East and West join forces against diabetes SCIENTISTS say they have proved Chinese medicine and conventional drugs work well together in the treatment of type 2 diabetes. After a controlled 48-week clinical trial of 800 adults with type 2 diabetes, researchers from Queensland and Beijing are confident the conventional drug glibenclamide is significantly more effective when used with a preparation called Xiaoke Pill. Xiaoke Pill is a compound of Chinese herbs and glibenclamide. The research shows patients treated with Xiaoke Pill and glibenclamide are more than a third less likely to experience hypoglycaemia - dangerously low levels of blood sugar - than those treated with only glibenclamide. They are also less likely to experience other symptoms of diabetes, including fatigue, hunger and palpitation. "Traditional Chinese medicine has long been used to treat diabetes in China and around the world but until now there has been a lack of evidence regarding its safety and efficacy," says Dr Sanjoy Paul, of the University of Queensland's School of Population Health. This absence of scientific understanding has caused scepticism and criticism. Dr Paul says more studies are needed to interpret just how traditional Chinese medicine works to reduce hypoglycaemia, but the study results highlight its potential to reduce the treatment gap in developing countries where diabetes is at epidemic proportions. "A vast majority of people in developing countries depend on herbal medicine for basic health care," Dr Paul says. The study is published in the journal Plos One.