In the quest for effective treatments, patients sometimes consider very unconventional therapies. Apitherapy , treatment with bee venom, has been proposed as an option for multiple sclerosis patients. Bee products, particularly venom, are thought to stimulate the body s production of cortisol compounds, which reduce inflammation. They are also believed to enhance transmission of nerve impulses.
Bee venom is administered by holding honey bees against the skin at carefully chosen points.
The effectiveness of apitherapy has not been proved for MS or any other condition. However, some patients have perceived their improvement after therapy to be so significant that they chose to discontinue most or all conventional therapies. The National Multiple Sclerosis Society funded a controlled study of venom therapy using raw venom injected into mice that had a condition similar to multiple sclerosis in humans. Careful analysis of structural and functional changes in the mice s nervous systems indicated that the bee venom had no clinical benefit. However, the society plans to test the effects of apamin, the specific component of venom thought to affect nerve transmission.