<h1>Is bee venom a sting</h1>

I got an email from an good friend from across the pond. He believes in alternative therapies as opposed to recognized, researched based therapies where my allegiance lies. I have a firm skepticism when it comes to"snake oil" medicine. I once went to the banks of a stream that flowed near Lower Fort Garry* and determined where the pioneers would have thrown their garbage (it was their practise to throw their garbage into the river to get rid of it.) I dug into the bank of the stream and found the mother load. In amongst my treasures was a glass bottle with the words "Canadian Pain Destroyer". Apparently, it didn't work because it isn't in use today. It was snake oil medicine.

These days, bee sting therapy is the cure de jour. Is it snake oil too?" I know it is supposed to help sufferers of arthritis (I have't looked, but until I see proper research, I will be skeptical of that claim too). The question is, does bee stink venom slow down or cure PD? There is anecdotal evidence, such as my friend described in his email:

Have you looked in to the bee sting treatment? My friend Jordi has had it and with great results- his PD has receded and stabilised at age 80 and he is still quite active -even a bit of skiing in Pyrenees!! Come on - throw your Big Pharma meds in the bin -they are the real Quacks in this world- go get yourself stung and start a whole new life phase!

Don't you think it sounds too good to be true? Too oily? My response was to the effect that Jordi was probably a victim of the placebo effect, or he had slow moving PD. Normally I would have laughed off this "therapy", but when coming from a close friend, I had to hit google and I found this study in Plos One (a recognized journal) entitled: Bee Venom for the Treatment of Parkinson Disease – A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial. The researchers concluded

This study did not evidence any clear symptomatic or disease-modifying effects of monthly bee venom injections over an 11 month period compared to placebo using a standard bee venom allergy desensitization protocol in Parkinson disease patients. However, bee venom administration appeared safe in non-allergic subjects. Thus, we suggest that higher administration frequency and possibly higher individual doses of bee venom may reveal its potency in treating Parkinson disease.

So, maybe my friend was giving me good advice; or, maybe he was not.

"What is your opinion?" someone just asked. I remain a skeptic, prove it too me with scientific proof. However, I do appreciate my friend's information but, no such therapy for me..... I am afraid of bees.

“We think we can make honey without sharing in the fate of bees, but we are in truth nothing but poor bees, destined to accomplish our task and then die.”

I thought I would leave you with a happy quote to brighten your day.

* Lower Fort Garry - http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/sites/lowerfortgarry.shtml

quote from Muriel Barbery