Suspect Herbal Treatment Touted for South Indian Asthma Sufferers

The Associated Press recently covered one of those odd news stories (June 8, 2011)that just makes absolutely no sense. Apparently thousands of asthma sufferers in Southern India who are seeking relief from severe asthma symptoms flock to Hyderabad to receive ‘treatment’ from the Goud family who claim their secret herbal formula originates from a Hindu saint from over 100 years ago.

Once the patient swallows the live fish, sardines, reports say, patients are instructed to begin a strict 45-day diet of 25 different foods, including lamb, rice, white sugar, dried mango and spinach.

The Associated Press states they must abstain from deep-fried food and repeat the treatment within two years.

Naturally, improving one’s diet and eating a balanced diet can help one’s overall health. But in creating a buzz for a raw fish ‘treatment’ is will most likely not have any effect on asthma sufferers’ relief.

So why do thousands of Indians who have asthma flock to this family’s home?

Probably because they’re have limited means and resources and doctors who know their patients can’t afford or have access to the pricy medications, may simply throw up their hands and advise asthma sufferers to think of asthma with a mind over matter philosophy.

According to a World Health Organization India report in 2004, some 57,000 deaths were attributed to asthma and other pulmonary complaints. Another study says average prevalence varies from state to state, with anywhere from 3.5% prevalence rates per 1,000 all the way up to over 15% per 1,000 depending on how broadly asthma is defined (to include allergies and other pulmonary complaints.)

Canadian Asthma Pioneer Dies

Dr. Frederick Hargreave was an internationally renowned respirologist who changed the way asthma is diagnosed. He died suddenly of a heart attack.

Here is his biography and research information from McMaster's University (located in Hamilton, Ontario) where he was a Professor Emeritus, Division of Respirology, Department of Medicine

Education and Professional Standing
Dr. F. E. Hargreave, in his training as clinical researcher with Jack Pepys and his subsequent collaboration with Jerry Dolovich, has been a pioneer in the improved understanding and treatment of asthma and its association with chronic cough and COPD. This has been achieved by the use of objective measurements of airway inflammation, airway responsiveness and airflow limitation.

Research Interests
With allergen inhalation tests, Dr. Hargreave validated the occurrence of late asthmatic responses, showed that they were common, that they could result from the combination of allergen with IgE antibodies, that they were associated with allergen-induced increases in airway responsiveness to non-allergic stimuli and with airway inflammation and that they could be (and were subsequently) used to study the anti-inflammatory effect of new drugs. He also standardized and evaluated measurements of non-allergic airway responsiveness to histamine and methacholine. He showed that these are the most sensitive measurements to identify the presence of current asthma when symptoms are present but spirometry is normal and that they are important determinants of the degree of variable airflow limitation. They are now widely used in research and clinical practice.

Dr. Hargreave also introduced sputum induction and refined the processing of sputum, to measure airway inflammation relatively non-invasively. He evaluated the measurements and applied them to study the pathogenesis, pathophysiology and treatment of asthma, chronic cough and COPD. The observations emphasize the occurrence of different types of airway inflammation, their different causes and different response to treatment.

Sputum inflammatory markers are now being increasingly used in research and in practice.