Posted 8/28/2015 9:51 PM (GMT 0)
Re: milk thistle, there just aren't any reliable studies done on human beings. To a large extent this is because Big Pharma and the FDA are not involved. The studies done suffer from poor design, limited numbers, are poorly funded and at best, have yielded mixed results. There's just no money in the research. Milk thistle falls under the "supplement/herb" banner.
Having said this, there has been some decent research done on the active components of milk thistle. Prior to my starting treatment in 2013 (geno 1b...treated with Telaprevir, Interferon and Ribavirin), I embarked on some very intense research. I was obsessed and possessed...lol. I did find an excellent scientific article from research done in a medical lab in Germany. It was a bear finding an English translation, but their data demonstrated active anti-viral activity for hep c via activation of RNA polymerase...similar to the new anti-virals such as Harvoni...mainstreamed in 2015.
Here's a decent and short article from Pharmacology Weekly:
(sorry I can't locate the German article)
http://www.pharmacologyweekly.com/custom/archived-content/pharmacotherapy/32/pdf
Milk thistle has been around since Ancient Greece and in traditional Chinese medicine it is used to protect the liver against toxins, free radicals and to promote normal bile flow.
From my own experience, I can tell you that I took milk thistle for 1 year prior to starting hep c treatment. (lots going on....retiring and moving and having to start over with new docs). BTW, I likely had hep c for about 38 years.
Anyway, my viral load was approx 6,000,000 prior to starting milk thistle..1 year later just prior to starting treatment my viral load dropped by a factor of 10 to the 600,000 range. My enzymes ALT and AST dropped down to almost normal levels. Honestly, my enzymes weren't really high to begin with...but they did decrease.
Now, can I say this was due to the milk thistle?...nope...it is purely anecdotal, but...it's the only thing I did differently and I'd be a fool to ignore it.
Moreover, when I started treatment, my hepatologist told me to stay on it through the 24 weeks...emphasized that it won't hurt and it may help. It is the only herbal or non-traditional treatment he recommends.
I still take it, almost 2 years later now.
I think the take home message is that milk thistle will do no harm and may help.
As always, follow your doc's advice.
Keep in mind, your mileage may vary.
Best of luck.