Ernst £10000 homeopathy challenge

[Mojo]

Yup, that's the guy I'd never heard of.

 

[Blue Wode]

Clearly rattled:

A nice little Ernst-er

You are Edzard Ernst, esteemed professor of complementary medicine at the University of Exeter, and I claim my £10,000. Please wire my payment to: Bryan Hubbard@Dunworkin.

As you may have heard, Edzard has done a Randi, and has announced a £10,000 prize to anyone who can produce evidence that homeopathy works.

Magician James Randi is another gallant quack-buster, who has offered a $1 million for proof that the paranormal exists. Randi has never coughed up, of course, and he never will, despite the many cases he has seen that should see him parted from his loot.

I fear the same with Edzard. For him, it’s a publicity stunt to stimulate the flagging sales of his latest book, which is a full frontal assault on alternative medicine, which seems strange from Britain’s only professor of, er, alternative medicine.

But let’s give the man the benefit of the doubt, and take him at his word. So, Edzard, here’s a study that has been double-blinded and placebo controlled, and that demonstrates homeopathy is just as good as, if not better then, drugs for the treatment of eczema. The study’s reference is: Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 2008; 16: 15-21.

Take a look, and pass the money along soonest. No disrespect, but I’d prefer notes (£20s and £50s are fine) to a cheque.

http://community.wddty.com/blogs/ad...e/2008/06/20/A-nice-little-Ernst_2D00_er.aspx

(For those wondering who Bryan Hubbard is, he’s a publisher and co-director of What Doctors Don't Tell You – and he’s also Lynne McTaggart’s husband.)

 

[Pipirr]

And the bombshell, 10,000 pounds findings from that study:

A total of 118 children were included: 54 from homoeopathic (mean age ± S.D. was 5.1 ± 3.3 years; 56% boys) and 64 from conventional practices (6.2 ± 3.8 years; 61% boys).

Eczema symptoms (assessed by patients or their parents) improved from 0 to 12 months for both treatment options, but did not differ between the two groups: 3.5–2.5 versus 3.4–2.1; p = 0.447 (adjusted).

Disease-related quality of life improved in both groups similarly. In the subgroup of children aged 8–16 years the general quality of life showed a better trend for conventional treatment compared with homoeopathic treatment (p = 0.030).

I'm underwhelmed.

 

[Professor Yaffle]

Yeah, this double blind* placebo controlled* study here.









* Comparative cohort study -not even single blind

** No placebos used***











*** Except for the placebos we call homoeopathy.

 

[Mojo]

And the bombshell, 10,000 pounds findings from that study:



I'm underwhelmed.

Would this be in any way related to post #17?

 

[Pipirr]

Would this be in any way related to post #17?

Quite possibly. Although collecting data from parents and kids assessments strikes me as a bit weak, too.

Is it true, there is really no good conventional tx for eczema?

 

[rjh01]

There is a treatment for eczema, however it is not a cure. It is something that can come and go. I have had it.

 

[Mojo]

Is it true, there is really no good conventional tx for eczema?

Well, we've just had a trial cited in this very thread in which conventional treatment didn't perform significantly better than a placebo, so it looks as if this may indeed be the case: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ctim.2006.10.001