Difference between revisions of "Homeopathy"

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'''Homeopathy''' is an [[Alternative Medicine]] system that tries to treat illnesses with minuscule doses of the drugs that cause the same symptom as the illness. Homeopathy is based on the ideas of [[Samuel Hahnemann]], a 19th century physician who observed that some contemporary medicines evoked symptoms similar to those of the illnesses for which they were prescribed. There is no clear evidence to support the efficacy of homeopathic remedies, and it is likely that the reported effects are placebo effects.
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'''Homeopathy''' is a system of [[alternative medicine]] whose practitioners believe that if a large dose of a particular substance causes a symptom when administered, then the same substance would cure ailments causing similar symptoms when a smaller, more diluted dose is administered; this is called "like cures like".<ref>http://www.webmd.com/balance/guide/homeopathy-topic-overview</ref> Practitioners repeatedly dilute substances with water and/or alcohol and vigorously shake the resulting solution; the resulting "remedy" often contains very little, if any, molecules of the original substance. However, homeopathists believe that this procedure makes their remedies ''more'' potent through a phenomenon known as ''dynamization''.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20020826082134/http://altmed.creighton.edu/Homeopathy/philosophy/dilution.htm</ref> Because of the alternative criteria for the marketing of homeopathic medicine as such in the US, the use of a homeopathic medicine label can be a loophole to sell legitimate and effective medicine without going through the lengthy process of ordinary FDA approval. Zinc gluconate products for example have a proven track record of treating the common cold.<ref>https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12424502</ref>
  
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== Introduction ==
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Homeopathy regards diseases as 'morbid derangements of the organism', that involve some disturbance in a 'vital force.' Today, most homeopaths still believe that the fundamental causes of disease are internal and constitutional and that it is contrary to good health to suppress symptoms. They also accept the concept of 'latent Psora', the early signs of an organism’s imbalance which indicate that treatment is needed.
  
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Homeopathic remedies involve treating an illness with an infinitesimally small dose of a substance that, at bigger doses, can cause symptoms that are like those of the illness (treating 'like with like'). Controversially, homeopaths believe that the 'potency' of a remedy can be increased by serial dilutions (repetitively adding water or alcohol) combined with vigorous shaking, to the point where little or none of the original solution remains as part of the final prepared remedy.
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Modern scientific consensus states that homeopathy is [[pseudoscience|pseudoscientific]]; there is a lack of evidence to suggest that homeopathy's effects are any more than [[placebo]],<ref name=researchpaper>https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1874503/</ref> and the basic premises of homeopathy seem impossible under our current understanding of the world.
  
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The word 'homeopathy' was first used by the German physician Christian Friedrich Samuel Hahnemann (1755-1843). Hahnemann was an eminent physician and a prominent public health reformer. He believed that his new system was more humane and effective than the conventional medicine of his time<ref>Hahnemann S (1796) translated into English as "[http://www.minutus.org/library/article_read.asp?id=6 Essay on a New Principle]". Hahnemann's [http://www.homeopathyhome.com/reference/organon/organon.html Organon der Heilkunst] in English translation</ref>, but it was greeted by the establishment with derision and contempt.<ref>Dean ME (2001) [http://shpltd.co.uk/dean-homeopathy.pdf Homeopathy and the progress of science] Hist Scixxxix</ref> Today, homeopathy is not an accepted part of conventional medicine, and its theories are not generally regarded as scientifically credible, but nevertheless it has more than 100,000 practitioners worldwide, and 500 million users.
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==History==
  
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Homeopathy (from the Greek hómoios (similar) and páthos (suffering)) regards diseases as 'morbid derangements of the organism', that involve some disturbance in a 'vital force.' Today, most homeopaths still believe that the fundamental causes of disease are internal and constitutional and that it is contrary to good health to suppress symptoms. They also accept the concept of 'latent Psora', the early signs of an organism’s imbalance which indicate that treatment is needed.
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Homeopathy was created in the 18th century by physician Samuel Hahnemann, who noticed cinchona bark, used to cure [[malaria]], could cause malaria-like symptoms.<ref>https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1676328/</ref> He believed that his new system was more humane and effective than the conventional medicine of his time,<ref>Hahnemann S (1796) translated into English as "[http://www.minutus.org/library/article_read.asp?id=6 Essay on a New Principle]". Hahnemann's [http://www.homeopathyhome.com/reference/organon/organon.html Organon der Heilkunst] in English translation</ref> but it was greeted by the establishment with derision and contempt.<ref>Dean ME (2001) [http://shpltd.co.uk/dean-homeopathy.pdf Homeopathy and the progress of science] Hist Scixxxix</ref> Since then, homeopathy became more popular. Homeopathic hospitals of the time were better for their patients than conventional hospitals, as they generally prescribed medicines that had no effects at all, while contemporary conventional hospitals had dangerous, potentially fatal treatments.<ref>"British Medical Journal", BMJ 1 (533): 283–4, 1871 [http://www.bmj.com/content/1/533/283 Registration required for access]</ref> As new medical discoveries were made and conditions in conventional hospitals improved, however, homeopathy fell into decline.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20070705095116/http://altmed.creighton.edu/Homeopathy/history.htm</ref> Today, homeopathy is not an accepted part of conventional medicine, and its theories are not generally regarded as scientifically credible, but nevertheless it has more than 100,000 practitioners worldwide, and 500 million users.
  
