I find the notion of homeopathy far fetched as well and pesonally have a difficult time udnerstanding its claims or how it could possibly work. However, in the interests of answering Claus' question, well his assertion, about nothing having been proved in the 200 years since Samuel Hahnemann developed his theories concerning this subject, it is important to understand that there are even recent research findings which need to be dealt with and confirmed in the lab (as opposed to a Randi engineered television stunt to discredit) if in fact they are replicable at all.
As I understand it, basic research is currently being conducted on three levels :
- confirming the activity of high dilutions; ;
- developing research devoted to the pharmacology of homeopathic dilutions;
- comprehending the mechanisms of action of homeopathic medicines.
Three topics of study are regularly published in peer reviewed scientific journals :
- The Biological Action of Dilutions of Aspirin, Professor DOUTREMEPUICH (University of Bordeaux, France)
- The Synergistic Effects of Dilutions of Antitumoral Agents Professor BONAVIDA (UCLA, USA)
- The Effect of Dilutions of Antigens and Various Biological Factors on the Activity of Basophil Leukocytes Dr. SAINTE-LAUDY (France), Professor MANNAIONNI (University of Florence, Italy), Professor ENNIS (Queen's University, Belfast).
The Biological Action of Dilutions of Aspirin, Professor DOUTREMEPUICH (University of Bordeaux, France)
In the past ten years, studies have been conducted in the Hematology Department of the School of Pharmacy of Bordeaux (France).
Researchers have developed an experimental model that consists of provoking the destruction of intima cells (the most inward layer of cells) of the vascular wall in the mesenteric vessels of rats. This tiny lesion is enough to provoke platelet aggregation in situ. In a few seconds, the platelet aggregate forms a thrombus, accompanied by the emission of emboli in approximately six minutes. After having defined the validity and sensitivity of this experimental model, the authors conducted a comparative study on the effect of injecting several dilutions of aspirin (of between 100 mg/kg and 30 CH) on several parameters:
- area of thrombus provoked by arteriolar lesion and by venous lesion,
- number of emboli induced by arteriolar lesion and by venous lesion,
- length of embolization period induced by arteriolar lesion and by venous lesion,
- amplitude and speed of platelet aggregation (in vitro).
All in vivo studies are conducted under the microscope; the phenomena are recorded by video camera then analyzed automatically.
Generally, on each of the parameters studied, it appears that:
- aspirin at high concentrations (100 mg/kg) induces a decrease in platelet aggregation (amplitude and speed), as well as a decrease in the area of the thrombi (arterial and venous) and the number of emboli (arterials and venous);
- aspirin at ultra-low doses (9, 15, 30 CH) induces an increase in platelet aggregation (amplitude and speed), as well as an increase in the area of thrombi (arterial and venous) and the number of emboli (arterial and venous);
- the anti-aggregation and antithrombotic action of aspirin at high concentrations (100 mg/kg) is inhibited by the concomitant injection of aspirin 15 CH.
Such demonstrative, consistent results raise numerous questions; resolution will require new experiments. It has thus been shown that the effect of an injection of 100 mg/kg of aspirin is fully inhibited by the simultaneous injection of 15 CH of aspirin.
It has also been shown that the anti-aggregation and antithrombotic action of an injection of 100 mg of aspirin wears off gradually over 8 days, then reverses such that, 15 days after a single injection of 100 mg of aspirin, pro-aggregation (in vitro) and prothrombotic (in vivo) activity appear in rats.
More than 100 clinical trials have already been conducted.
The three principal meta-analyses (analyses of clinical trials conducted previously) lead to conclusions that are all the more favorable to homeopathy in that they are more recent:
In a summary published in 1991, three epidemiologists evaluated the methodological quality of 107 controlled clinical trials on the activity of homeopathic treatments, representing 96 different publications. The conclusion of these authors was that:
"The overall results show a positive tendency regardless of the quality of the trials or the type of homeopathic prescription used. Among the 105 trials whose results can be interpreted, 81 presented positive results while in 24 others, homeopathy did not have a positive effect. The results of this meta-analysis may be complicated by a publication bias, particularly in an area as controversial as homeopathy. For the moment, the demonstration from these clinical trials is positive not adequate to draw definitive conclusions..."
In December 1996 a report appeared, at the request of the European Parliament, by Boissel J.P., Cucherat M., Haugh M. and Gauthier E., entitled "Examen des données des essais de médecine homéopathique: rapport sur l'efficacité des interventions versus placebo ou absence de traitement" [Examination of Data from Homeopathic Medical Trials: Report on the Efficacy of the Interventions versus Placebo or Absence of Treatment].
After analysis, the authors' conclusion was that: "for the 17 comparisons selected, for each method used, the results had a p value of substantially less than 0.001. This means that in at least one trial, the null hypothesis (absence of effect of homeopathy) had to be rejected; in other words, in at least one trial, the patients treated by homeopathy received more beneficial effects than those treated with a placebo, assuming that none of the trials analyzed involved cheating".
More recently, in 1997, K. Linde and W. Jonas, of the National Institutes of Health (NIH-USA), co-signed a meta-analysis (The Lancet 9/20/97) in which they revealed the existence of 186 clinical trials concerning homeopathic therapies. Among them, they analyzed the 89 trials devoted to the study of what they called "classic homeopathy", i.e., those trials in which one or more medicines was prescribed, taking into account as closely as possible the criteria proper to the therapy. The authors concluded that "the results of this meta-analysis are incompatible with the hypothesis that the clinical effects of homeopathy are due exclusively to a placebo effect".The authors demonstrate that these results remain valid under all hypotheses, even if any publication bias were to exist.
http://www.boiron.com/en/htm/04-politique/clinique.htm
http://www.boiron.com/en/htm/04-politique/fondamentale.htm
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