This is some data about clinical trials on
homeopathic medicine and the source is:
http://www.Trus
thomeopathy.Org/case/cas_cli.Html
c l I n I c a l t r I a l s
treatment of influenza
treatment of acute childhood diarrhoea
homeopathic immunotherapy
treatment of influenza
ferley's controlled trial (ferley jp,
zmirou d, d'adhemar d, balducci f. A
controlled evaluation of a homoeopathic
preparation in the treatment of
influenza-like syndrome. British journal
of clinical pharmacology 1989; 3: 329-35)
looked at the effectiveness of a
homeopathic preparation in the treatment
of influenza and influenza-like syndromes.
Overview
what is homeopathy
growth & popularity
homeopathy in the nhs
evidence for homeopathy
the researchers say that while a regular
feature of homeopathic treatment is that
two patients who have the same disease are
liable not to benefit from the same
treatment, there is a school of thought
that certain diseases, especially some
acute conditions, could be treated with
substances or drug mixtures tailored to
the disease characteristics alone. They
add that such drugs are gaining popularity
among large sections of the medical
profession and also among the public who
buy them over the counter.
Oscillococcinum - made of anas barbariae
hepatis and cordis extractum hpus 200 c -
is such a drug. The vehicle is made of
lactose and saccharose and a placebo of
identical appearance was made up
consisting of lactose and saccharose
alone. The study took place during an
influenza epidemic. Patients who took
part in the study were chosen from those
attending gp surgeries with influenza-like
syndromes, defined as a rectal temperature
equal to or above 38° c or above and at
least two of the following symptoms:
headache, stiffness, lumbar and articular
pain, shivers. Most of the participating
gps were not homeopathic clinicians.
The standard treatment is five doses of
oscillococcinum. The first was given at
the medical practice and the patients took
the remaining four on the following
mornings and evenings. 237 patients
received the test drug and 241 the
placebo. They recorded their rectal
temperature twice a day and the presence
or absence of five cardinal symptoms
(headache, stiffness, lumbar and articular
pain, shivers) as well as cough, coryza
and fatigue. Recovery was defined as a
rectal temperature of less than 37.5° c
and complete resolution of the cardinal
symptoms.
The results showed that the proportion of
patients who recovered within 48 hours of
treatment was greater among the drug group
than among the placebo group: 17.1%
compared with 10.3% (p = 0.03).
The researchers say that the positive
effect of the homeopathic preparation
'cannot be explained in our present state
of knowledge' and they call for further
investigation.
A repeat trial conducted by papp et al was
recently published in the british
homeopathic journal (1998- 87). This
showed that the symptoms of patients
receiving oscillococcinum were
significantly milder (p = 0.023) after 48
hours than patients in the placebo group.
The number of patients with no symptoms
was significantly higher in the group
receiving oscillococcinum from the second
day onwards (verum 17.4%, placebo 6.6%)
until the end of the patients' recording.
Treatment of acute childhood diarrhoea
(jacobs j, jimenez m, gloyd s et al.
Treatment of acute childhood diarrhoea
with homoeopathic medicine: a randomised
clinical trial in nicaragua. Pediatrics
1994; 93: 719-725.)
jacobs' work set out to discover whether
homeopathic treatment was useful in the
treatment of acute diarrhoea in children,
the leading cause of paediatric morbidity
and mortality.
This randomised double-blind trial took
place in two clinics in poor districts of
nicaragua, a country where diarrhoea is
the primary cause of mortality during the
first year of life and accounts for 19% of
all outpatient consultations in children
aged from one to four years.
The researchers thought that acute
childhood diarrhoea was an ideal condition
for a homeopathic study because the short
duration of illness would allow for
intensive follow up, there was no standard
allopathic treatment that would have to be
withheld during the trial and the public
health importance was great.
Eighty-one children aged between six
months and five years took part. An
initial history was taken for each child,
a physical examination was carried out, a
stool specimen obtained and a diarrhoea
index score was assigned to each child.
Children with type a or b dehydration were
prescribed oral rehydration therapy.
Those with type c were transferred to
hospital and did not take part in the
study.
The children were then given a homeopathic
interview and examination. Information
about the nature of stools, abdominal
pain, vomiting, mood and temperature,
degree of thirst and appetite, presence of
fever, abdominal bloating, sleep
disturbance, perspiration and other signs
and symptoms was collected. Each child
was then prescribed one homeopathic
medication on an individual basis.
Identical tablets without medication were
used as a placebo. Follow up was daily
for five days.
The treatment group had a statistically
significant (p<.05) decrease in
duration of diarrhoea, defined as the
number of days until there were less than
three unformed stools daily for two
consecutive days. There was also a
significant difference (p<.05) in the
number of stools per day between the two
groups after 72 hours of treatment.
The researchers conclude that homeopathic
treatment might be useful in this
condition and add that further study
should be considered.
Homoeopathic immunotherapy
(reilly d, taylor ma, beattie ngm et al.
Is evidence for homoeopathy reproducible?
Lancet 1994; 344: 1601-1606.
Reilly d, taylor ma. Potent placebo or
potency? A proposed study model with
initial findings using homoeopathically
prepared pollens in hay fever. British
homoeopathic journal 1985; 74: 65-75.
Reilly d, taylor m, mcsharry c, aitchison
t. Is homoeopathy a placebo response?
Lancet 1986; 2 (8520): 881-886.)
this research was designed to answer the
question: "is homeopathy a placebo
response?". The results of the first two
trials suggested that it was not but,
because the findings were so
controversial, the researchers asked
independent colleagues to see if the
results could be replicated in a third
trial.
