Traditional Treatments Show Promise for HIV, Psoriasis

　　Chinese medicine has been getting some props lately. A couple of recent studies have demonstrated the medical potential of traditional treatments.

　　Part of the challenge of AIDS is that immune cells lose their ability to divide and thus their disease fighting power. Partly because the telomeres—a sort of protective cap on the ends of chromosomes—become progressively shorter. Enter the root astragalus. It’s used frequently in Chinese herbal remedies. Researchers focused on a chemical called TAT2, which was identified in astragalus. They tested it on cells and blood from HIV infected individuals. The compound slowed the shortening of telomeres and generally improved the ability of cells to fight HIV. (The Journal of Immunology)

　　Another study focused on psoriasis. There’s no cure for that chronic skin disease. But in China and Taiwan, people with psoriasis frequently apply a dark blue plant-based powder called indigo naturalis. In a randomized study [in the Archives of Dermatology], indigo powder significantly reduced skin scaling, redness and hardness. The Taiwanese scientists say the next step is to determine indigo’s pharmacology and perhaps extract the specific chemical compounds that could bring psoriasis sufferers some relief.

　　中药最近受到追捧。进来的几项研究显示出中医的潜在治疗效果。

　　艾滋病导致免疫细胞失去分裂的能力从而进一步失去它们抗病能力， 如何解决这个问题是治疗艾滋病所面临的挑战中的一部分。其中部分原因可能是端粒酶——一种位于染色体端部的保护“盖”——---渐进性缩短。试试黄芪吧！这是一种常用的中药材。研究人员们重点研究黄芪中的一种叫TAT2的化学物质。他们用黄芪对取自于感染艾滋病毒个体的细胞和血液进行了实验，结果发现这种化学物质能减缓端粒酶的缩短，从而提高了免疫细胞抗艾滋病毒的能力 （《免疫学杂志》The Journal of Immunology）。

　　另外一项研究关注牛皮癣病。目前还没有治愈这种慢性皮肤病的方法。但是在大陆和台湾，牛皮癣病患者经常使用一种名叫青黛的深蓝色的植物粉末。一项随机研究 （见于《皮肤病学文献》Archives of Dermatology）发现，青黛粉能显著地减少皮肤鳞、红斑以及皮肤变硬。台湾科学家们说下一步就是确定青黛的药理学原理，可能的话再提取出相关的特定化学物质，这些特定的化学物质可能对牛皮癣患者带来福音。