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Bee venom suppresses testosterone-induced benign prostatic hyperplasia by regulating the inflammatory response and apoptosis
Identifier
016931
Type of Spiritual Experience
Background
The science behind this is still in its infancy, but this effect has been known in our region for years. I even knew one man who came to a bee-keeper to have his dose of stings to get relief from arthritis. As such this is not a cure but some kind of temporary relief treatment
A description of the experience
Exp Biol Med (Maywood). 2015 Jun 17. pii: 1535370215590823. [Epub ahead of print]
Bee venom suppresses testosterone-induced benign prostatic hyperplasia by regulating the inflammatory response and apoptosis.
Chung KS1, An HJ1, Cheon SY1, Kwon KR2, Lee KH3.
- 1Department of Pharmacology, College of Oriental Medicine, Sangji University, Wonju-si, Gangwon-do 220-702, Republic of Korea.
- 2Ginseng&Venom, Sngji University, Wonju-si, Gangwon-do 220-702, Republic of Korea.
- 3Department of Acupuncture & Moxibustion Medicine, College of Korean Medicine, Sangji University, Wonju-si, Gangwon-do 220-702, Republic of Korea sangjipharm@gmail.com.
Abstract
Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), which is a common disorder in aging men, involves inflammation that is associated with an imbalance between cell proliferation and cell death.
Because current BPH drug treatments have undesirable side effects, the development of well-tolerated and effective alternative medicines to treat BPH is of interest.
Bee venom (BV) has been used in traditional medicine to treat conditions, such as arthritis and rheumatism, and pain.
Although inflammation has been associated with BPH and BV has strong anti-inflammatory effects, the effects of BV on BPH are not fully understood. Therefore, in this study, we evaluated the efficacy of BV against testosterone-induced BPH in rats. BV decreased prostate weight compared to the untreated group. In addition, BV suppressed serum dihydrotestosterone concentration levels and the levels of proliferating cell nuclear antigen in the histological analysis. Furthermore, BV significantly decreased the levels of the apoptotic suppressors, Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL, and increased the levels of the proapoptotic factors, Bax and caspase-3 activation.
These results suggested that BV suppressed the development of BPH and has good potential as a treatment for BPH.
© 2015 by the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine.
KEYWORDS: Bcl-2/Bax ratio; Bee venom; Benign prostatic hyperplasia; apoptosis; caspase; inflammation
PMID: 26085572
The source of the experience
PubMedConcepts, symbols and science items
Concepts
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Science Items
Activities and commonsteps
Activities
Overloads
Being bitten or stung by ants, insects or other creaturesBenign prostatic hyperplasia drugs
Rheumatoid arthritis