An update on research in Homeopathy
Robert Medhurst | BNat ND DNutr DRM DBM DHom
According to the current understanding of pharmacology, homeopathy can ' t work. For some people who demonstrate a somewhat narrow understanding of the world around them, this translates to, it doesn ' t work. This notion arises primarily from the fact that the amounts of physical material contained in some of the medicines used in homeopathy are too small to be pharmacologically active. This is a little like saying that a recording on a CD of the works of JS Bach contains nothing but plastic and aluminium. Homeopathics are energybased medicines. It’ s little wonder that a chemical analysis will fail to find active ingredients in a homeopathic product. Regardless of the plausibility of the activity of highly diluted medicines, a large body of experimental evidence exists that attests their clinical effects and what follows are some recent examples of this work.
Human Research
1. Danno K, Duru G, Vetel JM. Management of Anxiety and Depressive Disorders in Patients ≥ 65 Years of Age by Homeopath General Practitioners versus Conventional General Practitioners, with Overview of the EPI3-LASER Study Results. Homeopathy. 2018; 107( 2): 81-89. This work was carried out to determine if older adults diagnosed with anxiety and depressive disorders( ADD) who consult a general practitioner prescribing homeopathic medicines( GP-Ho) report less psychotropic drug use and are more likely to experience clinical improvement than those receiving conventional care. Socio-demographic and medical data and details of any medications prescribed were collected at inclusion. Information regarding the patients ' functional status( Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale [ HADS)]) was obtained via a telephone interview 72 hours after inclusion, and at 1-, 3- and 12-months post-inclusion. Medication use and outcome were determined over a 12-month period. A total of 110 patients were recruited, and 87( 79.1 %) with ADD( HADS ≥ 9) at the 72-hour interview were evaluated( age range: 65-93 years, 82.8 % female). Patients who consulted a GP- Ho were more likely to have clinical improvement after 12 months than those receiving conventional care( CC) via a GP. Patients who consulted a GP-Ho reported less psychotropic drug use and benzodiazepine use than CC patients.
2. Nakhooda F, Tsele-Tebakang T. A Pilot Study of Individualised Homeopathic Treatment of Chronic Constipation. Hpathy. November 17, 2018. This was a case series conducted at the University of Johannesburg Homeopathy Health Training Centre over a 6-week period and was intended to determine the efficacy of individualised homeopathic treatment of people suffering from chronic constipation. Through purposive sampling, 10 people aged 18-50 years who met the Rome II criteria participated in the study. A selection questionnaire confirming the participant’ s constipation status was completed. The participants then had their full case history taken and physical examination performed. Each case was repertorised using Mercurius Repertorisation Software version 5.2.1.0 and participants were given the individualised remedy at a 30C potency daily at a dose of 1 drop. The participants were advised not to make any alterations to their usual diet or any lifestyle changes that could affect their bowel habits. At each follow-up consultation, the participant’ s case was re-evaluated with special attention given to changes in symptoms or the appearance of new symptoms. Depending upon the participants’ responses to the initial prescription, the remedy or potency was either changed or continued. The results of the study indicated an improvement in stool frequency and general wellbeing for all 10 participants, and an improvement in stool form and ease of evacuation for the majority of participants.
3. Rajalakshmi MA. Homeopathic Treatment as an Aid to Inclusive Integration of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Hpathy, November 17, 2018. This was a retrospective study of the homeopathic treatment of 40 children with ASD, seen by the author in private practice. Standard constitutional homeopathic case taking was used to prescribe individualised homeopathic therapy. A quantitative analysis of this data found that there was a statistically significant reduction in the mean Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist scores of children after the homeopathic treatment( 33.17) when compared with the scores before starting the homeopathic treatment protocol( 78.15).
4. Bosco F, et al. An integrated approach with homeopathic medicine and electro-acupuncture in anaesthesiology during breast cancer surgery: Case reports. J Pharmacopuncture. 2018:21( 2): 126-131. This study investigated the effect of a combination of homeopathic
92 | vol31 | no2 | JATMS