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== The popularity of homeopathy ==
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== Methods ==
  
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Homeopathy is popular in Europe and in India, but less so in the USA, where non-orthodox therapies are more tightly regulated. There are estimated to be more than 100,000 practitioners worldwide, and 500 million people receiving treatment. In Germany, homeopathy has been recognized as a 'special form of therapy' since 1978, meaning that its remedies do not have to have been shown to be efficacious, but since 2004, most are not covered by public health insurance. In Switzerland, homeopathic remedies were covered by the basic health insurance system, if prescribed by a physician, until June 2005, when the Government, after a 5-year trial, withdrew insurance coverage for homeopathy and four other complementary treatments, as they did not meet efficacy and cost-effectiveness criteria. In the UK, homeopathic remedies are sold over the counter, and five homeopathic hospitals are funded by the [[National Health Service]]. Homeopathy is not practiced by most of the medical profession, but is supported by the [[Prince of Wales]] and other members of the royal family.<ref>Leary B et al (1998) It Wont Do Any Harm: Practice and People At The London Homeopathic Hospital, 1889-1923, in Juette R et al (1998) Eds. 'Culture, Knowledge And Healing: Historical Perspectives On Homeopathy In Europe And North America' Sheffield Univ. Press, UK [http://www.homeoint.org/english/index.htm Homéopathe International The English language version]</ref><ref>Fisher P, Ward A (1994) Medicine in Europe: complementary medicine in Europe BMJ 309:107-111[1]; Homeopathy was regulated by the European Union in 2001, by Directive 2001/83/EC. [http://www.pheur.org/ European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines]</ref>
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===Dilutions===
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All homeopathic remedies are created through repeated dilution of a substance.Remedies made with a soluble substance are made by diluting the substance with water and/or alcohol and vigorously shaking it. The resulting solution is then repeated diluted with the same process until the desired dilution is reached. On the other hand, when a homeopath uses a non-soluble substance to make a remedy, he would grind the substance and dilute it with lactose. The number of times a substance is diluted by 10 times its volume is marked with the number and X, while the number of times it is diluted by 100 times its volume is written as the number and C. In a 5X remedy, for instance, the substance would have been diluted so the solution has one part of the substance per 10^5 parts of the solvent. Most remedies are of a dilution between 6X to 30X.<ref name=quackwatch>http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/homeo.html</ref>
  
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== History ==
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===Provings===
  
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For the early [[Greek]] physician [[Hippocrates]] of Cos, who lived at about 400 BC<ref>[http://www.iep.utm.edu/h/hippocra.htm Hippocrates (c. 450 BC to 380 BC.)]</ref>, the four 'humours' (blood, black bile, yellow bile and phlegm) were the key to understanding disease. His ideas persisted through the writings of [[Galen]] (131-201 AD) until at least 1858, and [[Rudolf Virchow]]'s theories of cellular pathology. Diseases, it was thought, were the result of some 'imbalance' of the humours, and physicians of the day focused on restoring that balance, either by trying to remove an excess of a humour, or by suppressing the symptoms. "Bloodletting, fever remedies, tepid baths, lowering drinks, weakening diet, blood cleansing and everlasting aperients and clysters (enemas) form the circle in which the ordinary German physician turns round unceasingly", wrote Hahnemann while translating into German the Treatise on Materia Medica (1789) by the Edinburgh physician [[William Cullen]].<ref>See Peter Morrell, [http://homeoint.org/morrell/articles/index.htm Articles on Homeopathy]. [http://www.wholehealthnow.com/homeopathy_pro/homeopathy_1825_1849.html Homeopathy Timeline].</ref>
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Homeopaths conduct "provings" to find new substances with which they would make new remedies. In a proving, participants are given a particular substance without being told of what it is, and are asked to report on what effects the substance had on their bodies.<ref>http://homeopathyeurope.org/research/provings/</ref> The data collected from the proving would then, theoretically, allow the homeopath to understand what illnesses a remedy made from the substance would cure; such a remedy would supposedly cure illnesses with symptoms similar to those caused by the substance itself.
  
