Gua sha has been used in China to treat acute and chronic hepatitis. Upregulation of the enzyme HO-1 through gua sha results in decreased virus replication as well as protection from oxidative damage (Zhu et al. Heme Oxygenase-1 suppresses hepatitis C virus replication and increases resistance of hepatocytes to oxidant injury. Hepatology, 2008; 48(5) (November)1430-9)
More recently, the role of gua sha in the treatment of acute and chronic hepatitis B has begun to emerge. Again, the upregulation of HO-1 has been reported to be effective in control of the virus and offers hepatoprotection in animal models (Wunder et al. The heme oxygenase system; its role in liver inflammation. Curr Drug Therapies Cardiovasc Haemotol Disorder. 2003; 3 199 – 208)
These studies seem to validate the long-accepted role of gua sha in treating viral and inflammatory conditions, as the treatment process has been demonstrated to upregulate HO-1. This would seem to support the role that gua sha has traditionally played in the treatment of hepatitis in China.
In 2011, a team at Harvard/Mass General described a case where a single gua sha treatment in a patient with active chronic hepatitis B reduced levels of liver enzymes alanine transaminase (ALT) and aspartate transaminas(AST), modulated T-helper Th1/Th2 balance and enhanced HO-1, and they suggest this is responsible for the hepatoprotective effect, helping to reduce inflammatory injury to the liver where chronic hepatitis B has moved into the immune active phase. (Chan et al. Gua sha-induced hepatoprotection in chronic active hepatitis B: a case study. Clin Chim Acta. 2011; in412; 1686-88)
Hopefully, the findings of the Harvard case study will lead to larger trials and an attempt to establish what dosage/frequency gua sha may be hepatoprotective in patients with active hepatitis. Is it possible that, alongside dietary precautions, it will help to reduce inflammatory injury to the liver and return a patients to ‘inactive’ status and thus provide an essential role in managing chronic active hepatitis? If this were a drug with enormous financial incentives for a pharmaceutical company, this would possibly be heralded as a potential medical breakthrough.
