traditionally used as an over-the-counter remedy for diarrhea caused by bacterial infection.
Statins work by blocking cholesterol formation in liver cells. This cholesterol shortage causes more cholesterol receptors -- hook-like molecules -- to appear on the cell surface in an effort to pull cholesterol from the blood to make up for the deficit. As a result, blood cholesterol levels drop.

In contrast, berberine works in a way that doesn't depend on how much cholesterol is in the cell, Jiang told Reuters Health. Like statins, the herb increases the number of cholesterol receptors on the cell surface, but it does this by stabilizing and improving the process by which the receptors are formed.

Jiang and colleagues screened 700 Chinese remedies in lab tests and found that berberine had the greatest effect in increasing cholesterol receptors. Further testing showed that receptor levels were increased further when the herb was used together with a statin.

The researchers then assessed cholesterol levels in 91 patients with high cholesterol who were treated with berberine or inactive "placebo" for 3 months. The herb was well-tolerated, and lowered total cholesterol by 18 percent and LDL cholesterol by 20 percent.No effect on levels of HDL ("good") cholesterol was seen. Jiang and colleagues then analyzed berberine's effect in a subset of patients who were not taking any other medications or herbs before or during the study. Among these individuals, berberine lowered total cholesterol by 29 percent and LDL cholesterol by 25 percent.

Berberine appears to be safe and is extremely cheap, according to Jiang, costing about 70 cents per day.

"The next step is to have more clinical studies for this drug to see what is the best dose and what is the effect of the combination with statins," Jiang said. While the effect of berberine was small compared with that seen with statins, the authors note that the dose used in the current study was "moderate." Larger effects may be seen with larger doses, they add.

SOURCE: Nature Medicine 2004.


Research shows acupuncture can lower blood pressure as much as 40 percent

From the Susan Samueli Center for Integrative Medicine at UC Irvine

IRVINE, Calif. - The Susan Samueli Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of California, Irvine, dedicated to advancing patient care through education, evidence-based research and applied integrative medical therapies, today released findings that show acupuncture can help normalize blood pressure - lower pressure when it is elevated or raise pressure when it is too low - and complements treatments for cardiovascular patients. The Center found that acupuncture combined with low levels of electrical stimulation can lower elevations in blood pressure by as much as 40 percent.  

In treating patients at their clinics, the Center also found once-weekly
30-minute acupuncture sessions will give substantial pressure reductions of 15-25 mmHg in three to four weeks. Acupuncture is a 3,000-year-old form of Chinese medicine that involves inserting needles at specific points on the body to help cure disease or relieve pain.

"At the Samueli Center, we are dedicated to promoting the integration of
ancient healing practices with modern medical treatments to help develop
optimum treatment solutions for patients," said Dr. John Longhurst, director of the Susan Samueli Center for Integrative Medicine and study leader. "We believe these new findings on acupuncture and hypertension will help educate both Western and alternative medical practitioners while encouraging dialog on developing integrative treatment solutions."

An Alternative Solution

Though drug therapy and healthy lifestyle changes related to diet, exercise and weight loss are typically employed to treat high blood pressure, some patients are looking for alternative solutions. "In our real world of clinical practice, we're encountering patients who find it difficult to make these changes or who continue to have high pressure despite making real changes. They're looking for something else, and acupuncture is a potential solution that's relaxing and relatively painless," said Dr. Longhurst.

Slow Onset, Prolonged Effects

The Samueli Center's research also found that acupuncture has a slow onset and prolonged effect. If treatments were stopped, the pressure would stay down for another month or so, and then comes back up over a period of weeks.

How it Works

Elevated blood pressure is due to either increased vascular constriction and stiffness, or to the heart pumping excess volume into the blood vessels. Diuretics and other antihypertensives typically help with the latter; acupuncture appears to help with the former. Other recent studies from the Susan Samueli Center indicate that acupuncture relaxes vessels mainly through action in the central nervous system. For additional information on the Center's research findings or to schedule an interview with Dr. Longhurst, please contact the Center's public relations' agency listed below.

www.sscim.uci.edu

Released Dec. 17, 2007

The researchers recommended that acupuncture may offer an alternative antihypertensive therapeutic option. Acupuncture effectively lowered systolic and diastolic blood pressures during the treatment period with no or minimal side effects. Patients with mild or moderate hypertension who want to avoid drug therapy may be candidates for such a therapy. This modality might also serve as an additional option together with drug therapy.

In 2005, another study conducted at the Susan Samueli Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of California, Irvine found that acupuncture treatments that used low levels of electrical stimulation can lower blood pressure elevations by as much as 50 percent.