Naked Science Forum
Life Sciences => Physiology & Medicine => Topic started by: thedoc on 01/11/2012 23:30:02
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Gabby asked the Naked Scientists:
I listen to your programme on Cape Talk South Africa. I'm a retired SRN from Oxford. Brilliant programme. (http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/podcasts/)
Do you know of a connection between Optic neuritis of unknown origen and bee venom? I have problem with this?? Gabby
What do you think?
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Optic neuritis is a common feature of Multiple Sclerosis (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optic_neuritis#Causes).
Bee venom has been tried as a therapy for Multiple Sclerosis, apparently without success ...
A Phase I study at Georgetown University Medical Center funded by the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America (MSAA) was geared towards safety in administering bee venom treatments to humans with multiple sclerosis. According to the authors, the study indicated "there was little evidence to support the use of honeybee venom in the treatment of MS".
A study at University Medical Center, Groningen, The Netherlands, involved supervised bee sting therapy (using live bees) administered to 26 patients over a period of 24 weeks, compared to a 24-week period with no treatment. They concluded: In this trial, treatment with bee venom in patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis did not reduce disease activity, disability, or fatigue and did not improve quality of life.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apitherapy#Clinical_practice