Send2Press Newswire : Medical : Alternative Medicine News

New Hope in the Global Fight Against Malaria

Thu, 22 Jun 2006, 16:33:00 EDT

Edited by Christopher L. Simmons

OJAI, CA - June 22 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- Global Resource Alliance (GRA), a California-based non-profit, announced today results of an on-going study in the Lake Victoria Region of Tanzania which suggests that a homeopathic neem tincture is both highly effective and financially feasible for the treatment and prevention of malaria (plasmodium falciparum). Eighty-one percent of participants in the study reported a significant decrease in malaria outbreaks in the first 6 months of the 18-month study.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that worldwide, more than 300 million acute cases of malaria occur each year, 90% in sub-Saharan Africa where malaria accounts for 1 in 5 childhood deaths. However, the abundance of neem in Africa, and other regions threatened by malaria, and the relative simplicity and minimal production costs of the tincture makes this natural homeopathic remedy a potentially viable option for millions of the world's poor living in endemic malaria regions.

*(Photo caption: Musa John receiving homeopathic neem drops for prevention of malaria.)

In traditional medicine, the neem tree (Azadirachta indica) is recognized as an effective treatment for many diseases. Although neem has been used in India for thousands of years, its properties have not been studied in the Western world until relatively recently. Neem, the "tree of 1,000 uses", can be used for purposes as diverse as pest control, the treatment of skin disorders, systemic bacterial, viral and fungal infections as well as the prevention and treatment of malaria.

The homeopathic neem tincture used in the GRA study was first developed by the Abha Light Foundation in Nairobi, Kenya. The remedy is an ethanol based tincture carrying the medicinal properties of neem leaves. A 20 ml plastic dropper bottle holds approximately 100 doses (450-500 drops), sufficient for a 2-3 month twice daily regimen, and costs less than fifty cents.

Data for the study was gathered from a questionnaire administered by Foundation HELP, Tanzania social worker, Christopher Gamba, during home visits after 3 and 6 months. The percentage of subjects who reported a decrease of malaria episodes increased from 57% at 3 months to 81% after 6 months of treatment. There were no reports of side-effects during the treatment.

As the US National Research Council (NRC) points out, neem has a complex chemical makeup with more than twenty compounds identified to date. Theoretically, this makes development of resistance unlikely.

The beneficial properties of neem and lack of side-effects combined with the low manufacturing cost may constitute a viable solution to decrease the incidence of malaria in highly impacted areas. GRA directors caution that despite very optimistic initial results, more studies are needed.

The complete, 12-page report prepared by N.M. Barlow-Benschop, MD, MSc, C.Gamba, S.P. Barlow, BSc, T. M. Blasco, PhD. on this study of homeopathic neem for the prevention of malaria may be found on the GRA website: www.globalresourcealliance.org

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