China is a nation which has long employed the use of traditional medicines to treat a variety of ailments. Their widespread use is favored by many who view them as more financially reasonable and effective than conventional Western prescription medicines. A sweeping policy change from the China Food and Drug Administration may make their accessibility even more widespread, and although this may be good news to some, to others this news is a bit worrisome. The CFDA has essentially scrapped any requirements for clinical trials on traditional Chinese medicines, meaning they’ll be less thoroughly screened and this could potentially lead to detrimental impacts on a patient’s health.
Although the CFDA will still require preclinical drug toxicity screenings, the proposed lack of trials which document their effect on the people who’ll be taking them, is disconcerting to say the least. In September, the CFDA had to recall batches of two injectable traditional Chinese medicines after numerous people took ill with fever.Just a month later, researchers published a study linking aristolochic acid to liver cancer, kidney disease and tumors. Aristolochic acid is a frequently-used ingredient in traditional Chinese medicines. Natural remedies can be extremely beneficial, but it’s still vital that they be subjected to the same level of scrutiny and testing that conventional prescriptions have to go through.
Some questions to consider when starting out on any traditional medicine would be:
• Are there any studies backing up its effectiveness?
• What regulations and other indicators of legitimacy are featured on the product label?
• What does your healthcare provider think of it?
• How does it interact with any other drugs you are taking?
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