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After 1783, disillusioned with medicine and the many toxic effects of its cures, Hahnemann began to use smaller and smaller doses of drugs, trying to minimize their toxic effects while retaining their efficacy. Cullen had written that Cinchona bark (which contains quinine) was effective because it was bitter, and Hahnemann pondered about this; he felt that this explanation was implausible because other substances that were as bitter had no therapeutic value. Accordingly, he took Cinchona bark himself, and saw that its effects were similar to the symptoms of the diseases that it was prescribed for. For Hahnemann, this was a breakthrough, and it led him to formulate the 'Principle of Similars' on which homeopathy is based, expressed by him as similia similibus curentur or 'let likes cure likes'.<ref>At least one writer has suggested that Hahnemann was hypersensitive to quinine, and that he might have had an allergic reaction ([http://www.angelfire.com/mb2/quinine/allergy.html Thomas WE "The basis of homeopathy"]).</ref>
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==Theoretical Plausibility==
  
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He had concluded that diseases are caused by "spirit-like derangements of the spirit-like power that animates the human body", and was searching for a way to harness this power for healing.  
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Homeopathy has many implausible aspects which do not make sense under our current understanding of [[physics]] and [[medicine]]. The high dilutions used in many remedies preclude them from having any effect on the body; a remedy with a dilution of 24X or above is highly unlikely to contain a single molecule of the original substance it's made out of, while common homeopathic remedies can have a dilution number of up to 30X.<ref name=quackwatch/> Homeopathy's core teaching that the potency of a drug increases with dilution goes against current medical understanding, which states that, in most cases, the potency of a drug increases as dosage goes ''up'', not ''down''.
  
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=== Provings ===
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In order to explain away the fact that homeopathy is physically implausible, homeopaths hold that water has an ability to receive an imprint of the chemicals it had interacted with, and that it therefore would be able to retain the pharmacological effects of a substance, even if it had been diluted to the point that it's no longer existent in the final remedy. This concept is called ''water memory'', and water having memory was first claimed to have been observed in 1988 by a French scientist only to be debunked two months later.<ref>http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,968080,00.html</ref>
  
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Homeopathic remedies are found by 'provings', in which volunteers are given substances, the effects of which are recorded as a 'Drug Picture', these drug pictures are subsequently used to compare with a patient's symptoms in order to select, as a remedy, the substance whose effects are closest to the patient's symptoms. Today, homeopaths use about 3000 different remedies from animal, plant, mineral, and synthetic substances, including 'Natrum muriaticum' (sodium chloride or table salt)[9]<ref>[http://www.abchomeopathy.com/r.php/Nat-m ABC Homeopathy, Natrum Muriaticum]</ref>, 'Oscillococcinum' (a 200C product made from duck heart and liver that is prescribed for colds and flu-like symptoms) 'Roadrunner' (Geococcyx californianus)<ref>HPathy [http://www.hpathy.com/repertory/ Homeopathy Repertory]</ref> and 'Arnica'<ref>Bandolier. [http://www.jr2.ox.ac.uk/bandolier/booth/alternat/AT012.html Efficacy of Homeopathic Arnica]</ref>. Other 'isopathic' remedies involve diluting the agent or product of the disease; for example, [[Rabies]] nosode is made from the saliva of a rabid dog. Some homeopaths use more esoteric substances, known as 'imponderables' because they originate from electromagnetic energy 'captured' by alcohol or lactose ('X-ray', 'Sol' (sunlight), 'Positronium'<ref>Anti Matter. [http://www.hominf.org/posi/posiintr.htm The Homœopathic Proving of
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== Efficacy ==
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Positronium]</ref>, and 'Electricitas'<ref>MATERIA MEDICA [http://homeoint.org/clarke/e/elect.htm Electricitas]</ref>](electricity), or with a telescope ('Polaris'). Recent ventures into more esoteric remedies include 'Tempesta'<ref>[http://uk.geocities.com/veryscarymary/stormremedy1.html The Homeopathic proving of 'Tempesta' the Storm by Mary English]</ref> (thunderstorm), and 'Berlin wall'.<ref>[http://www.biolumanetics.net/tantalus/Cases/BerlinWall.htm THE BERLIN WALL: A REMEDY OF POWER]</ref>
 
  
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=== Preparation of similars ===
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Many scientific studies have shown homeopathy to be ineffective; there is no sound evidence to suggest that its effects are any more than a placebo.<ref name=researchpaper/> Although some studies and meta-studies do show some results that are promising to homeopathy, they are usually contradicted by later studies. For instance, a 1997 study concluded that homeopathy's effects are not completely due to the placebo effect, but still said that there was no evidence to conclusively show that homeopathy has much efficacy in treating any ailment.<ref>http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(97)02293-9/abstract</ref> The 1997 study was later contradicted by a 2005 study, which concluded that homeopathy cannot treat any condition whatsoever, and that its purported ability to cure illness was a product of the placebo effect.<ref>https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?cmd=Retrieve&list_uids=16125589</ref>
  
