Abdullah M. Nasrat, Randa M. Nasrat and Mohammad M. Nasrat
The study aimed to demonstrate the effect of blood-let out (BLO) cupping therapy in eradication of Hepatitis C virus (HCV) from the serum. HCV affects millions of people worldwide; HCV causes not only liver disease but also a significant number of extra-hepatic manifestations. HCV is a major cause of hepatocellular carcinoma which is a common life-threatening complication of longstanding infection with HCV. The clinical outcomes of chronic hepatic viral illness are determined by the rate of viral replication and the host immune response. Treatment should be directed at reduction of the viral load in serum to suppress development of complications. Interferon therapy includes serious side effects, low efficacy and the possibility of ongoing transmission and re-infection. The new directly acting antiviral drugs offer good therapeutic effect, short duration of treatment and low incidence of side effects but are costly. Cupping therapy has demonstrated effective depletion of the viral load in few hours after the cupping session and successful clinical outcomes in reasonable period of therapy.The study included three patients with different viral loads; they had undergone repeated sessions of cupping therapy on the upper back. The first patient, 71 years old, quit the study when his viral load dropped from 5 million units to 75000 units after two sessions and returned to interferon therapy. The second patient with viral load 750.000 units was cured after 7 sessions of cupping therapy in 15 months period. The third patient was cured after 5 sessions in 7 months period. The second and third patients were followed up for 3 and 6 months respectively and showed no recurrence. On conclusion, cupping therapy constitutes a therapeutic revolution in hepatitis C viral illness treatment through massive eradication of the virus from the serum in a rapid immediate onset after the cupping session.