Unfortunately, none of them work.

An exhaustive study by the US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality concluded that there is conflicting evidence for every one of the drug therapies.

Part of the problem is that there is no agreed method of treatment, and so doctors follow their usual practice.

Some few cases respond well to antibiotics, but only if there is an underlying cause of bacterial infection.

There is just as much confusion about diagnosis. Despite the widespread use of chest x-rays, blood counts and other laboratory tests, there is no evidence that suggests that any of these are accurate.

(Source: British Medical Journal, 2003; 361: 939).

Top of the list is, ironically, bronchospasm, which occurs nearly 16 per cent of the time. This means that you have about a one in six chance of developing rebound shortness of breath or an asthmatic attack from the very drug you’ve taken to sort out the problem.

Another likely side-effect is tremors, which affects nearly 11 per cent of those taking the drug. Headache and cough both occur in 3 per cent of patients, and nearly 2 per cent develop wheezing, bronchitis, an increase in sputum or irregular breathing – symptoms that caused them to reach for a drug in the first place.

Beta-2-agonists are often automatically handed out with a prescription for a steroid – with all of its attendant side-effects. One study of these two drugs glorified how well they controlled asthma, but also parenthetically noted: ‘The basic molecular mechanism of the interaction of the two drugs on proliferation of airway smooth muscle cells is yet to be identified’ (Lancet, 2002; 360: 1293-9). That is medical-speak for: We haven’t a clue how on earth these two drugs work when taken together.

Antitumour activity

In animal studies, Grifola frondosa (hen of the woods) taken orally stopped tumour growth (J Naturopathic Med, 1993; 4: 10-5).

Injecting lentinan, a protein free polysaccharide of Lentinula edodes (shiitake mushroom), has been shown to kill breast cancer cells in humans and animals (Excerpta Medica, 1985; 690: 138-50).

In another animal study, sarcoma (connective tissue tumour) was inhibited by 95 per cent using a polysaccharide from Pleurotus ostreatus (oyster mushroom) (Chem Pharm Bull, 1972; 20: 1175-80).

‘Krestin’, comprising both PSK, a polysaccharide, and PSP, a polysaccharide peptide, from the fungus Coriolus versicolor is such a successful alternative cancer treatment that it is rated among the world’s best selling cancer drugs (and among the world’s best selling drugs overall).

In a large study of hundreds of postoperative stomach and colorectal cancer patients, those treated with alternating doses of Krestin plus a standard chemotherapy had a much higher survival rate than those given the orthodox drug alone or nothing at all (Gan To Kagaku Ryoho, 1986; 13: 308-18). In addition, the Krestin patients fared significantly better after seven years (Gan To Kagaku Ryoho, 1987; 14: 2758-66).

In patients with acute leukaemia given Krestin, immune function was significantly enhanced, remission rates were higher and survival times were longer compared with those who received chemotherapy alone (Tokai J Exp Clin Med, 1981; 6: 141-6).

In another study, Krestin also prevented the lowered resistance to infection usually experienced by cancer patients exposed to the chemotherapy drug fluorouracil (Cancer Chemother Pharmacol, 1987; 20: 198- 202). Another study showed better survival times among patients given Krestin plus fluorouracil than in those receiving chemotherapy alone (Gan To Kagaku Ryoho, 1989; 16: 2563-76).

Chronic hepatitis

A protein bound polysaccharide from Lentinula edodes mycelia (LEM) has demonstrated benefit in chronic hepatitis sufferers. LEM protects the liver, improves liver function and helps produce antibodies to hepatitis B (J Beijing Med University, 1987; 19: 93-5; Gastroenterol Jpn, 1987; 22: 459-64; Kantansui, 1987; 14: 327-35).

Bronchitis and bronchial asthma

Ganoderma lucidum (reishi mushroom) has a beneficial effect in bronchial conditions by inhibiting the release of histamine, responsible for the swelling in allergic reactions. In a study of 2000 patients with chronic bronchitis, 60-90 per cent given the mushroom improved significantly, with older patients benefitting most (Chang HM, But P-H, Pharmacology and Applications of Chinese Materia Medica, vol 1, Singapore: World Scientific, 1986, pp 214-5).