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The most characteristic — and controversial — principle of homeopathy is that the efficacy of a remedy can be enhanced and its side-effects reduced by diluting it, in a process known as 'dynamization' or 'potentization'. Liquids are diluted (with water or alcohol) and shaken by ten hard strikes against an elastic body ('succussion'). For this, Hahnemann had a saddlemaker construct a special, wooden, 'striking board', covered in leather on one side and stuffed with horsehair (the board is displayed at the Hahnemann Museum in Stuttgart). When insoluble solids are used as the basis of remedies, such as [[quartz]] or oyster shell, they are diluted by grinding them with [[lactose]] ('trituration'). The original serial dilutions by Hahnemann used a 1 part in 100 (centesimal; 'C' potencies), or 1 part in 50,000 ( Quintamillesimal; 'LM' or 'Q' potencies). The dilution factor at each stage is 1:10 ('D' or 'X' potencies) or 1:100 ('C' potencies); Hahnemann advocated 30C dilutions for most purposes (i.e. dilution by a factor of 10030 = 1060). The number of molecules in a given weight of a substance can be calculated by Avogadro's number; the chance that there is even one molecule of the original substance in a 15C solution is small, and it is very unlikely that one molecule would be present in a 30C dilution. Thus, homeopathic remedies of a high 'potency' contain just water, but water that, according to homeopaths, retains some essential property of one of the substances that it has contacted in the past.<ref>There are 6.02 × 1023 molecules in one mole of a substance (Avogadro's number). Seawater tastes salty because it contains sodium chloride (common table salt), and typically one drop of seawater (0.05 ml) contains about 200 mg of salts, mainly sodium chloride - about 2 × 1019 molecules. One drop of a 10C dilution of this would be expected to contain at most one molecule of sodium chloride. [http://www.lsbu.ac.uk/water/ Water Structure and Behaviour] has references to current scientific understanding of water, with entries on "memory effects" and homeopathy</ref>
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== Regulation ==
  
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Hahnemann's explanation for how higher potencies could be more efficacious was that the friction involved in succussion might release some hidden curative power of substances. He wrote in 1825: "The effect of friction is so great, that not only the physical properties, such as caloric, odour, etc., are thereby called into life and developed by it, but also the dynamic medicinal powers of natural substances are thereby developed to an incredible degree".  
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Homeopathic products are not as regulated as conventional medicine products; they do not come under as much scrutiny for their effectiveness. In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration regulates homeopathic products, but does not check for their effectiveness in treating illnesses or for their safety. While some states do require practicing homeopaths to be licensed, others allow homeopaths to operate without licenses.<ref name=nccih>https://nccih.nih.gov/health/homeopathy</ref>
  
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== The skeptical view of homeopathy ==
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== Risks ==
  
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:''As I understand it, the claim is that the less you use Homeopathy, the better it works. Sounds plausible to me.'' (David Deutsch, physicist)<ref>David Deutsch - Weblog[http://www.qubit.org/people/david/index.php?blog=20040808030513 Sunday, 2004/08/08 - 03:05 BST] </ref>
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When homeopathic remedies, which are generally ineffective, are used to treat a serious condition, such usage could worsen the condition as it would delay treatment with proven conventional treatments. The National Centre for Complementary and Integrative Health has expressed concern over the use of homeopathy in lieu of actually working remedies, advising people to “not use homeopathy as a replacement for proven conventional care.”
  
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Homeopathy was developed at a time when many of the most important concepts of modern chemistry and biology, such as molecules and germs, were understood poorly if at all. While proponents may consider the mechanism of homeopathy to be an interesting side issue, skeptics consider the lack of any plausible mechanism to be a serious problem, raising the bar on the quality of evidence required before accepting the existence of the phenomenon under the motto 'Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof'.
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In addition to that, some homeopathic remedies are not diluted enough to render its active ingredient or ingredients inactive; this makes it possible for them to cause real side effects, because they contain actual pharmacologically active ingredients.<ref name=nccih/>
  
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In Hahnemann's day, many chemists believed that matter was infinitely divisible, so that it was meaningful to talk about dilution to any degree. Although the hypothesis of atoms can be traced back to the ancient Greeks, their size was not calculated until 1865 (by Loschmidt). There are 6.02×10^23 particles in a mole ([[Avogadro's number]]), so homeopathic dilutions greater than about 24X or 12C are virtually certain to contain not even a single molecule of the initial substance. This is recognized by advocates of homeopathy, who assert that the essential healing power of their preparations is not to be found in the chemical action of molecules, but perhaps in the arrangement of the water molecules, giving rise to the expression 'the memory of water'. This concept is closely related to the belief in a 'vital force', which was common in Hahnemann's day, but was discarded by the scientific community as more and more life processes came to be describable in purely materialistic terms, and as the medical model of disease came to be focused on the failure of particular organs and processes in the body.<ref>There have been occasional reports of effects of highly diluted solutions on organic processes, including on histamine release by leukocytes :Davenas E et al (200?). "Human basophil degranulation triggered by very dilute antiserum against IgE". Nature 333: 816-8.[http://br.geocities.com/criticandokardec/benveniste01.pdf]; However, attempts to replicate these studies failed.Walach et al (2005). "Research on homeopathy: state of the art". J Alt Comp Medicine 11: 813–29.[http://www.iscmr.org/publications/2005_JACM_Homeopathy.pdf]</ref>
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== Relation to liberalism ==
  