The three studies all used homeopathic
immunotherapy in inhalant allergy as a
model, the first two in hay fever and the
third in asthma, with the same main
outcome measure: a visual analogue score
of overall symptom intensity.
Subjects were chosen from people attending
an asthma outpatient clinic. Their
symptoms and compliance were monitored for
a four-week run-in period and they were
asked not to take any new
allergen-avoidance measures during the
trial.
At the beginning of the run-in each
patient was assessed by a homeopathic and
an asthma clinic doctor. A nurse did skin
tests and a respiratory physiologist
measured pulmonary function and bronchial
reactivity to histamine.
The study design was a randomised
double-blind assessment of two parallel
groups, one receiving homeopathic
treatment and the other a placebo.
Twenty-eight patients with allergic
asthma, most of them sensitive to
house-dust mite, were randomly allocated
to receive either oral homeopathic
immunotherapy to their principle allergen
or an identical placebo. The homeopathic
doctor selected the homeopathic
prescription on the basis of the largest
skin-test weal concordant with allergy
history. The test treatments were given
as a complement to patients' usual
conventional care.
At the main end point four weeks after the
treatment began, patients were reassessed
by both doctors, diaries were checked and
pulmonary function tested.
A difference in visual analogue score in
favour of homeopathic immunotherapy
appeared within one week of starting
treatment and persisted for up to eight
weeks (p=0.003). There were similar
trends in respiratory function and
bronchial reactivity tests.
A meta-analysis of this research and the
two previous studies found a similar
pattern of change: the homeopathically
treated groups showed a greater
improvement in visual analogue scale
scores than the placebo groups. The
researchers go on to ask if the
explanation could be three false-positives
and argue that if this were so, then the
technique of randomised controlled
clinical trials itself would have to be
fundamentally flawed. The evidence is
that either homeopathy works or that the
clinical trial does not, they conclude.
M e t a - a n a l y s e s
- summaries of the three main studies
kleijnen 1991
british medical journal. 107 trials.
Criteria-based meta-analysis.
77% are positive
the higher the scientific merit
of the study, the more likely it is to
show homoeopathy as superior to placebo.
the evidence presented in this
review would probably be sufficient for
establishing homoeopathy as a regular
treatment for certain conditions.
Overview
what is homeopathy
growth & popularity
homeopathy in the nhs
evidence for homeopathy
boissel 1996
report for european commission. 15
trials. Very strict inclusion criteria.
Meta-analysis; data synthesis by combining
the significance levels (p-values) for the
primary outcomes from each trial.
combined p value for the 15
trials was highly significant p=0.0002.
' there is evidence that
homeopathic medicine is more effective
than placebo' .
little evidence of publication
bias.
further high quality studies are
needed.
Linde 1997
lancet. 89 trials. Meta-analysis; data
synthesis by combining the odds ratios.
combined odds ratio 2.45 (95% ci
2.05, 2.93) in favour of homeopathy.
odds ratio for 26 best quality
studies was 1.66.
no evidence of significant
publication bias.
the results are not compatible
with the hypothesis that the clinical
effects of homeopathy are completely due
to placebo.
further research is warranted.
O u t c o m e s t u d I e s
- from the nhs homeopathic hospitals
adult and childhood asthma at the
royal london homeopathic hospital
palliative cancer care at the
royal london homoeopathic hospital
glasgow homoeopathic hospital
inpatients
outpatient care at bristol
homeopathic hospital
outpatient care at tunbridge
wells homoeopathic hospital
overview
what is homeopathy
growth & popularity
homeopathy in the nhs
evidence for homeopathy
adult and childhood asthma at the royal
london homoeopathic hospital
this study from rlhh followed up 24 adults
and 25 children with asthma and found that
71% of the adults and 80% of the children
experienced improvements in their symptoms
following the homeopathic treatment. Two
thirds of the adults and almost as many of
the children reduced their need for
inhalers and 60% of the parents of the
children reported a decrease in the need
to consult their gp for urgent asthma
treatments.
Palliative cancer care at the royal london
homoeopathic hospital
a study of 50 consecutive patients with
cancer who were attending the rlhh
complementary therapy cancer clinic was
performed. Three quarters of these
patients had spread or recurrence of their
cancers before being referred to the
clinic. Standard questionnaires showed
statistically significant improvements in
anxiety/depression and physical symptoms
of these patients after treatment.
Glasgow homoeopathic hospital inpatients
100 sequential inpatients in glasgow
homoeopathic hospital showed that when
assessed three months after discharge 58%
had significant improvements in their main
complaint and 67% had similar improvements
in mood and well-being. Significant was
assessed as being rated by the patient as
"of value in daily living".
In terms of the impact of ghh in-patient
care on conventional care and costs, 72%
patients reported fewer admissions to
other hospitals; 51% fewer attendances as
out-patients for conventional treatment;
40% fewer visits to their gp and 46% a
decrease in their use of conventional
medicines.
Outpatient care at bristol homeopathic
hospital
a study of 2000 patients attending bhh in
a 12 month period from november 1997
showed overall that three quarters of the
patients achieved what they described as
"moderately better" or "much better".
Outpatient care at tunbridge wells
homoeopathic hospital
a study of 1372 patients who had attended
outpatients at twhh showed that overall
improvement was reported in over three
quarters of the patients with patients
with certain conditions being most likely
to have received benefit - relief of
anxiety/depression or flushes in women
with breast cancer being the greatest.
