Homeopathy

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Homeopathic remedy Rhus toxicodendron, derived from poison ivy.
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Homeopathy (also homœopathy or homoeopathy; from the Greek, ὅμοιος, hómoios, "similar" + πάθος, páthos, "suffering" or "disease") is a form of alternative medicine, postulated in the late 18th century by German physician Samuel Hahnemann.[1] Homeopathy is a vitalist therapy, claiming to act by treating imbalances in a hypothetical vital force. Substances, which in large quantities would cause symptoms similar to the disease, are administered in heavily diluted formulations, with shaking at each stage of the dilution. This process of serial dilution, called potentization, is claimed to remove any negative side-effects of the treatment, but to retain some therapeutic powers. Although at many of the higher dilutions no molecules of the original substance are likely to remain,[2] homeopaths contend that the shaking causes some memory of the diluted substance to remain, and that this imprint has medical effects on the body.[3]

In homeopathy, practitioners often carry out detailed consultations with patients. Homeopaths generally begin with a comprehensive examination of a patient's history, body type, temperature, food preferences, sleep habits, menstrual and emotional factors.[4][5] One of a wide variety of homeopathic remedies, is then selected, based on the similarity of its effect on a healthy person to the symptoms found, and diluted by the process described above. The usage of homeopathy varies widely from country to country: with up to 25-50 percent of Europeans having used homeopathic remedies,[6] to less than 2 percent of Americans.[7]

The ideas of homeopathy seem scientifically implausible and are directly opposed to modern pharmaceutical knowledge and scientific theories.[8] Claims for the efficacy of homeopathic treatments are unsupported by the collected weight of scientific and clinical studies.[9] Hahnemann claimed the process of dilution and shaking enhanced the "spirit-like medicinal powers" imbued within minerals and botanical substances,[10] but this is not consistent with the established laws of chemistry and physics, and there is no evidence that water or alcohol retain memories of substances.[11] This lack of evidence supporting its efficacy, along with its stance against modern scientific ideas, have caused, in the words of a recent medical review, "...homeopathy to be regarded as placebo therapy at best and quackery at worst."[12] Indeed, meta-analyses of homeopathy, which collect together the results of many clinical trials, have shown that any effects are unlikely to be beyond that of placebo, and that studies that suggest homeopathic effects have generally been flawed in design.[13][14][15][16] Homeopaths are also accused of giving 'false hope' to patients who might otherwise seek effective conventional treatments, and some have advised patients to avoid standard medical procedures such as vaccination.[17][18]

History

Modern homeopathy was created by German physician Samuel Hahnemann during the late 18th and early 19th century. The system of similars emphasized in homeopathy was first described by doctors of the vitalist school of medicine and such prominent proponents of vitalism as the highly controversial Renaissance physician Paracelsus.[19] Vienna physician Anton Freiherr von Störck[20] and Scottish physician John Brown also held similar medical beliefs to Samuel Hahnemann prior to the conception of homeopathy.[21]

1857 painting by Alexander Beydeman showing historical figures and personifications of homeopathy observing the perceived brutality of medicine of the 19th century.

18th century medicine

In Hahnemann's day, mainstream medicine employed such measures as bloodletting and purging, as well as the use of laxatives and enemas, and complicated mixtures of substances, such as Theriac, made from sixty-four substances including opium, myrrh, and viper's flesh.[22][23] Such measures often made symptoms worse or proved fatal.[24] Yet, the health-restoring virtues of these methods had been extolled for centuries: "purge, purge, and purge again, with a variety of laxatives, emetics and diuretics, and if that doesn't work, let out some blood."[25] By contrast, Hahnemann rejected "the crazy diets, purges, enemas, baths and bleedings which his contemporaries favored (as) irrational and ill advised."[26] Instead, he favored the use of single drugs at lower doses and came to promote an immaterial, vitalistic view of how living organisms function and thought that diseases have spiritual, as well as physical causes.[27] [28] [29] During the 18th century vitalism was part of mainstream science. However, in the twentieth century, medicine discarded vitalism, with the development of microbiology and the germ theory of disease by Robert Koch, Louis Pasteur, Alexander Fleming and Joseph Lister,[30] followed by the final disproof of vitalism by advances in chemistry.[31] [32] However, it would be a mistake to believe that Hahnemann confined himself solely to the use of small doses of drugs. He also advocated various lifestyle improvements to his patients. He urged, "exercise, a good diet, and fresh air...he favored cleanliness and sanitation."[26] He emphasised that "cleanliness, fresh air and wholesome diet must be imperatively enjoined on the patient."[33]

Concepts

File:Samuel Hahnemann.png
Samuel Hahnemann, considered to be the father of homeopathy

Samuel Hahnemann conceived homeopathy while translating a Materia Medica, a treatise by Scottish physician and chemist William Cullen, into German.[1] On reading about cinchona bark, from which quinine is extracted and is used to treat malaria, he noticed that Cullen described the mechanism of action as "stomach strengthening properties". Hahnemann was skeptical of this explanation and decided to test the effects of Cinchona bark by taking it himself. Upon ingesting the bark, he noticed that he experienced fever, shivering and joint pain. These symptoms are similar to some of those of malaria, which the substance was supposed to be treating, and from this Hahnemann came to believe that all effective drugs must produce the symptoms in healthy individuals that are similar to the diseases that the drugs are intended to treat. This later became known as the "Law of similars", the most important concept of homeopathy.[1] The term "homeopathy" was coined by Hahnemann and first appeared in print in 1807, although he began outlining his theories of 'medical similars' in a series of articles and monographs in 1796.[34]