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For critics, a closely related question is that of logical consistency of the theory. The theory assumes that water is imprinted by the properties of molecules that it once came in contact with, even when the molecules are diluted away. If so, then where did the pure water used in this process come from? The water that homeopaths use was once in contact with other chemicals, including chemical wastes, radioactive metals, dinosaur urine, and various poisons. According to this skeptical interpretation of homeopathic theory, all water in the world should remember its contact with millions of chemical substances and not just the properties of the chemicals that the homeopath claims will be useful. The answer of the homeopaths, that dynamization involves succussion as well as dilution, is unconvincing, because it seems improbable that one can amplify order in a solution by shaking it, and because a lot of shaking goes on in the natural world as well.<ref>Skeptics:
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The connection between the usage of homeopathic remedies and [[liberalism]] is not proven nor discussed by any reliable source, but liberals have been shown to be more likely to believe in other pseudosciences than [[conservatives]]; for instance, more liberals believe in the pseudoscientific myth of [[astrology]] than conservatives.  
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Simpson JY (1853) 'Homoeopathy, Its Tenets and Tendencies, Theoretical, Theological and Therapeutical' Edinburgh: Sutherland & Knox 11
 
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'A close look at homeopathy' [http://www.skepticreport.com/health/hahnemann.htm skepticreport]
 
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'A skeptical guide to homeopathic history, theories, and current practices' [http://www.homeowatch.org/ homeowatch]
 
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'Dilution or delusion?' [http://www.skepticreport.com/health/dilutiondelusion.htm skepticreport]
 
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'Magical thinking in complementary and alternative medicine' [http://www.csicop.org/si/2001-11/alternative.html CSIOP]
 
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'Homeopathy - a skeptical view' [http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/alabaster/A954740 BBC]
 
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BBC News, 25 October 2006 [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6085242.stm 25 October 2006]</ref>
 
  
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== Scientific testing of remedies==
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Health food stores frequented by liberals may have homeopathic remedies in stock.<ref>http://scienceissexy.com/2014/11/15/spreading-pseudoscience-5-ways-liberals-are-as-bad-as-conservatives/</ref>
  
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:''It is not a matter of theory or belief or opinion … Homeopathy must rest upon facts'' (James Tyler Kent)
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David Copeland, a practicing homeopath and politician who passed legislation that exempted homeopathic remedies from certain forms of governmental scrutiny over their safety and effectiveness, was a democrat.<ref>http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=C000769</ref>
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In the USA, homeopathic remedies are, like all health-care products, regulated by the [[Food and Drug Administration]], but unlike conventional medicines, they need not be approved by the FDA before sale, nor do they need to be proved either safe or effective, nor to be labeled with an expiry date, or undergo finished product testing. Unlike conventional medicines, homeopathic remedies do not have to identify their active ingredients as they have few or no active ingredients.
 
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As homeopathic remedies at potencies higher than about D23 (10-23) contain no detectable ingredients apart from the diluent (water, alcohol or sugar), there is no known basis for these preparations having medicinal action. A recent review concluded that some experimental research has offered hints that some substances diluted and succussed beyond Avogadro’s number might be biologically active but overall, independently reproducible models have found no consistent effects. Many patients report benefits from some homeopathic remedies<ref>An Overview of Positive Homeopathy Research and Surveys [http://www.homeopathy-soh.org/whats-new/documents/Positivehomeopathy.PDF The European Network of Homeopathy Researchers April 2005]</ref>, but scientists usually attribute these to the Placebo Effect, the regression fallacy and/or the Forer effect.<ref>American Council on Science and Health,'[http://www.acsh.org/search/txtQuickSearch.homeopathy/health_result.asp The Scientific Evidence on Homeopathy]'</ref>
 
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There is wide agreement that evidence based medicine is the best way to assess the efficacy and safety of health-care practices. Ideally, a drug should be tested in large, multi-center, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trials, to test whether it has an effect that is better than either a placebo or a different treatment. Some trials of homeopathy have indicated that some remedies might be more efficacious than placebos, but many are technically flawed, or involve samples too small to draw firm conclusions. Systematic reviews by The Cochrane Collaboration found insufficient evidence that homeopathy is beneficial for asthma, dementia, or induction of labor. They also found no evidence that homeopathic treatment prevents influenza, but reported some evidence that it appears to shorten the duration of the disease. Overall, systematic reviews have found no clear evidence of the efficacy of homeopathic remedies.<ref>'[http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/321/7258/442 Declaration of Helsinki should be strengthened]' Editorial (2000) BMJ 321:442-445
 
