Advances in Apitherapy
The latest Bee Well newsletter, April, 1993, of the American
Apitherapy Society (AAS) contains evidence that the activities of
the Society are increasing and that the use of apitherapy by some
physicians is on the rise. This year's AAS annual meeting and
scientific symposium was held in May in Baltimore. The Society is
attempting to get a group together to travel to China in
conjunction with the World Apicultural Congress which will attend
Dr. Fang Zhu's International Conference on Apitherapy in Nanjing,
September 27-30, 1993. Cost is approximately $4,000.00; for more
information contact Mr. Michael Renaker, Citizen Ambassador
Program, 509/534-0430.
The newsletter contains an introductory letter by President
Weeks: "...the AAS has begun an historic working relationship for
the first time with the National Institute of Health. Up until
now, only foreign governmental scientific agencies have accepted
our challenge to research the merits of apitherapy. The National
Multi-Center Apitherapy Study (NMCAS)...constitutes approximately
6,000 cases." These include 250 multiple sclerosis patients, 1800
arthritic patients, and 50 gout patients. If you or your physician
have information on cases that are being effectively treated with
apitherapy, you should contact Dr. Weeks and fill out a form for
the NMCAS database.
A feature article concerning venom therapy and arthritis
published in 1988: J. Rheumatology, 15:10: 1461 was reprinted with
permission in the newsletter. It concludes: "Based on accumulating
evidence, venom therapies merit attention both for possible
(adjunctive) clinical value and as a probe to better understand the
pathogenesis of inflammatory arthritis." A footnote suggests much
has been learned since this article was published.
Two articles published in the American Bee Journal (March,
1993) are also reprinted. One is by Pat Wagner, Waldorf, MD,
301/843-8350, telling about her experiences with bee stings and
Multiple Sclerosis (M.S.): "...when they (doctors) give medicines
(ACTH, steriods, antibiotics, etc.) they are giving the adrenal
glands (your internal get-well system) a day off for bad behavior.
Bee stings tell your adrenal glands 'Hey! Wake up! You are going to
work overtime until this person is well again. What have you got
to lose? A wheelchair? Numbness? Rigidity? Incontinence?...whatever
it is, go ahead and lose it...you have everything to gain."
Charles Mraz, arguably, the U.S.' oldest active beekeeper
practitioner (60 years of apitherapy!), details his experiences
treating M.S. cases, almost all responding well, some dramatically.
Mr. Mraz will be visiting China, and he and Dr. Weeks recently
spent time in France at that country's equivalent of the U.S. NIH.
Kate Chatot, a Registered Nurse (RN), shares her experiences
in a column entitled, "Kate's View." This is a moving account of
using bee venom therapy to treat "L'hermitte's sign," a painful
electric shock accompanying a flare up of M.S. The symptoms were
alleviated in one week with the help of 46 bee stings. Ordinarily,
this would have meant some three months of serious disability.
A review of world scientific literature in this issue
publishes abstracts about venom and allergy, glaucoma, M.S.,
Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, cancer and inflammation.
There follows a number of letters to the editor from persons who
have had venom therapy for tennis elbow, arthritis (3), M.S. (3),
melanoma, numbness, optic neuritis, and ankylosing spondylitis.
Finally, the newsletter publishes a statement from Charles
Pixley, President of Writers and Research, Inc. entitled: "Health
Care Reform...Another View," and sent to the Clinton transition
team for consideration. The current system of health care,
according to this statement, is that the industry of medicine has
become driven by decision making prejudiced by commercial
considerations to the obvious detriment of "health care." A
resolution then calls for (1) removal of the Medical Practice Acts,
the legislation that U.S. medical practice is based on, (2) a
mandate that insurance companies cover "alternative" treatments and
all branches of the healing arts be made available to every member
of society and the medical profession without prejudice and (3)
elimination of funding for NIH, CDC and FDA, considered reactive,
not proactive in health care issues. It concludes: "...'fear of
quackery' harbored by the prevailing body of medical government has
prevented the medical professionals from expanding their knowledge
and providing these alternative treatments."
For those interested in bee venom therapy, contact the
American Apitherapy Society, Bradford Weeks, President, P.O. Box
74, North Hartland, VT 05052, ph 802/295-6383. Membership is set at
$30.00 per year. In addition, the Society offers annotated
bibliographies of apitherapy, proceedings of the Society's annual
meeting, back issues of the newsletter and other information.
Now, for my experiences. I personally know two individuals
who were repeatedly stung throughout their apicultural careers and
yet came down with diseases that venom therapy has been recommended
for. One case involves a professional beekeeper who remains
afflicted with Multiple Sclerosis. Another is a scientist who late
in life contracted Parkinson's disease. Why did exposure to venom
not prevent their conditions? To my knowledge, neither of these
individuals has undergone bee venom therapy. If they did, would
their situations improve?
Some clues to answer these questions may be provided in how
one defines "therapy." The system may need to be continually
challenged by venom and dosages are critical. As Dr. Jean-Marie
Van Dyck <[log in to unmask]> recently wrote on the Bee-L
network <BEE-L@ALBYNVM1>, "The 'Mast Cell Degranulating (MCD)
Peptide' [H-Ile-Lys-Cys-Asn-Cys-Lys-Arg-His-Val-Ile-Lys-Pro-
His-Ile-Cys-Arg-Lys-Ile-Cys-Gly-Lys-Asn-NH2, two disulfide bonds
Cys3-Cys15 and Cys5-Cys19] is present in small amounts in the venom
of the european honeybee, Apis mellifera. This highly basic
peptide causes, at low doses, mast cell degranulation and
subsequent histamine release (inflammation, swelling, irritation).
At higher doses, it produces an anti-inflammatory effect, which may
be beneficial in rheumatic and allergic diseases. Dr. Van Dyck
gives two references: Dempsey C.E. (1982) "Selective formylation
of a-amino group or s-amino group of peptides." J. Chem. Soc.
Perkin Trans I 1982(11), p2625-2629, 28 ref. Univ of London, Univ.
Coll. Christopher ingold labs, and Buku A., Blandina P., Birr C. &
Gazis D. (1989) "Solid-phase synthesis and biological activity of
Mast Cell Degranulating (MCD) peptide, a component of bee venom."
Int. J. Peptide Protein Res. 33(2), p86-93, 58 ref. Cuny Mt Sinai
Sch. Med., Dept Physiol & Biophys, NY. With reference to the last
study, Dr. Van Dyck concludes: "...a really immunized beekeeper
doesn't keep a very long time this peptide avidly catched by his
own immunoglobulins !" I purposefully kept that colorful speech
pattern for emphasis.
An interesting postscript to the above is that "new" drugs can
sometimes cause unknown complications. For example, a recent re-
published article in the Newsletter of the Florida State Beekeepers
Association, obtained from the Maryland Beekeeping Newsletter,
indicates that at least two cases have been reported of anti-
inflammatory drug (ibuprofen, fenoprofen, naproxen, etc.) use
correlated with loss of immunity to bee stings, resulting in
allergic reactions. This originally was published in Understanding
Prescription Drugs by Dorothy L. Smith (pp. 270-271) and referenced
in the British Medical Journal 292:378, 1986. The bottom line from
all this is apparent. There's still a lot to learn.
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Tom Sanford Extension Apiculturist University of Florida
Mailing Address: Bldg 970, Hull Rd., Gainesville, FL 32611-0620
Voice phone 904/392-1801, Ext. 143
FAX 904/392-0190
INTERNET: [log in to unmask]
BITNET: MTS@IFASGNV
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