Hahnemann began to test the symptoms which substances can produce, a procedure which would later become known as "proving".[35] The time-consuming tests required subjects to clearly record all of their symptoms as well as the ancillary conditions under which they appeared. Hahnemann used such data to decide which substances were most suitable to treat which disease.[35] The first collection of provings was published in 1805 and a second collection of 65 remedies appeared in the Materia Medica Pura in 1810.[36] Hahnemann believed that large doses of things that caused similar symptoms would only aggravate illness, and so he advocated extreme dilutions of the substances. He devised a technique for making dilutions that he believed would preserve a substance's therapeutic properties while removing its harmful effects.[37] He gathered and published a complete overview of his new medical system in his 1810 book, The Organon of the Healing Art, whose 6th edition, published in 1921, is still used by homeopaths today.[1]

During the 19th century homeopathy grew in popularity: in 1830, the first homeopathic schools opened, and throughout the 19th century dozens of homeopathic institutions appeared in Europe and the United States.[38] Homeopathic hospitals also appeared and practitioners of homeopathy often had better outcomes than those of their counterparts in mainstream medicine, due to the then-common medical practices of blood-letting and untested medicines based on poisonous compounds.[39] Homeopathic treatments, even if ineffective, would almost surely cause no harm, making the users of homeopathic medicine less likely to be killed by the medicine that was supposed to be helping them.[1] The relative success of homeopathy in the 18th century is believed by some to have led to the abandonment of the ineffective and harmful treatments of bloodletting and purging and to have begun the move towards more effective, scientific medicine.[24] However, critiques of homeopathy began in the early 19th century: Sir John Forbes, physician to Queen Victoria, said the extremely small doses of homeopathy were regularly derided as useless, laughably ridiculous and "an outrage to human reason."[40] Professor Sir James Young Simpson said of the highly diluted drugs: "no poison, however strong or powerful, the billionth or decillionth of which would in the least degree affect a man or harm a fly."[41] Nineteenth century American physician and author Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. was also a vocal critic of homeopathy and published an essay in 1842 entitled Homeopathy and Its Kindred Delusions.[42] The last school in the U.S. exclusively teaching homeopathy closed down in 1920.[1]

General philosophy

Homeopathy is a vitalist philosophy in that it regards diseases and sickness to be caused by disturbances in a hypothetical vital force or life force in humans and that these disturbances manifest themselves as unique symptoms. Homeopathy contends that the vital force has the ability to react and adapt to internal and external causes, which homeopaths refer to as the "law of susceptibility". The law of susceptibility states that a negative state of mind can attract hypothetical disease entities called "miasms" to invade the body and produce symptoms of diseases,[1] However, Hahnemann rejected the notion of a disease as a separate thing or invading entity[43] and insisted that it was always part of the "living whole".[44]

Law of similars

Hahnemann observed from his experiments with Cinchona bark, used as a treatment of malaria, that the side effects he experienced from the quinine in the Cinchona bark were similar to the symptoms of malaria. He reasoned that treatments for diseases must produce symptoms similar to of those disease being treated when taken by healthy individuals. From this Hahnemann conceived of the "law of similars", otherwise known as "like cures like" (Latin: similia similibus curentur). Hahnemann believed that by inducing artificial symptoms of a disease, the artificial symptoms would create another disturbance in the vital force thus pushing out the old disturbance and that the body would naturally recover from the artificially induced disturbance. The basic idea is that to cure a person suffering from an illness, one should administer a dilute dose of a substance that produces the same symptoms of the illness being treated in healthy individuals.[1]

Miasms and disease

Hahnemann found as early as 1816 that his patients who he treated through homeopathy still suffered from chronic diseases that he was unable to cure.[45] In 1828,[46] he introduced the concept of miasms, which he regarded as underlying causes for many known diseases. A miasm is often defined by homeopaths as an imputed "peculiar morbid derangement of our vital force."[47] Hahnemann associated each miasm with specific diseases, with each miasm seen as the root cause of several diseases. According to Hahnemann, initial exposure to miasms causes local symptoms, such as skin or venereal diseases, but if these symptoms are suppressed by medication, the cause goes deeper and begins to manifest itself as diseases of the internal organs.[48] Homeopathy contends that treating diseases by directly opposing their symptoms, as is sometimes done in conventional medicine, is not so effective because all "disease can generally be traced to some latent, deep-seated, underlying chronic, or inherited tendency."[49] The underlying imputed miasm still remains, and deep-seated ailments can only be corrected by removing the deeper disturbance of the vital force.[50]

Hahnemann's miasm theory remains disputed and controversial within homeopathy even in modern times. In 1978, Anthony Campbell, then a consultant physician at The Royal London Homeopathic Hospital,[51] [52] criticized statements by George Vithoulkas claiming that syphilis, when treated with antibiotics, would develop into secondary and tertiary syphilis with involvement of the central nervous system. This conflicts with scientific studies, which indicate that penicillin treatment produces a complete cure of syphilis in more than 90 % of cases.[53] Campbell described this as "a thoroughly irresponsible statement which could mislead an unfortunate layman into refusing orthodox treatment" and said that it was not an isolated case, but part of a lengthy section arguing against conventional medicine.[54] This echoes the idea in homeopathy that using medication to suppress the symptoms of a disease would only drive the underlying disease deeper into the body.

