Can traditional Chinese medicine beat swine flu?

    Some Beijing medical officials think so, at least for mild cases of the disease. On Thursday, Chinese medicine officials announced that a traditional formula called Jin Hua Qing Gan' has been designated as the world's first 'optimized effective agent' for alleviating the symptoms of the H1N1 virus.

    'The clinical study showed that Jin Hua Qing Gan can shorten the duration of fever, alleviate respiratory tract symptoms like sore throat, coughing etc.,' said Zhao Jing, director of the Beijing Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine at the press conference where the finders were announced.

    Currently, however, it's unclear if Jin Hua Qing Gan would directly replace other Western medicines to treat H1N1, especially in serious cases. 'This is indeed an issue, as the target of our research are all H1N1 patients with slight symptoms', said Wang Chen, President of Chaoyang Hospital.

    The formula was developed and tested at several Western and traditional medical institutes in Beijing over the past six months. It is based on two major components, both of which have been used for centuries to treat fevers. One is Ma Xing Shi Gan, which has been used in China for more than 2,000 years, and Yin Qiao San （powder of lonicera and forsythia）, which has been used for over 200 years to reduce fever.

    The researchers said no adverse reactions have been found so far in patients who took the formula from the 28 traditional hospitals in Beijing that have been using it. A course of treatment costs about 80 yuan （$11.72）.

    In the future, Zhao said the new formula will have to go through an approval process. A license could be granted in January and the formula could come on the market in Beijing then.

    It's not clear if the formula can be exported. Ma Xing Shi Gan Formula contains Ma Huang, （herba ephedrae）. Although this herb is widely used to treat asthma in China, it was sold in the U.S. as a weight-loss product in dosages far higher than commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine. After several highly publicized deaths, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned it in 2004.

    中藥能夠戰勝甲流嗎？

    北京衛生部門的部分官員認為可以，至少對癥狀不嚴重的甲流是如此。周四，中國醫藥部門官員宣布，中藥傳統配方"金花清感方"已被認定為世界上首個可緩解甲型H1N1流感癥狀的有效方劑。

    北京市中醫藥管理局局長趙靜在宣布這項發現的記者會上說，臨床研究顯示，"金花清感方"可以縮短流感時間，改善咽痛、咳嗽等呼吸道癥狀。

    不過，目前還不清楚"金花清感方"能否直接替代其他治療甲流的西藥，尤其是在病情嚴重時。朝陽醫院院長王辰說，這的確是個問題，因為我們的研究對象都是病情輕微的甲流患者。

    這種藥物是北京多家中西醫機構經過過去6個多月的科研攻關研制而成的。它來自于兩個主要的基礎方：其中一個基礎方是具有2,000多年治療發熱性傳染病歷史經驗的"麻杏石甘湯",另一個是具有200多年治療溫熱疫病歷史經驗的"銀翹散".

    研究人員說，迄今為止，在使用此方劑的28所中醫院中尚未發現患者出現不良反應。每方劑的費用約為80元（11.72美元）.

    趙靜說，"金花清感方"未來還需要經過審批程序，預計明年1月正式取得醫療機構制劑生產許可，屆時就可以在北京上市銷售。

    還不清楚這個方劑能否出口。"麻杏石甘湯"中含有麻黃。盡管中國普遍用麻黃治療哮喘，但它在美國是作為減肥產品出售的，劑量遠高于中藥中的通常用量。在出現了幾起被宣傳得沸沸揚揚的致H死亡事件后，美國食品和藥物管理局（Food and Drug Administration）在2004年宣布禁止使用麻黃。