Clinical evaluation of the Chinese herbal medicine formula STA-1 in the treatment of allergic asthma.

Full Abstract

Although some formulae of traditional Chinese medicines (TCM) have been used for antiasthma treatment, few of them have had sufficient discussion on their efficacy, safety and mechanisms. In this study, the availability of the TCM formula STA-1 for the treatment of allergic asthma was investigated by conducting a double-blind, placebo-controlled and randomized trial. One hundred and twenty patients between the ages of 5 to 20 years with mild-to-moderate asthma were included. These patients were treated with either STA-1 or placebo in a dose of 80 g/kg/day and were administered twice daily for 6 months. The main outcome measures were a daily diary record of symptoms, supplementary bronchodilator and glucocorticoid treatment, changes of pulmonary function (forced expiratory volume in 1 s), changes of total and Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (DP)-specific IgE and side effects. The results showed a statistically significant reduction of symptom scores, systemic steroid dose, total IgE and specific IgE in the STA-1 group. Furthermore, STA-1 also improved the pulmonary lung function FEV(1) compared with the placebo group and only minimal side effects were shown. These results suggested that STA-1 is available for the treatment of mild-to-moderate chronic asthma. Copyright 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Author information

Author/s: Chang, Tung-Ti (TT); Huang, Chieh-Chen (CC); Hsu, Ching-Hsiang (CH);

Affiliation: Graduate Institute of Chinese Medical Science, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan.

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Randomized Controlled Trial; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Phytotherapy research : PTR (Phytother Res), published in England. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2006-May; vol 20 (issue 5) : pp 342-7

Dates: Created 2006/04/24; Completed 2006/06/01; Revised 2006/11/15;

PMID: 16619360, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 2/18/2009, IMS Date: )

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article
(including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.