Originally Hahnemann presented only three miasms, of which the most important was "psora" (Greek for itch), described as being related to any itching diseases of the skin, supposed to be derived from suppressed scabies, and claimed to be the foundation of many further disease conditions. Hahnemann claimed psora to be the cause of such diseases as epilepsy, cancer, jaundice, deafness, and cataracts.[28] Since Hahnemann's time, other miasms have been proposed, some replacing one or more of psora's proposed functions, including tubercular miasms and cancer miasms.[48]

Development of remedies

Dilution and succussion

Mortar and pestle used for grinding insoluble solids into homeopathic remedies including quartz and oyster shells.

In producing treatments for diseases, homeopaths use a process called "dynamization" or "potentization" where the remedy is diluted into alcohol or water and then vigorously shaken by ten hard strikes against an elastic body in a process called "succussion". Hahnemann thought that the use of remedies which present symptoms similar to those of disease in healthy individuals would only intensify the symptoms and exacerbate the condition, so he advocated the dilution of the remedies to the point the symptoms were no longer experienced. During the process of potentization, homeopaths believe that the vital energy of the diluted substance is activated and its energy released by vigorous shaking of the substance. For this purpose, Hahnemann had a saddle maker construct a special wooden striking board covered in leather on one side and stuffed with horsehair.[55] Insoluble solids, such as quartz and oyster shell, are diluted by grinding them with lactose (trituration).

Three potency scales are in regular use in homeopathy. Hahnemann pioneered and always favored the centesimal or "C scale", diluting a substance 1 part in a 100 of diluent at each stage. A 2C dilution is one where a substance is diluted to one part in one hundred, then one part of that diluted solution is diluted to one part in one hundred. This works out to one part of the original solution to ten thousand parts (100x100) of diluent. A 6C dilution repeats the process six times, ending up with one part in 1,000,000,000,000. (100x100x100x100x100x100, or 1006) Other dilutions follow the same pattern. In homeopathy, a solution is described as higher potency the more dilute it is. Higher potencies, i.e. more dilute substances, are considered to be stronger deep-acting remedies.

Hahnemann advocated 30C dilutions for most purposes, i.e. dilution by a factor of 10030, and a common homeopathic treatment for the flu is a 200c dilution of duck liver, called Oscillococcinum in homeopathy. Comparing these levels of dilution to the number of molecules present in the initial solution, the chance of any molecule of the original substance being present in a 15C solution is very small, and the chances of a single molecule of the original substance remaining in a 12C dilution would be roughly 1 in 2 billion. For a perspective on these numbers, there are in the order of 1032 molecules of water in an Olympic size swimming pool and if such a pool were filled with a 15C homeopathic remedy, to expect to get a single molecule from the original substance, one would need to swallow 1 % of the volume of such a pool, or roughly 25 metric tons of water.[56]

For more perspective, 1ml of a solution which has gone through a 30C dilution would have been diluted into a volume of water equal to that of a cube of 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 meters per side, or about 106 light years. Thus, homeopathic remedies of the standard dilutions contain, with overwhelming probability, only water. Practitioners of homeopathy believe that this water retains some 'essential property' of the original substance, due to the shaking after each dilution.[57] Hahnemann believed that the dynamization or shaking of the solution caused a "spirit like" healing force to be released from within the substance. He thought that even after every molecule of the previous substance has been removed from the water, the spiritual healing force still remained.[56]

Some homeopaths developed a decimal scale (D or X), diluting the substance to ten times its original volume each stage. The D or X scale dilution is therefore half that of the same value of the C scale, e.g. "12x" is the same level of dilution as "6C". Hahnemann never used this scale but it was very popular throughout the 19th century and still is in Europe. This potency scale appears to have been introduced in the 1830s by the American homeopath, Dr. Constantine Hering.[58] In the last ten years of his life Hahnemann also developed a quintamillesimal (Q) or LM scale diluting the drug 1 part in 50,000 parts of diluent.[59] A Q scale dilution is 2.35 times that of a C scale one, e.g. "20Q" is the same potency as "47C".

It should be noted however that not all homeopaths advocate extremely high dilutions. Many of the early homeopaths were originally doctors and generally tended to use lower dilutions such as "3x" or "6x", rarely going beyond "12x". A good example of this approach is that of Dr. Richard Hughes, who dismissed the extremely high dilutions as unnecessary. This was the dominant pattern in Europe throughout the 1820s to 1930s, but in America many practitioners developed and preferred the higher dilutions. This trend became especially exemplified by James Tyler Kent and dominated US homeopathy from the 1850s until its demise in the 1940s. The split between lower and higher dilutions also followed ideological lines with the former stressing pathology and a strong link to conventional medicine, while the latter emphasized vital force, miasms and a spiritual take on sickness.[60] [61] From a modern regulatory viewpoint, any product that contains detectable levels of active ingredients cannot be classified as a homeopathic remedy.[62]

Provings

In order to determine which specific remedies could be used to treat which diseases, Hahnemann experimented on himself for several years as well as with patients. His experiments did not initially consist of giving remedies to the sick, because he thought that the most similar remedy, by virtue of its ability to induce symptoms similar to the disease itself, would make it impossible to determine which symptoms came from the remedy and which from the disease itself. Therefore, sick people were excluded from the provings. The method used for determining which remedies were suitable for specific diseases was called "proving". A homeopathic proving is the method by which the profile of a homeopathic remedy is determined. The word 'proving' derives from the German word 'Prüfung' meaning 'test'.

