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(BEIJING-AFP) - Patients in China are swarming to acupuncture clinics to be given bee stings to treat or ward off life-threatening illness, practitioners say.

More than 27,000 people have undergone the painful technique -- each session can involve dozens of punctures -- at Wang Menglin's clinic in Beijing, says the bee acupuncturist who makes his living from believers in the concept.

But except for trying to prevent allergic reactions to the stings themselves, there is no orthodox medical evidence that bee venom is effective against illness, and rationalist websites in the West describe so-called "apitherapy" as "quackery."

"We hold the bee, put it on a point on the body, hold its head, and pinch it until the sting needle emerges," Wang said at his facility on the outskirts of the capital.

The bee -- Wang said he uses an imported Italian variety -- dies when it stings.

"We've treated patients with dozens of diseases, from arthritis to cancer, all with positive results," said Wang.

Bee stings can be used to treat "most common diseases of the lower limbs," he added, and claimed they also work as a preventative measure. But sciencebasedmedicine.org, a US-based website, says that such claims of panaceas and cure-alls are "always a red flag for quackery".

"There is no scientific evidence to support its use," it says of "apitherapy," or treatment with bee products.


Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/health/bee-sting- ... z2cKgDyrci

Gracious, not again: poor bees!!

as if bees don't have enough to deal with lately

While I agree 'that such claims of panaceas and cure-alls are "always a red flag for quackery",' a couple of days ago I read an article entitled “Selective Blockade of T Lymphocyte K+ Channels Ameliorates Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis, a Model for Multiple Sclerosis.” The article reported on a study in which they concluded that selective targeting of Kv1.3, alone or with IKCa1, may provide an effective new mode of therapy for multiple sclerosis.
In this study they used Kaliotoxin (KTX) and Stichodactyla toxin (ShK).
Kaliotoxin (KTX) is a neurotoxin, a peptide from scorpion venom which inhibits potassium flux through the Kv1.3 voltage-gated potassium channel and calcium-activated potassium channels by physically blocking the channel-entrance and inducing a conformational change in the K+-selectivity filter of the channel.
Stichodactyla toxin (ShK) is a peptide toxin that blocks the voltage-gated potassium channels: Kv1.1, Kv1.3, Kv1.6, Kv3.2 andKCa3.1. This toxin is secreted by the sea anemone Stichodactyla helianthus.
Is there a toxin in bee venom with medicinal value? Perhaps. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC61146/
P.S. I understood the gist of the article I read, did not understand the biochemistry.

i'd rather stick with balancing electrolytes properly, but that is just how I roll

I'm allergic anyway.

Incidentally, we have had an explosion of bumble bees this year: they keep flying into my studio. Maybe honey bees wil follow on next year?

I had a doctor here several years ago from China with a cousin who had M.S. They both went to check out the bee sting treatments - in China. My doctor said his cousin had no improvements and that I shouldn't try this - not that I would have. Acupuncture didn't help me either but "cupping" did make me stronger in walking. Unfortunately I didn't keep up with it for some reason??