Hepatic Fibrosis Treated with Acupuncture and Chinese Herbology

Recent experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of acupuncture combined with a specific Chinese herb, curcumin, in treating fibrosis of the liver. In the study (which you can read about here) the researchers concluded that, 

Acupuncture combined with curcumin potently protected the liver from… injury and fibrogenesis.” This was confirmed with laboratory measurements of serum aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, hyaluronic acid, laminin and procollagen 3. Other histological findings and measurements of alpha smooth muscle actin, extracellular matrix, fibronection and alpha 1 collagen confirm the synergistic hepatoprotective effects of acupuncture combined with curcumin.

Chinese Medicine Potentially Treatment for Liver Fibrosis

A 2009 study which assessed Chinese medical treatment for liver fibrosis concluded that, "Evidence indicates that some Chinese medicines are clinically effective in treating liver fibrosis."

Fibrosis is the replacement of healthy liver tissue with scar tissue and nodules which gradually force a decline in liver function. It is usually caused by chronic viral infections or chemical (often pharmaceutical) insult to the organ itself. 

This type of liver problem leads to a variety of frequently life threatening issues including ascites (fluid accumulation in the abdomen) and decreased immune function leading to an increased chance of infection.

Cirrhosis is very difficult to treat by standard methods and the western medical strategy usually involves trying to prevent complications and/or removing the cause of the scarring, if caused by a pharmacological agent. If the disease becomes advanced the patient may be considered for a liver transplant.

At our clinic we have had notable success, particularly with patients who, by necessity, are on medications which are creating the liver scarring; or are suffering with a chronic hepatitis C infection. This study backs up our experience quite well.