During the process of proving, Hahnemann used healthy volunteers who were given remedies, often in molecular doses, and the resulting symptoms were compiled by observers into a "Drug Picture". During the process the volunteers were observed for months at a time and were made to keep extensive journals detailing all of their symptoms at specific times during the day. During the tests volunteers were forbidden from consuming coffee, tea, spices, or wine. They were also not allowed to play chess, because Hahnemann considered it to be "too exciting", however they were allowed to drink beer and were encouraged to moderately exercise. After the experiments were over, Hahnemann made the volunteers offer their hands and take an oath swearing that what they reported in their journals was the truth, at which time he would interrogate them extensively concerning their symptoms.[63]

Provings have been described as important in the development of the clinical trial, due to their early use of simple control groups, systematic and quantitative procedures, and some of the first application of statistics in medicine.[64] The lengthy records of self-experimentation by homeopaths have occasionally proven useful in the development of modern drugs: For example, evidence nitroglycerin might be useful as a treatment for angina was discovered by looking through homeopathic provings, though homeopaths themselves never used it for that purpose at that time.[65] and aconite.[66]

The first recorded provings were published by Hahnemann in his 1796 Essay on a New Principle. His Fragmenta de viribus (1805)[67] contained the results of twenty-seven provings, and his 1810 Materia Medica Pura contained sixty-five.[68] Two-hundred and seventeen remedies underwent provings for James Tyler Kent's 1905 Lectures on Homoeopathic Materia Medica, and newer substances are continually added to contemporary versions.

Repertory

Homeopathic repertory by James Tyler Kent.

A compilation of reports of many homeopathic provings is known as a homeopathic materia medica. In practice the usefulness of such a compilation is limited because a practitioner does not need to look up the symptoms for a particular remedy, but rather to explore the remedies for a particular symptom. This need is filled by the homeopathic repertory, which is an index of symptoms, listing after each symptom those remedies that are associated with it. Repertories are often very extensive and may include data from clinical experience in addition to provings. There is often lively debate among the compilers of a repertory and interested practitioners over the veracity of a particular inclusion. The first symptomatic index of the homeopathic materia medica was arranged by Hahnemann. Soon after, one of his students Clemens von Bönninghausen, created the Therapautic Pocket Book, another homeopathic repertory. The first such Homeopathic Repertory was Dr. George Jahr's Repertory, published in 1835 in German and then again in 1838 in English and edited by Dr. Constantine Hering. This version was less focused on disease categories and would be the forerunner to Kent's later works. It consisted of three large volumes. Such Repertories increased in size and detail as time progressed.[69]

Treatments

Homeopathic remedy arsenicum album derived from arsenic.

Homeopathic treatments generally begin with a detailed examinations of their patients' histories, including questions regarding their physical, mental and emotional states, their one's life circumstances and any physical/emotional illnesses. The homeopath then translates this information into a complex formula of mental and physical symptoms, including likes, dislikes, innate predispositions and even body type.[4] The goal is to develop a comprehensive representation of each individual's overall health. This information can then be compared with similar established data in the drug provings found in the homeopathic materia medica. Assisted by further dialogs with the patient, the homeopath then aims to find the one drug most closely matching the 'symptom totality' of the patient. There are many methods for determining the most-similar remedy (the simillimum), and homeopaths sometimes disagree. This is partly due to the complexity of the "totality of symptoms" concept. That is, homeopaths do not use all symptoms, but decide which are the most characteristic. This subjective evaluation of case analysis relies on knowledge and experience of the homeopath doing the diagnosis.

Some diversity in approaches to treatments exists among homeopaths. So called "Classical" homeopathy generally involves detailed examinations of a patient's history and infrequent doses of a single remedy as the patient is monitored for improvements in symptoms. On the other hand, "clinical" homeopathy uses a range of approaches including combinations of remedies to "cover" the various symptoms of an illness, similar to conventional drug treatments.[5]

Remedies

Old Homeopathic belladonna remedy.

"Remedy" is a technical term used in homeopathy to refer to a substance prepared with a particular procedure and intended for treating patients. Homeopathic practitioners rely on two types of reference when prescribing remedies. The Homeopathic Materia Medicae which is comprised of alphabetical indexes of "drug pictures" organized by remedy and describe the symptom patterns associated with individual remedies. They also rely on homeopathic repertories which consist of indexes of symptoms of diseases and listing remedies associated with specific symptoms.[70]

Homeopathy uses many animal, plant, mineral, and synthetic substances in its remedies. Examples include Natrum muriaticum (sodium chloride or table salt), Lachesis muta (the venom of the bushmaster snake), Opium, and Thyroidinum (thyroid hormone). Homeopaths also use treatments called nosodes (from the Greek nosos, disease) made from diseased or pathological products such as fecal, urinary, and respiratory discharges, blood, and tissue.[71] Homeopathic remedy prepared from healthy specimens are called Sarcodes.