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Jonas WB et al (2003). "A critical overview of homeopathy". Ann Intern Med 138: 393-9.[http://www.annals.org/cgi/reprint/138/5/393.pdf]
 
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Jonas WB et al (2001). "A systematic review of the quality of homeopathic clinical trials". BMC Complement Altern Med 1: 12. [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=11801202 PMID 11801202]
 
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The American Council on Science and Health [http://www.acsh.org/search/txtQuickSearch.homeopathy/health_result.asp The Scientific Evidence on Homeopathy]</ref>
 
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In 2005, The Lancet published a meta-analysis of 110 placebo-controlled homeopathy trials and 110 matched conventional-medicine trials. The outcome suggested that the clinical effects of homeopathic remedies might all be placebo effects. The Lancet study is notable as a 'global' meta-analysis of homeopathy, not an analysis of particular remedies, i.e. it tested the hypothesis that all of the reported effects of homeopathic remedies are placebo effects. If so, then reports of positive effects reflect publication bias (the tendency to publish results when they show a positive effect but not when they are negative), and the magnitude of such effects should diminish with sample size and study quality. They analyzed an equal number of conventional medicine trials similarly; these showed a real effect of treatment, in that the size of the reported effect was independent of sample size, but the trials of homeopathy remedies did not. The study does not prove that homeopathy is never effective, but is consistent with the interpretation that all reported effects are placebo effects. The Lancet article was accompanied by an editorial entitled 'The end of homeopathy' which argued that doctors should recognize the absence of real curative powers in homeopathic medicine. The Lancet subsequently published a selection of critical correspondence.<ref>The Lancet study
 
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Shang A et al (2005). "Are the clinical effects of homeopathy placebo effects? Comparative study of placebo-controlled trials of homeopathy and allopathy". Lancet 366: 726-32. [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=16125589 PMID 16125589]
 
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Fisher P (2006) Homeopathy and The Lancet [http://ecam.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/3/1/145 eCAM 3:145-47]
 
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Jobst KA (2005). "Homeopathy, Hahnemann, and the Lancet 250 years on: a case of the emperor's new clothes?". J Alt Comp Med 11: 751-54.[http://www.liebertonline.com/toc/acm/11/5]
 
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'As a fourth study says it's no better than a placebo, is this the end for homeopathy?' [http://www.guardian.co.uk/medicine/story/0,11381,1556831,00.html The Guardian, Aug 26 2005]</ref>
 
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==Medical organizations' attitudes towards homeopathy==
 
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:''People use homeopathy because they believe it works. Although homeopathy, like other placebos, does not work in a clinical sense, it can induce physiological changes. It can also coincide with getting better anyway.''<ref>[http://www.senseaboutscience.org.uk/pdf/SenseAboutHomeopathy.pdf Sense About Science]</ref>
 
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In the USA, the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, part of the National Institutes of Health, funds research into homeopathy. According to its statement on homeopathy,<ref>[http://nccam.nih.gov/health/homeopathy/#q8 Statement on Homeopathy]</ref> controlled clinical trials of homeopathy had produced mixed results; in some, homeopathy appeared to be no more helpful than a placebo, but in others, more benefits were seen than expected from a placebo. Despite the lack of clear empirical support for homeopathy, the statement concluded that "Some people feel that if homeopathy appears to be helpful and safe, then scientifically valid explanations or proofs of this alternative system of medicine are not necessary."
 
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According to The UK National Health Service there have been about 200 randomized controlled trials evaluating homeopathy, many of which suggest that any effectiveness that homeopathy may have is due to the placebo effect. In 1997, the American Medical Association(AMA) adopted the following policy statement after a report on several alternative therapies including homeopathy: "There is little evidence to confirm the safety or efficacy of most alternative therapies. Much of the information currently known about these therapies makes it clear that many have not been shown to be efficacious. Well-designed, stringently controlled research should be done to evaluate the efficacy of alternative therapies"<ref>Report 12 of the [http://www.ama-assn.org/ American Medical Association] Council on Scientific Affairs [http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/13638.html alternative theories including homeopathy]</ref>
 
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According to the Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare,<ref>[http://indianmedicine.nic.in/html/homoeopathy/homoe.htm Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare]</ref> homeopathy is one of the National Systems of Medicine in India, and it plays an important role in health care for many people. "Its strength lies in its evident effectiveness as it takes a holistic approach towards the sick individual through promotion of inner balance at mental, emotional, spiritual and physical levels."
 
