is there any new news on the Chinese Herbal Medicine FAHF-2

Quote:Originally posted by kkeene:
[b]Just wondering if anyone has heard anything about that Chinese Herbal Medicine development?[/b]
This is the most recent I can find (September 2006):
[url="http://www.foodallergyinitiative.org/section_home.cfm?section_id=17&sub_section_id=1"]http://www.foodallergyinitiative.org/section_home.cfm?section_id=17&sub_section_id=1[/url]

Bumping for Staci. Also, here is an abstract (2005) I found on PubMed about FAHF-2 (Chinese Herbal treatment for blocking anaphylaxis).
J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2005 Jan;115(1):171-8. Related Articles, Links
The Chinese herbal medicine formula FAHF-2 completely blocks anaphylactic reactions in a murine model of peanut allergy.
Srivastava KD, Kattan JD, Zou ZM, Li JH, Zhang L, Wallenstein S, Goldfarb J, Sampson HA, Li XM.
Department of Pediatrics, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY 10029-6574, USA.
BACKGROUND: Peanut allergy is potentially life threatening. There is no curative therapy for this disorder. We previously found that an herbal formula, food allergy herbal formula (FAHF)-1, blocked peanut-induced anaphylaxis in a murine model when challenged immediately posttherapy. OBJECTIVE: To test whether FAHF-2, an improved herbal formula, from which 2 herbs, Zhi Fu Zi (Radix Lateralis Aconiti Carmichaeli Praeparata) and Xi Xin (Herba Asari), were eliminated, is equally effective to FAHF-1, and if so, whether protection persists after therapy is discontinued. METHODS: Mice allergic to peanut treated with FAHF-2 for 7 weeks were challenged 1, 3, or 5 weeks posttherapy. Anaphylactic scores, core body temperatures, vascular leakage, and plasma histamine levels after peanut challenge were determined. Serum peanut-specific antibody levels and splenocyte cytokine profiles were also measured. RESULTS: After challenges, all sham-treated mice developed severe anaphylactic signs, significant decrease in rectal temperatures, significantly increased plasma histamine levels, and marked vascular leakage. In contrast, no sign of anaphylactic reactions, decrease in rectal temperatures, or elevation of plasma histamine levels was observed in FAHF-2-treated mice in 5 separate experiments. IgE levels were significantly reduced by FAHF-2 treatment and remained significantly lower as long as 5 weeks posttherapy. Splenocytes from FAHF-2-treated mice showed significantly reduced IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13, and enhanced IFN-gamma production to recall peanut stimulation in vitro . CONCLUSION: FAHF-2 treatment completely eliminated anaphylaxis in mice allergic to peanut challenged as long as 5 weeks posttherapy. This result was associated with downregulation of T H 2 responses. FAHF-2 may be a potentially effective and safe therapy for peanut allergy.
PMID: 15637565 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

I just got some exciting news about this study, courtesy of the FAI newsletter (summer issue).
Here's what they reported on the research of Dr. Li and Dr. Sampson for FAHF-2:
"Over the past six years, FAI has taken the lead in supporting the development of a Chinese herbal therapy to protect people with peanut allergies from anaphylaxis. If successful, this Food Allergy Herbal Formula (FAHF) is expected to work for other major food proteins as well.
When peanut-allergic mice were given FAHF for one month, they were completely protected from peanut-induced anaphylaxis for a full 6 months. Unfortunately, FAHF-2, the first product developed for human use, was in the form of a bitter-tasting granular tea. After 2 years of work, the researchers have developed a tablet form of FAHF-2. The first step toward FDA approval, the Phase I clinical trial (which tests for safety and potential side effects in a small group of human subjects) is scheduled to begin this July. If the results are similar to those found in mice, FAHF tablet could be available as a supplement, sold over-the-counter with no particular health claims, by the end of 2008.
At the same time, Drs. Li and Sampson will continue to pursue FDA approval, which will require two more clinical trials. If these studies follow the proposed timeline, the FDA-approved drug could be available by the end of 2010. Finally, FAI is working with Dr. Sampson to develop a more "user-friendly" form of FAHF-2, which currently requires that patients consume 12 baby-aspirin-sized tables three times per day."
[This message has been edited by Nutternomore (edited June 29, 2007).]

Wow, could this be the "magic pill?"

Hi All,
My son has an appt. with Dr. Sampson in a few weeks. Will post if anything new.
Beth

Heard Dr Burks talk about this a few months ago and one possible difficulty with this approach I think he said is due to the difficulty in maintaining correct composition/ standards with drug coming from China- (easier to understand now with all that has been in the news about the contaminated foods too ). It has to be grown in the same place etc, would be treated like pharmaceutical, difficult to obtain etc. That is what I remember to the best of my recollection FYI

AlliedHealth- Did Dr. Burks give any updates on the immunotherapy work/study he's doing?

[url="http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/Forum16/HTML/000187-6.html"]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/Forum16/HTML/000187-6.html[/url]
(last post on page)
Melissa had summarized it well here- basically IgEs going down IgGs going up similar to other desensitization (ie:shots for seasonal allergies). They are waiting to test those who are below 2 (IgE)
[url="http://www.medpagetoday.com/AllergyImmunology/2005AAAAIMeeting/tb/5128"]http://www.medpagetoday.com/AllergyImmunology/2005AAAAIMeeting/tb/5128[/url]
The second link is to the AAAAI poster abstract of this study You can click on a video under the picture
[This message has been edited by alliedhealth (edited July 17, 2007).]

I can address the issue of 'reproducibility' here-- as alluded to in a previous post.
It isn't just because it 'comes from China.' In fact, it could come from 'upstate NY' and suffer from the same difficulty. It has much more to do with the fact that this is an uncharacterized herbal product with a mystery mechanism.
The problem is that fundamentally, unless they know what the [b]molecular mechanism of action is,[/b] they can't say for certain [i]which chemical component of the VERY complex botanical product is responsible for its activity.[/i]
This is a huge problem in my own research, BTW, which isn't using this material but a single plant extract with multiple, unidentified active components. With different mechanisms of action. It's a cocktail of drugs, in other words, and we don't even know how 'stable' the mixture is regionally or seasonally in the plant-- nevermind during extract preparation protocols.
Huge problem of 'standardization'-- what does that mean when you aren't even sure what needs to be 'standard??' Many people in my own field standardize on what 'major components' exist.... which is ridiculous, since those major components have NEVER been demonstrated to produce the kinds of effects that the whole extract does.
If you don't know what's 'important' then you can't say much about any particular 'batch' of a preparation. Does this make sense? It would be like making aspirin tablets without knowing what the active ingredient is-- just knowing that you want it to reduce inflammation in a dose-dependent manner. If you standardize your product based on how 'white' the tablets look, that may not be the best way to go.... if you see what I mean.
This is very very promising research-- but I really wish that the mechanistic aspects of this were being explored at the same rate as the clinical efficacy. Too many questions remain unanswered otherwise.

Very well said-that's exactly the areas of concern that were discussed in brief at the meetings