Some modern homeopaths have considered more esoteric substances, known as "imponderables" because they do not originate from a material but from electromagnetic energy presumed to have been "captured" by alcohol or lactose. Examples include X-rays, sunlight,[72] and electricity.[73] Recent ventures by homeopaths into even more esoteric substances include thunderstorms (prepared from collected rainwater).[74] Today there are about 3,000 different remedies commonly used in homeopathy.[75] Some homeopaths also use techniques that are regarded by other practitioners as controversial. These include paper remedies, where the substance and dilution are written on a piece of paper and either pinned to the patient's clothing, put in their pocket, or placed under a glass of water that is then given to the patient, as well as the use of radionics to prepare remedies. Such practices have been strongly criticized by classical homeopaths as unfounded, speculative and verging upon magic and superstition.[76] [77]

Isopathy

Isopathy is a therapy derived from homeopathy and was invented by Johann Joseph Wilhelm Lux in the 1830s.[78] Isopathy differs from homeopathy in general in that the remedies are made up either from things that cause the disease, or from products of the disease, such as pus. Many so-called "homeopathic vaccines" are in fact a form of isopathy.[79]

Tautopathy

Tautopathy is a practice of alternative medicine that is similar to homeopathy in that it uses very diluted substances to treat illness. However, tautopathy does not rely on the law of similars, as homeopathy does. According to practitioners of Tautopathy, dilute solutions of lead and arsenic can cause the body to secrete excess amounts of these toxic metals.[80]

Flower remedies

Flower remedies are produced by placing flowers in water and exposing them to sunlight. The most famous of these are the Bach flower remedies, which were developed by the homeopath Edward Bach. The relationship between these remedies and homeopathy is controversial. On the one hand, the proponents of these remedies share homeopathy's vitalist world-view and the remedies are claimed to act through the same hypothetical vital force. However, although many of the same plants are used as in homeopathy, flower remedies are used undiluted.[81] There is no convincing scientific or clinical evidence for flower remedies being effective.[82]

Veterinary homeopathy

Veterinary homeopathy is the term used to describe the treatment of animals with homeopathy. The idea of using homeopathy as a treatment for other animals dates back to the inception of homepathy as Hahnemann himself wrote and spoke of the use of homeopathy in animals other than humans.[83] In the USA veterinary homeopathy is used by veterinarian members of the Academy for Veterinary Homeopathy and/or the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association.[84] In the UK, veterinary surgeons who use homeopathy belong to the Faculty of Homeopathy and/or to the British Association of Homeopathic Veterinary Surgeons or BAHVS. Animals may only be treated by qualified veterinary surgeons in the UK and some other countries. Internationally, the body that supports and represents homeopathic veterinarians is the International Association for Veterinary Homeopathy or IAVH. The use of homeopathy in veterinary medicine is regarded as controversial, as there have been little scientific investigation on if it has any effects in animals and current research in the field is not of a high enough standard to provide reliable data.[85] Other studies have also found that giving animals placebos can play active roles in influencing pet owners to believe in the effectiveness of the treatment when none exists.[85]

Medical and scientific analysis and criticism

Homeopathy has been unsupported by scientific research since its inception. The extreme dilutions used in homeopathic preparations usually leave none of the active ingredient (no atoms, ions or molecules) in the final product.[11][86] The idea that any biological effects could be produced by these preparations is inconsistent with the observed dose-response relationships of conventional drugs.[87] The proposed rationale for these extreme dilutions - that the water contains the "memory" or "vibration" from the diluted ingredient - is also counter to the accepted laws of chemistry and physics.[11] Thus critics contend that any positive results obtained from homeopathic remedies are purely due to the placebo effect,[88] where the patients subjective improvement of symptoms is based solely on the power of suggestion, due to the individual expecting or believing that it will work.[89] Critics cite the lack of viable scientific studies for the effectiveness of homeopathic remedies as evidence that they are not effective and that any positive effects are due to the placebo effect. Critics also contend that homeopathy is inherently dangerous, because homeopaths offer a false hope to patients who could be getting proper treatment.

High dilutions

The extremely high dilutions in homeopathy have been a main point of criticism. Homeopaths believe that the methodical dilution of a substance, beginning with a 10% or lower solution and working downwards, with shaking after each dilution, produces a therapeutically active "remedy", in contrast to therapeutically inert water. However, homeopathic remedies are usually diluted to the point where there are no molecules from the original solution left in a dose of the final remedy.[86] Since even the longest-lived noncovalent structures in liquid water at room temperature are only stable for a few picoseconds,[90] many critics have concluded that any effect that might have been present from the original substance can no longer exist. Furthermore, since water will have been in contact with millions of different substances throughout its history, critics point out that any glass of water is therefore an extreme dilution of almost any conceivable substance, and so by drinking water one would, according to homeopathic principles, receive treatment for every imaginable condition.[91]

Homeopathy contends that higher dilutions (fewer potential molecules in each dose) result in stronger medicinal effects. This idea is inconsistent with the observed dose-response relationships of conventional drugs, where the effects are dependent on the concentration of the active ingredient in the body.[87] This dose-response relationship has been confirmed in thousands of experiments on organisms as diverse as nematodes,[92] rats[93] and humans.[94]

