Role for Chinese herbals plus antipsychotic drugs

A study published in the May issue of the British Journal of Psychiatry suggests that combining traditional Chinese medicine with western antispychotic medication is beneficial in the treatment of schoziphrenia. The seven studies reviewed were identified from the Cochrane Schizophrenia Group's register of trials, as well as a range of Chinese databases.

The authors of the study comment that the results are "broadly encouraging." They suggest that combination treatment might be beneficial in terms of certain measures of improvement in schizophrenia, although results are based on only two small studies of a total of 103 people. Medium-term data on the negative symptoms of schizophrenia, such as withdrawal, were more robust, with three studies of a total of 741 people favoring the herbal plus antipsychotic combination group.