Zemaphte
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Zemaphte
According to _Skin and Allergy News_July 96 there is a British herbal
medication company marketing Zemaphte (TM), a Chinese herbal mix for atopic
dermatitis.  Is this available in the U.S. and does anyone have any patients 
who have tried it?

Walter H. Wood, M.D.
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You might try Dr. Mary Sheehan at the Dept. of Dermatology at the University 
of Pittsburgh Medical School.  She in conjunction with Dr. Luo ran the 
clinical studies of the chinese herbs that were done in England. She may well 
know about Zemaphte's efficacy and distribution.

Diane Thaler
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Atopics tend to become colonized and/or infected with bacteria (particularly
Staph.). I would be very concerned about the bacterial contaminants in such
herbal preps (as well as fungal elements, etc.).

Rick Sharpe
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Rick, isn't this a p.o. tea?   

Diane Thaler
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I am confident it's not a "FDA-condoned" remedy in the States. The 
climate here is still very tough on those intent on a "scientific 
approach" to herbal research: our experience with a seed grant from the 
NIH's Office of Alternative Medicine was that the regulatory issues 
remain very obstructive. That's not to say that you can't get such herbs 
here, it's just a question of not being able to predict exactly what you 
are getting, since herbs vary. Furthermore, at least in the case of the 
Chinese herbalist we collaborated with, the entire concept of Chinese 
herbal therapy is that each patient must be treated with an herbal 
decoction which is individualized to that patient, based on their "chi," 
as measured by palpation of the critical pulse points. Incidentally, of 
interest as well was the fact that she was also very unwilling to 
participate in any placebo-controlled studies, since her feeling was that 
her treatments were always effective, so that to deprive a patient of Rx 
by dispensing a placebo was unethical for her.

Mark Ling, M.D., Ph.D.