Hepatitis: Dialysis with herbs effective treatment

I have had a hard copy of this article in my archives since 2005. I think it is important to put out this information as we do know that the typical mainstream treament with interferon leads to kidney and liver failure in many cases. It may also not be as effective as IV Vitamin C therapy.

Dialysis with herb extracts found effective in treating hepatitis
M. Dinesh Varma

In sessions over six months, patients eliminated Hepatitis B virus from the body

CHENNAI: Dialysis with a combination of herbs has proven to be effective in the treatment of acute Hepatitis B viral infection in research undertaken at a Chennai hospital.

When the extracts of the combination of herbs, the principal plant being `tulsi' accompanies by neem and phyllantus, was infused into patients using the same dialysis procedure adopted for those with renal failure, the patients recorded substantial drop in viral load.

At the completion of the dialysis sessions phased over a period of over six months the patients had eliminated the Hepatitis B virus from the body.

"The research combined ancient Ayurvedic healing principles with the dialysis procedures of modern medicine in an immunologic setting," said P. Ravichandran, chief nephrology consultant, Kidney Diseases and Institute of Organ Transplanation, St. Thomas Hospital.

The dosage of herbal medicine for each dialysis session was determined by an Ayurvedic physician at the hospital.

The successful adoption of reverse osmosis technology to facilitate herb extracts to bypass the skin barrier and reach bloodstream is the culmination of over three years of research. The infusion was able to stimulate T cells to produce natural interferon to bring down the viral load, said Dr. Ravichandran.

This holds significance as the success rate of treatment with expensive interferon injections is only about 30 per cent.

A pivot case study in the research was that of a 27-year-old patient who got infected with Hepatitis B at a blood donation camp.

A blood test revealed the condition to be thrombocytopenia, where the blood count is as low as 30,000 compared to the normal range of 2-4 lakhs because the normally protective spleen begins to annihilate platelets.

The patient's condition was so critical that he was initially referred to radiation oncologist, K. S. Sekar for a schedule of low dose splenic radiation.

It was only after platelet count improved to over one lakh that he was cleared for herbal dialysis.

After a series of dialysis schedules, the viral load dropped from 21 lakh to 1250 copies while haemoglobin picked up from 8.1 pre-treatment to 13.

Though the patient returned to work, a relapse three months later brought him back to the hospital. After the second schedule of herbal dialysis, a blood test returned negative for hepatitis virus.
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Date:08/08/2005 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2005/08/08/stories/2005080813940400.htm