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==Safety of homeopathic remedies==
 
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:''The highest ideal of cure is the speedy, gentle, and enduring restoration of health by the most trustworthy and least harmful way.'' (Samuel Hahnemann)
 
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The U.S. Food & Drug Administration's view of homeopathy<ref>[http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/096_home.html View of Homeopathy]</ref> is that there is no real concern about the safety of most homeopathic products, as they "have little or no pharmacologically active ingredients". There have been some reports of illness associated with the use of homeopathic products, but in cases that they reviewed, the FDA concluded that the homeopathic product was not the cause of the adverse reactions. The main concern about the safety of homeopathy arises not from the products themselves, but from the possible withholding of more efficacious treatment, or from misdiagnosis of dangerous conditions by a non-medically qualified homeopath. For example, a 2006 survey by the UK charitable trust 'Sense About Science' revealed that homeopaths were advising travelers against taking conventional anti-malarial drugs, instead providing them with a homeopathic dilution of quinine. Even the director of the The Royal London Homeopathic Hospital condemned this:
 
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:''"I'm very angry about it because people are going to get malaria - there is absolutely no reason to think that homeopathy works to prevent malaria and you won't find that in any textbook or journal of homeopathy so people will get malaria, people may even die of malaria if they follow this advice."''<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/story/0,,1820103,00.html Homeopaths "endangering lives" by offering malaria remedies] Alok Jha, Friday July 14 2006, The Guardian
 
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House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology - Sixth Report[http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld199900/ldselect/ldsctech/123/12301.htm]</ref>
 
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Professor Pasvol, a tropical medicine expert at Imperial College, London was reported as saying "Medical practitioners would be sued, taken to court and found guilty for far less. What this investigation has unearthed is appalling."<ref>BBC News [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5178488.stm Homeopathic practices 'risk lives']</ref>
 
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A particular concern is that homeopaths discourage the use of vaccines. This attitude dates back to Hahnemann, who said "...to use a human morbific matter (a Psorin taken from the itch in man) as a remedy for the same itch or for evils arisen therefrom, stay away from it! Nothing can result from this but trouble and aggravation of the disease." Homeopathy is superficially like vaccination, in that vaccines contain a small dose of the 'disease' against which they offer protection (a vaccine is usually made from a bacterium or virus that is either dead or weakened so that it cannot produce symptoms, while still providing enough information to the immune system to generate antibody production). However, most homeopaths believe that vaccination has serious health consequences, and might arouse latent inherited and constitutional weaknesses.
 
  
 
== See also ==
 
== See also ==
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*[[Naturopathy]]
 
*[[Mind/body]]
 
*[[Mind/body]]
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== References ==
 
== References ==
 
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[[Category:Complementary Medicine]]
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[[Category:Pseudoscience]]

Latest revision as of 15:01, April 9, 2019

Homeopathy is a system of alternative medicine whose practitioners believe that if a large dose of a particular substance causes a symptom when administered, then the same substance would cure ailments causing similar symptoms when a smaller, more diluted dose is administered; this is called "like cures like".[1] Practitioners repeatedly dilute substances with water and/or alcohol and vigorously shake the resulting solution; the resulting "remedy" often contains very little, if any, molecules of the original substance. However, homeopathists believe that this procedure makes their remedies more potent through a phenomenon known as dynamization.[2] Because of the alternative criteria for the marketing of homeopathic medicine as such in the US, the use of a homeopathic medicine label can be a loophole to sell legitimate and effective medicine without going through the lengthy process of ordinary FDA approval. Zinc gluconate products for example have a proven track record of treating the common cold.[3]

Homeopathy regards diseases as 'morbid derangements of the organism', that involve some disturbance in a 'vital force.' Today, most homeopaths still believe that the fundamental causes of disease are internal and constitutional and that it is contrary to good health to suppress symptoms. They also accept the concept of 'latent Psora', the early signs of an organism’s imbalance which indicate that treatment is needed.

Modern scientific consensus states that homeopathy is pseudoscientific; there is a lack of evidence to suggest that homeopathy's effects are any more than placebo,[4] and the basic premises of homeopathy seem impossible under our current understanding of the world.

History

Homeopathy was created in the 18th century by physician Samuel Hahnemann, who noticed cinchona bark, used to cure malaria, could cause malaria-like symptoms.[5] He believed that his new system was more humane and effective than the conventional medicine of his time,[6] but it was greeted by the establishment with derision and contempt.[7] Since then, homeopathy became more popular. Homeopathic hospitals of the time were better for their patients than conventional hospitals, as they generally prescribed medicines that had no effects at all, while contemporary conventional hospitals had dangerous, potentially fatal treatments.[8] As new medical discoveries were made and conditions in conventional hospitals improved, however, homeopathy fell into decline.[9] Today, homeopathy is not an accepted part of conventional medicine, and its theories are not generally regarded as scientifically credible, but nevertheless it has more than 100,000 practitioners worldwide, and 500 million users.