HIV and AIDS

Mushrooms have also been shown to help HIV/AIDS patients improve immune function. In one patient with a low T4-cell count and symptoms of AIDS given shiitake mushroom tea (LEM) to drink (6 g/day), his T4-cell count more than doubled after two months and his symptoms greatly improved. Also, in lab studies, LEM extract was shown to inhibit the production of HIV particles by infected T4 lymphocytes while boosting immune function [Shokin Kogyo Co Ltd, European patent application EP370,673 (CL.35/84) 30 May 1990].

If you wish to take mushrooms therapeutically, always work with a knowledgeable herbalist. With shii take mushrooms, for instance, large doses of more than ten times normal can lead to immune suppression.

!AHarald Gaier

Harald Gaier is a registered osteopath, naturopath and homoeopath.

Indeed, the number of workers suffering from bronchitis and asthma among the plant’s 130 employees is twice the national rate, and cases of obstructed breathing are over three times the rate in the general population.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has been investigating the incidence of lung disease among workers exposed to the artificial butter flavouring used in microwave popcorn. NIOSH believes that diacetyl, the chemical compound that copies the taste and smell of butter, may be responsible for the workers’ lung problems. However, studies to test this hypothesis are still in progress (Townsend Lett Docs, 2002; Feb/Mar: 24).

Around 200 patients with the condition (and no underlying lung disease) took part in the randomised, double-blind trial which compared azithromycin with low-dose vitamin C as a placebo control.

The researchers found that azithromycin was ‘no more effective than low-dose vitamin C for the treatment of acute bronchitis. Given the lack of evidence that low-dose vitamin C is beneficial, we conclude that azithromycin is ineffective and should not be prescribed for patients with acute bronchitis,’ says the report (BMJ, 2002; 324: 1175, 1226; Lancet, 2002; 359: 1648-54).

Health effects have been dramatic, with young children suffering considerably less chronic bronchitis, and the population as whole experiencing a substantial drop in overall death rates.

Also, after 12 years of a largely sulphur-free environment, women are now living an estimated eight months longer and men more than twice that time (Lancet, 2002; 360: 1646-52).

A recent editorial assessed four systematic reviews comparing antibiotics with placebo in the treatment of bronchitis. The conclusions of the scrutinised reviews ranged from “the current literature does not support antibiotic treatment for acute bronchitis” to “antibiotics may be modestly effective for a minority of patients with acute bronchitis”.

Who that minority may be is the subject of continuing debate. The authors suggest that there may be such a thing as acute bacterial bronchitis related to pneumonia though the tests needed to confirm its presence would require referral to a specialist. So, for the majority of patients, even those with acute bronchitis, antibiotics are still unlikely to offer a cure (BMJ, 2001; 322: 939-40).

* I recommend Buteyko breathing exercises. My asthma was really bad, and I had a severe breathing block in my sternum. I got the book Breathing Free by Teresa Hale and did the exercises. My wheezing stopped, I could walk further without having to stop to catch my breath, and the sternum block disappeared. I haven’t done the exercises since, and my breathing continues to improve. – Carol Crow

So, whenever these procedures can be tested ethically, the results can sometimes be shocking, and can throw into doubt long-established treatment protocols.

Take, for instance, the use of bronchodoliators on babies and infants suffering from bronchitis. Viral bronchitis is a common condition, affecting up to one per cent of all babies in their first year. Standard treatment is the use of a bronchodilator and nebulised epinephrine (adrenaline), often a distressing experience for a small baby.

When doctors at a hospital in Brisbane questioned the treatment, and so gave babies either epinephrine or just saline, they found that those given the saline recovered just as quickly as those given the drug. And those in the drug group also suffered a significant increase in their heart rate after each administration.

(Source: New England Journal of Medicine, 2003; 349: 27-35).