Excerpts from Wall Street Journal Article on Bee Venom Therapy

Aches & Claims: Now This May Sting a Bit...
By Laura Johannes, The Wall Street Journal, 1/24/2006

Can bee venom take the sting out of maladies ranging from arthritis to multiple sclerosis? Apitherapists -- who use bee products to treat ailments -- believe the venom from bee stings can alleviate pain and inflammation. So far, experts say scientific evidence for the claims is thin.

Bee venom has been used in medicine for thousands of years. Today, interest in venom as an arthritis treatment has intensified since the painkiller Vioxx was found to increase risks of heart attack and stroke and was pulled from the market in 2004. Venom is also used for pain from wounds or scars and for multiple sclerosis, an autoimmune disease. And it is used to treat the aftermath of shingles, a severe viral rash that can result in lingering pain. . .

Venom contains hundreds of components -- including about 20 large proteins, says Donald Hoffman, a scientist East Carolina University in Greenville, N.C. Some of the ingredients do have pharmacological effects, he says. For example, one component is widely known for its activity in blocking nerve centers. And studies have found that bee venom reduces inflammation in rats. . .

Many apitherapists seek to minimize risk by keeping epinephrine, an antidote to allergic reactions, on hand for emergencies. Theodore Cherbuliez, a South Freeport, Maine, psychiatrist who also performs bee-venom therapy, says that after therapy, many patients experience significant swelling. It is generally harmless and goes away within a week, say he and other experts. . .

Evidence that bee venom is useful for humans is scant. There are no major published U.S. human trials on arthritis. For multiple sclerosis, some hopes were dashed by a study published last month in the journal Neurology. The 26-patient test found that stings with up to 20 live bees three times a week for six months caused no serious side effects -- but they also didn't reduce disease activity, disability or fatigue. Apitherapists say the study results are meaningless because the researchers administered the stings on the upper leg, rather than at strategically placed locations as apitherapists do.

Another smaller study published last month found five of the nine multiple-sclerosis patients treated with bee venom injections appeared to improve while the others experienced a worsening in their condition. Senior study author Joseph Bellanti, director of the International Immunology Center at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, says he thinks venom merits further study, but says patients shouldn't try it on their own unless proven remedies, such as beta interferon, have failed.

Send comments to: feedback@wsj.com and wsj.ltrs@wsj.com