Methods

Dilutions

All homeopathic remedies are created through repeated dilution of a substance.Remedies made with a soluble substance are made by diluting the substance with water and/or alcohol and vigorously shaking it. The resulting solution is then repeated diluted with the same process until the desired dilution is reached. On the other hand, when a homeopath uses a non-soluble substance to make a remedy, he would grind the substance and dilute it with lactose. The number of times a substance is diluted by 10 times its volume is marked with the number and X, while the number of times it is diluted by 100 times its volume is written as the number and C. In a 5X remedy, for instance, the substance would have been diluted so the solution has one part of the substance per 10^5 parts of the solvent. Most remedies are of a dilution between 6X to 30X.[10]

Provings

Homeopaths conduct "provings" to find new substances with which they would make new remedies. In a proving, participants are given a particular substance without being told of what it is, and are asked to report on what effects the substance had on their bodies.[11] The data collected from the proving would then, theoretically, allow the homeopath to understand what illnesses a remedy made from the substance would cure; such a remedy would supposedly cure illnesses with symptoms similar to those caused by the substance itself.

Theoretical Plausibility

Homeopathy has many implausible aspects which do not make sense under our current understanding of physics and medicine. The high dilutions used in many remedies preclude them from having any effect on the body; a remedy with a dilution of 24X or above is highly unlikely to contain a single molecule of the original substance it's made out of, while common homeopathic remedies can have a dilution number of up to 30X.[10] Homeopathy's core teaching that the potency of a drug increases with dilution goes against current medical understanding, which states that, in most cases, the potency of a drug increases as dosage goes up, not down.

In order to explain away the fact that homeopathy is physically implausible, homeopaths hold that water has an ability to receive an imprint of the chemicals it had interacted with, and that it therefore would be able to retain the pharmacological effects of a substance, even if it had been diluted to the point that it's no longer existent in the final remedy. This concept is called water memory, and water having memory was first claimed to have been observed in 1988 by a French scientist only to be debunked two months later.[12]

Efficacy

Many scientific studies have shown homeopathy to be ineffective; there is no sound evidence to suggest that its effects are any more than a placebo.[4] Although some studies and meta-studies do show some results that are promising to homeopathy, they are usually contradicted by later studies. For instance, a 1997 study concluded that homeopathy's effects are not completely due to the placebo effect, but still said that there was no evidence to conclusively show that homeopathy has much efficacy in treating any ailment.[13] The 1997 study was later contradicted by a 2005 study, which concluded that homeopathy cannot treat any condition whatsoever, and that its purported ability to cure illness was a product of the placebo effect.[14]

Regulation

Homeopathic products are not as regulated as conventional medicine products; they do not come under as much scrutiny for their effectiveness. In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration regulates homeopathic products, but does not check for their effectiveness in treating illnesses or for their safety. While some states do require practicing homeopaths to be licensed, others allow homeopaths to operate without licenses.[15]

Risks

When homeopathic remedies, which are generally ineffective, are used to treat a serious condition, such usage could worsen the condition as it would delay treatment with proven conventional treatments. The National Centre for Complementary and Integrative Health has expressed concern over the use of homeopathy in lieu of actually working remedies, advising people to “not use homeopathy as a replacement for proven conventional care.”

In addition to that, some homeopathic remedies are not diluted enough to render its active ingredient or ingredients inactive; this makes it possible for them to cause real side effects, because they contain actual pharmacologically active ingredients.[15]

Relation to liberalism

The connection between the usage of homeopathic remedies and liberalism is not proven nor discussed by any reliable source, but liberals have been shown to be more likely to believe in other pseudosciences than conservatives; for instance, more liberals believe in the pseudoscientific myth of astrology than conservatives.

Health food stores frequented by liberals may have homeopathic remedies in stock.[16]

David Copeland, a practicing homeopath and politician who passed legislation that exempted homeopathic remedies from certain forms of governmental scrutiny over their safety and effectiveness, was a democrat.[17]

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.webmd.com/balance/guide/homeopathy-topic-overview
  2. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20020826082134/http://altmed.creighton.edu/Homeopathy/philosophy/dilution.htm
  3. ↑ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12424502
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1874503/
  5. ↑ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1676328/
  6. ↑ Hahnemann S (1796) translated into English as "Essay on a New Principle". Hahnemann's Organon der Heilkunst in English translation
  7. ↑ Dean ME (2001) Homeopathy and the progress of science Hist Scixxxix
  8. ↑ "British Medical Journal", BMJ 1 (533): 283–4, 1871 Registration required for access
  9. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20070705095116/http://altmed.creighton.edu/Homeopathy/history.htm
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/homeo.html
  11. ↑ http://homeopathyeurope.org/research/provings/
  12. ↑ http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,968080,00.html
  13. ↑ http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(97)02293-9/abstract
  14. ↑ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?cmd=Retrieve&list_uids=16125589
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 https://nccih.nih.gov/health/homeopathy
  16. ↑ http://scienceissexy.com/2014/11/15/spreading-pseudoscience-5-ways-liberals-are-as-bad-as-conservatives/
  17. ↑ http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=C000769
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