Physicist Robert L. Park, Ph.D., former executive director of the American Physical Society, has noted that "since the least amount of a substance in a solution is one molecule, a 30C solution would have to have at least one molecule of the original substance dissolved in a minimum of 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 molecules of water. This would require a container more than 30,000,000,000 times the size of the Earth." Park has also noted that "to expect to get even one molecule of the "medicinal" substance allegedly present in 30X pills, it would be necessary to take some two billion of them, which would total about a thousand tons of lactose plus whatever impurities the lactose contained." The laws of chemistry state that there is a limit to the dilution that can be made without losing the original substance altogether. This limit, which is related to Avogadro's number, corresponds to homeopathic potencies of 12C or 24X (1 part in 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000).[88]

Clinical trials

Old bottle of Hepar sulph made from calcium sulfide.

The medical effectiveness of homeopathy has been a point of contention since its inception. One of the earliest studies concerning homeopathic medicine was sponsored by the British government during World War II in which volunteers tested the effectiveness of homeopathic remedies against diluted mustard gas burns.[95] More recent controlled clinical trials on homeopathy have shown poor results, showing a slight to no difference between homeopathic remedies and placebo.[14] Systematic reviews and meta-analyses, which analyze large groups of studies and draw conclusions based on the results as a whole have been used to test the effectiveness of homeopathy. Early meta-analyses investigating homeopathic remedies showed slightly positive results among the studies examined, however such studies have warned that it was impossible to draw conclusions due to low methodological quality and the unknown role of publication bias in the studies reviewed.[96] A recent meta-analysis of clinical trials on the effectiveness of homeopathy has shown that earlier clinical trials showed signs of major weakness in methodology and reporting, and that homeopathy trials were less randomized and reported less on dropouts than other types of trials.[97]

The medical effectiveness of homeopathy has been studied in detail since at least the 1980s. All large studies showing homeopathy to be effective for medical purposes have been methodologically flawed, and earlier studies showing positive results have been questioned.[96] There have also been numerous landmark studies which have brought into question the validity of homeopathic treatments. In 2005 The Lancet medical journal published a meta-analysis of 110 placebo-controlled homeopathy trials and 110 matched conventional-medicine trials based upon the Swiss government's Program for Evaluating Complementary Medicine, or PEK. The study concluded that its findings were compatible with the notion that the clinical effects of homeopathy are nothing more than placebo effects.[13] Critics cite numerous studies that show no evidence of homeopathy being effective beyond placebo, including a European Journal of Cancer study done in 2006. The study was a meta-analysis of six trials of homeopathic treatments for recovery from cancer therapy, including radio and chemotherapy done since 1985. Three of the trials included were randomized double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trials. The conclusions of the study was that there was insufficient evidence to support using homeopathic therapy to treat cancer.[98]

Since homeopathic remedies at dilutions higher than about D23 (10-23) contain no ingredients apart from the diluent (water, alcohol or sugar), there is no chemical basis for them to have any medicinal action. While some tests have suggested that homeopathic solutions of high dilution can have statistically significant effects on organic processes including the growth of grain,[99] histamine release by leukocytes,[100] and enzyme reactions, such studies are disputed since attempts to replicate them have failed.[101] [102] [103] [104] [105] Newer randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials using high dilutions of substances such as Belladona also fail to find clinical effects of the substances.[106]

Critics assert that the best standard for assessing efficacy and safety of health-care practices is evidence-based medicine because it is the expression of the scientific method in clinical medicine.[107] They contend that systematic reviews with strict protocols are essential to establish the substantion of various therapies and that when homeopathy is tested in this way against specific diseases, it has failed to show any medical effectiveness. Systematic reviews conducted by the Cochrane Collaboration found no evidence that homeopathy is beneficial for asthma,[108] dementia,[109] or induction of labor.[110] Systematic reviews conducted by other researchers found no evidence that homeopathy is beneficial for osteoarthritis,[111] migraines[112] or delayed-onset muscle soreness.[5]

A notable controversy involved French immunologist Jacques Benveniste who in 1987 submitted a paper to the scientific journal Nature while working at INSERM. The paper purported to have discovered that basophils released histamine when exposed to a homeopathic dilution of anti-immunoglobulin E, a type of white blood cell. Nature, skeptical of the results, requested that the study be replicated in a separate laboratory under identical conditions. Upon replication in four separate laboratories the study was published. Still skeptical of the findings, Nature assembled an independent investigative team to determine the accuracy of the research. The team consisted of Nature editor and physicist Sir John Maddox, American scientific fraud investigator and chemist Walter Stewart, and skeptic and former magician James Randi. After investigating the findings and methodology of the experiment, the team found that the experiments were "statistically ill-controlled", "interpretation has been clouded by the exclusion of measurements in conflict with the claim", and concluded "We believe that experimental data have been uncritically assessed and their imperfections inadequately reported."[113] [114] [115] James Randi stated that he doubted that there had been any conscious fraud, however he stated that the researchers had allowed "wishful thinking" to influence their interpretation of the data.[114]

Numerous health organizations such as UK's National Health Service,[15] the American Medical Association,[16] and the FASEB[116] also contend that there is no convincing scientific evidence that would support the use of homeopathic treatments in medicine.

