ARTICLE
More homeopathic research
Robert Medhurst | BNat ND DHom
In answer to the never-ending call of , " Show us your research ...", what follows are more homeopathic research highlights from recent issues of the scientific journals .
Human Research
1 . Peckham EJ , et al . Interim Results of a Randomised Controlled Trial of Homeopathic Treatment for Irritable Bowel Syndrome . Homeopathy , 2014 , 103 , 3 , 172-177 . A UK research team randomly assigned 94 people diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome to receive one of three interventions - usual care , individualised homeopathic treatment provided by two professional homeopaths plus usual medical care , and supportive listening plus usual medical care . The treatment persisted for 26 weeks and patients were assessed via a change in irritable bowel symptom severity . An interim assessment of the results found no statistically significant difference between the three arms . However , a post-hoc test comparing homeopathic treatment plus usual care to usual care alone found a statistically significant difference in favour of homeopathic treatment . In addition , 62.5 percent of patients in the homeopathic treatment arm ( compared to 25.0 percent of those in the usual medical care arm ) achieved a clinically relevant change in irritable bowel symptom severity score .
2 . Miglani A , Manchanda RK . Observational Study of Arctium Lappa in the Treatment of Acne Vulgaris . Homeopathy , 2014 , 103 , 203-207 . This uncontrolled observational study , conducted through India ’ s Central Council for Research in Homeopathy , sought to scientifically validate the management of acne , with homeopathically prepared Arctium , which is a relatively common prescription for this problem . A total of 32 people diagnosed with acne vulgaris who met the study ’ s inclusion criteria were given 6C to 1M homeopathic potencies of Arctium over a period of 6 months . Assessment was done by observing the change in acne lesion counts supplemented with Global Acne Grading System and subjective assessment by using Acne-Specific Quality of Life questionnaire . The results displayed statistically significant improvement in all of the parameters measured .
3 . Frass M , et al . Influence of Adjunctive Classical Homeopathy on Global Health Status and Subjective Wellbeing in Cancer Patients - A Pragmatic Randomized Controlled Trial . Complement Ther Med , 2015 , 23 , 3 , 309-317 . The Medical University of Vienna was the setting for this randomised , controlled work that looked at whether homeopathy has the capacity to influence global health status and subjective wellbeing , when used as an adjunct to conventional cancer therapy . A total of 410 people diagnosed with cancer were treated either with standard antineoplastic or individualised homeopathic adjunctive therapy in addition to standard therapy . The main outcome measures were global health status and subjective wellbeing , as assessed by the patients . At each of three visits ( one baseline , two follow-up visits ) patients filled in two different questionnaires . The improvement of global health status between visits 1 and 3 was significantly stronger in the homeopathy group ( p = 0.005 ) than in the control group . A significant group difference was also observed with respect to subjective wellbeing ( p < 0.001 ) in favour of the homeopathic as compared with the control group . Control patients showed a significant improvement only in subjective wellbeing between their first and third visits .
4 . Macias-Cortes EC , et al , Individualized Homeopathic Treatment And Fluoxetine For Moderate To Severe Depression In Peri- And Postmenopausal Women ( HOMDEP-MENOP study ): A Randomized , Double-Dummy , Double-Blind , Placebo-Controlled Trial . PLoS One , 2015 Mar 13 ; 10 ( 3 ): e0118440 . doi : 10.1371 / journal . pone . 0118440 . eCollection 2015 . Researchers working in a public hospital in Mexico City assessed the efficacy and safety of individualised homeopathic treatment versus placebo and fluoxetine versus placebo in peri- and post-menopausal women with moderate to severe depression . The research model used was a randomised , placebocontrolled , double-blind , double-dummy , superiority , three-arm trial with a 6 week follow-up . A total of 133 peri- and post-menopausal hospital outpatients diagnosed with major depression according to DSM-IV ( moderate to severe intensity ) were included in the study . The outcomes were change in the mean total score among groups on the 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression , Beck Depression Inventory and Greene Scale , after 6 weeks of treatment , response and remission rates , and safety . Efficacy data were analysed in the intention-to-treat population ( ANOVA with Bonferroni post-hoc test ). Fluoxetine
30 | vol27 | no1 | JATMS