Chinese medicine may help soothe SARS sequelae: HK researchers

Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) announced Thursday that traditional Chinese medicine with herbs can help patients with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) sequelae.

Speaking at a press briefing, director of HKBU's Institute for the Advancement of Chinese Medicine Professor Kelvin Chan said a pilot clinical study was conducted to assess the efficacy of Chinese medicine on 15 post-SARS patients with avascular necrosis (AVN) and patients with bone pain.

Results show the treatment using natural herbs improved the daily life of patients by relieving symptoms such as pain in the joints, lack of vitality, poor quality of sleep or insomnia, aversion to coldness, depression, and frequent urination.

Chan saw the research results as encouraging, and said more studies will be conducted to further investigate the effects of Chinese medicine in treating AVN patientmechanisms behinds.

The clinical trial lasted for six months. Dosages of the Chinese medicine were applied in the patients via two suppositories daily in the first three months, then one suppository daily for the following three months.

Hong Kong experienced SARS outbreak in April last year. According to a survey done by the Association of Hong Kong NursingStaff in April 2004, over 80 percent of 116 nursing staff who had contracted SARS suffered from sequelae such as tiredness, arthralgia and bad memory due to SARS.