Safety issues

As homeopathic remedies usually contain often only water and/or alcohol, they are thought to be generally safe. Only in rare cases are the original ingredients present at detectable levels. However, in one case, a unusually undiluted (2X or 1:100) solution of zinc gluconate, marketed as Zicam Nasal Spray, allegedly caused a small percentage of users to lose their sense of smell.[117] 340 cases were settled out of court for 12 million U.S. dollars.[118] [119]

However, critics of homeopathy have cited other concerns over homeopathic remedies, most seriously, cases of patients of homeopathy failing to receive proper treatment for diseases that could be diagnosed or cured with modern medicine. For instance, there have been surveys showing that homeopathic practitioners frequently advise their patients against receiving immunization for diseases.[17] [18] Modern homeopathic practitioners also use their own vaccines, which they refer to as "nosodes", and are created from dilutions of biological agents - including material such as vomit, feces or infected human tissues. While Hahnemann was opposed to such preparations, modern homeopaths frequently use them and there is no evidence to suggest they have any beneficial effects.[120] [121] Cases of homeopaths advising against the use of anti-malarial drugs have been identified, this puts visitors to the tropics who take this advice in severe danger, since homeopathic remedies are completely ineffective against the malaria parasite.[122] [123] [124] Also, in one case in 2004, a homeopath instructed one of his patients to stop taking conventional medication for a heart condition, writing in his advice: "She just cannot take ANY drugs – I have suggested some homeopathic remedies. I feel confident that if she follows the advice she will regain her health." The patient suffered a fatal heart attack four months later, caused by this stoppage of her medication.[125][126]

In 1978, Anthony Campbell, then a consultant physician at The Royal London Homeopathic Hospital,[51] [127] criticised statements by George Vithoulkas made about miasms. Vithoulkas stated that syphilis, when treated with antibiotics, would develop into secondary and tertiary syphilis with involvement of the central nervous system. Campbell described this as a thoroughly irresponsible statement which could mislead an unfortunate layman into refusing orthodox treatment.[128] This claim echos the idea that treating a disease with external medication used to treat the symptoms would only drive it deeper into the body and conflicts with scientific studies, which indicate that penicillin treatment produces a compete cure of syphilis in more than 90 % of cases.[129]

Critics also contend that it is inherently unethical to provide homeopathic remedies to patients when the effectiveness of homeopathy is clearly unproven.[130] Critics also assert that all homeopathic patients or clients should be fully informed of the lack of convincing experimental support for the effectiveness of homeopathy, prior to being given the remedies. Critics also state that it is unethical to employ unsupported and unproven remedies such as homeopathy when modern alternatives are genuinely effective.[131]

Prevalence and legal trends

Woman looking at homeopathic remedies.

Homeopathic medicine is fairly common in some countries while uncommon in others and is also highly regulated in some countries while fairly unregulated in others. Homeopathy is common in Europe as a whole, where about 25 % to 50 % of the population have reported use of homeopathic treatments.[6] Regulations vary in Europe depending on the country. In some countries, there are no specific legal regulations concerning the use of homeopathy, while in others, licenses or degrees in conventional medicine from accredited universities are required. In Austria and Germany, no specific regulations exist, while France and Denmark mandate licenses to diagnose any illness or dispense of any product whose purpose is to treat any illness.[132] Some homeopathic treatment is covered by the national insurance coverage of several European countries, including France, the United Kingdom, Denmark, and Luxembourg. In other countries, such as Belgium, homeopathy is not covered. In Austria, public insurance requires scientific proof of effectiveness in order to reimburse medical treatments, but exceptions are made for homeopathy.[132] Two countries which formerly offered homeopathy under their public health insurance schemes have withdrawn this privilege. At the start of 2004, homeopathic medications, with some exceptions, were no longer covered by German public health insurance,[133] and in June 2005, the Swiss Government, after a 5-year trial, withdrew insurance coverage for homeopathy and four other complementary treatments, claiming that they did not meet efficacy and cost-effectiveness criteria, though additional insurance can be bought to cover such treatments provided by a medical doctor.[134]

In Britain homeopathy was first established by Dr. Frederick Quin around 1827, although two Italian homeopathic doctors (Drs Romani and Roberta) had been employed two years previously by the Earl of Shrewsbury based at Alton Towers in North Staffordshire. Homeopathy in Britain quickly became the preferred medical treatment of the upper classes,[135] as well as the aristocracy[136] and retained an elite clientele, including members of the royal family.[137] At its peak in the 1870s, Britain had numerous homeopathic dispensaries and small hospitals as well as large busy hospitals in Liverpool, Birmingham,[138] Glasgow, London and Bristol. The largest organization of homeopaths in Britain, the Society of Homeopaths, was founded in 1978 and the Faculty of Homeopathy, which is based in London, has over 1,400 members and was incorporated by an Act of Parliament in 1950.[139] According to a 2006 study, forty nine percent of Scottish medical practices prescribed homeopathic remedies. During the study period, 0.22% of patients were prescribed at least one homeopathic remedy, with children making up sixteen percent of the population prescribed homeopathic remedies (0.22% of the total registered patients at that age). The study concluded that critical review of Homeopathy's role in the Scottish branch of the national health care system was needed.[140]. The NHS currently operates five homeopathic hospitals.

