Treatment of Idiopathic Parkinson's Disease with Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Pilot Clinical Study. (18th June 2011)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Kum, Wan Fung; Durairajan, Siva Sundara Kumar; Bian, Zhao Xiang; Man, Sui Cheung; Lam, Yuen Chi; Xie, Li Xia; Lu, Jia Hong; Wang, Yan; Huang, Xian Zhang; Li, Min
• Is Part Of: Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine. Volume 2011(2011)
• Publication Date: 2011-06-18
• Subjects: Alternative medicine -- Periodicals; 615.505
• DOI: 10.1093/ecam/nep116
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1741-427X

Abstract

Abstract : The objective of this clinical study is to examine the effects of a Chinese herbal medicine formula ( Jia Wei Liu Jun Zi Tang: JWLJZT ) on motor and non-motor symptoms, and on complications of conventional therapy in idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD), using an add-on design. Fifty-five patients with PD were randomly allocated to receive either Chinese herbal medicine or placebo for 24 weeks. Primary outcome measure was the 39-item Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire (PDQ-39). Secondary outcome measures included the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), Short-Form-36 Health Survey (SF-36), Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), home diaries, and a range of category rating scales. JWLJZT resulted in a significant improvement in the UPDRS IVC when compared with placebo at 12 weeks ( P = .039) and 24 weeks ( P = .034). In addition, patients in the Chinese herbal medicine group also showed significant improvement in PDQ-39 communication scores at 12 weeks ( P = .024) and 24 weeks ( P = .047) when compared with the placebo group. There were no significant differences between treatment and control groups for SF-36 variables, GDS score or the mean daily "on-off" time. One case of mild diarrhea was noted in the treatment group. The findings suggest that JWLJZT can relieve some non-motor complications of conventional therapy and improve the communication ability in patients with PD. The results of this pilot study warrant larger multi-center clinical studies to assess long-term efficacy and tolerability of JWLJZT, and to elucidate the mechanisms by which it affects PD function.