In Australia, according to one study, about 4.4 % of Australian adults have used homeopathic remedies at least once in their lives and only about 1.2 % sought help exclusively from homeopathic practitioners.[141] In Canada, a study detailing the use of alternative medicines by children in Quebec found that 11 % of the sample of 1911 children used alternative medicines and 25 % of those who did use alternative medicines used homeopathy. The study also pointed out that homeopathy is more commonly used in children in Canada than in adults, 19 % of whom used alternative medicine used homeopathy.[142] Homeopathy is not officially recognized by Federal Food and Drug Act in Canada and physicians who choose to use alternative medicines such as Homeopathy must follow guidelines set by their province's College of Physicians and Surgeons. Provincial health care generally doesn't cover homeopathy.[132]

Some countries in South America, such as Argentina, allow only professional doctors who are qualified and have graduated from a recognized medical school to practice homeopathy. Homeopathy has been regulated in other South American countries, such as Colombia, since the beginning of the 20th century. In Brazil, Homeopathy is included in the national health system and since 1991, physicians who want to practice homeopathy must complete 2,300 hours of education prior to receiving the proper licenses.[132] In Mexico, Homeopathy is currently integrated into the national health care system. In 1985, a presidential decree established the first homeopathic school as well as regulations specifying training requirements for homeopathic doctors.[132] In Mexico, of the individuals who use complementary alternative medicines, over 26 % use Homeopathy.[143]

In the United States homeopathy is much less common,[144] where the percentage of people seeking homeopathic treatment declined from 3.4 % in 1997 to 1.7 % in 2002.[7] Homeopathy was first established in the United States by Dr Hans Burch Gram[145] in 1825 and rapidly gained popularity, partly because of the fact that conventional medicine of the time was inherently dangerous and risky.[146] The height of its influence was the end of the 19th century where hardly any city with over 50,000 people was without a homeopathic hospital. In 1890 there were 93 regular schools, 14 of them were fully homeopathic and 8 of them were eclectic and in 1900 there were 121 regular schools and 22 of them were homeopathic and 10 eclectic.[147] The use of homeopathy in the United States among adults is about 0.3 %. According to one study, in 1990, 0.7 % of individuals used homeopathy in the past year of being questioned; in 1997, 3.4 % had used homeopathy at least once in the previous year. According to the same study, 31.7 % had seen a homeopathic practitioner in the past year in 1990 and the number dropped to 16.5 by 1997.[148]

In the United States, homeopathic remedies are, like all health-care products, regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. However, the FDA treats homeopathic remedies very differently than conventional medicines. Homeopathic products do not need FDA approval before sale; they do have to be proven safe since the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994, any products prior to 1994 may or may not have been tested for safety, but they do not have to prove efficacy; they do not have to be labeled with an expiration date; and they do not have to undergo finished product testing to verify contents and strength, all of these are voluntary actions done by the manufacturer. The manufacturer is required to have all ingredients on the label; however, it might not specify which ones are active. In the USA, only homeopathic medicines that claim to treat self-limiting conditions may be sold over the counter; homeopathic medicines that claim to treat a serious disease can be sold only by prescription.[149] A memorandum, written in 1985 by attorneys for the American Association of Homeopathic Manufacturers, describes a meeting between the AAHP attorneys and high-ranking FDA officials to discuss whether homeopathic products must be proven effective to remain legally marketable.[150] Such negotiations led to the issuance in 1988 (revised in 1995) of an FDA Compliance Policy Guide that permits homeopathic products "intended solely for self-limiting disease conditions amenable to self-diagnosis (of symptoms) and treatment" to be marketed as nonprescription drugs.[151] In 2001, the FDA published a comprehensive review of mercury compounds in homeopathic drugs. This report indicated that nearly all examined compounds derived from the use of mercury. However, due to the extreme dilution of materials, the presence of mercury in the finished product would be minimal.[152] At present the FDA Health Fraud Division only pursues claims which may cause direct harm to consumers through their use. Homeopathic drugs, largely regarded as equivalent to placebos, are not considered under these guidelines. Due to the significant dilution of the products, the agents become practically immeasurable: the harmful effects of homeopathic drugs is more likely to be that patients avoid conventional treatments.[153]

In Asia, the use of homeopathic treatments is increasing, especially in India. Homeopathy arrived in India with Dr John Martin Honigberger in Lahore, in 1829–1830.[154] [155] India has the largest homeopathic infrastructure in the world, with low estimates at about 64,000, but going as high as 300,000 practicing homeopaths. In addition, there are 180 colleges teaching courses, and 7500 government clinics and 307 hospitals which dispense homeopathic remedies.[156] [157] In Malaysia, homeopathy was introduced during World War II and was brought by Indians via the British army. There is no legislation governing homeopathy in Malaysia and only a few medical doctors are involved in homeopathic treatments.[158] In South Africa, homeopathy is regulated by the Associated Health Service Professions Act of 1982, which was set up to provide a registration and licensing framework for health professions. During the 1960s, all homeopathic colleges were closed by the South African Medical Council. However, conventional medical doctors retained the right to use homeopathic treatments.[132]

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