Post by Val Young on Mar 31, 2009 16:26:17 GMT
Homeopathy is a scientific method of therapy based on the principle of stimulating the body's own healing processes in order to accomplish cure. The basic system was devised and verified by Samuel Hahnemann, a German physician, nearly 200 years ago. Homeopathy's astounding success rates in both chronic and acute diseases has resulted in not only standing the test of time, but rapidly achieving widespread acceptance in Europe, India and South America.
In Homeopathy ("homeo-" means "similar"), each of us is a total. complete individual, no aspect of which can be separated from any other. To be effective, any valid therapy must be based on a deep understanding of and respect for the uniqueness of each individual. In Homeopathy each patient is evaluated as a whole person- mental, emotional and physical. The prescribing remedy is based on the unique patterns found on all three levels. This means that each person is given a remedy that will fit their constitution. Ten people with macular degeneration might receive ten different homeopathic remedies.
Homeopathy has been carefully researched and its effectiveness has been reported in the following well respected national medical journals: Jacobs J, Treatment of Acute Childhood Diarrhoea with Homeopathic Medication. Paediatrics 1994; 93:719-7255, Reilly DT , Is Homeopathy a Placebo Response? Lancet 1986; Oct: 881-886 and Kleijnen J, Clinical Trails of Homeopathy. British Medical Journal 1991; 302: 315-323.
Homeopathy is widely practiced in Europe, South America and India. Between 32 and 35% of French, English and German Physicians utilize Homeopathy.
Does Homeopathy Work?
Homeopathy has a two hundred year track record of curing illness. Homeopathy received widespread public attention through its effectiveness during epidemics of cholera in the 19th century. During the great influenza epidemic of the 1920's, homeopathic hospitals reported low death rates, while hospitals employing conventional medicine reported death rates of 20% to 30%.
Since the late '40's, double blind trials testing homeopathy on various medical conditions have led to mixed results. Some are claimed to support the use of homeopathy. In other cases, this method of evaluation proved itself incapable of documenting the success of homeopathic cures.
In a report published in the September 20, 1997 issue of Lancet, Dr. Wayne Jonas, head of the Office of Alternative medicine, and Dr. Klaus Linde, concluded that, when the evidence of the 89 studies of homeopathy judged to be of good quality was pooled, homeopathy was deemed to be 2.45 times more effective than placebo.
In 1996, an unpublished study from the Homeopathic Medicine Research Group, an organization formed by the European Union to determine the effectiveness of homeopathy, concluded that homeopathy was more effective than a placebo... and the probability was only 0.027% that this result might be due to chance! Remarkably, a group sceptical toward homeopathy had assisted in the study's design.
In the February 9, 1991 issue of the British Medical Journal, an analysis by two Dutch researchers asked to assess the efficacy of various forms of alternative medicine, reported that although initially they had been sceptics as to homeopathy and alternative medicine in general, "The amount of positive results came as a surprise to us... The evidence presented in this review would probably be sufficient for establishing homeopathy as a regular treatment for certain indications."
Another, more recent, study stated “Compared with placebo, homeopathy provoked a clear, significant, and clinically relevant improvement in nasal inspiratory peak flow, similar to that found with topical steroids.” British medical Journal August 19th 2000.
Today, as we learn more and become more sensitive to the relationships between all living things, homeopathy has rightfully attracted the interest of a great many intelligent, inquisitive and perceptive minds within both the lay and the medical community.
When Dr. Hahnemann discovered Homeopathy more than 2 centuries ago, science was not the way we see it today. Modern Science - be it physics, chemistry, biology, or medicine - itself was in a stage of relative infancy. At that time science was still trying to figure out the basis of matter. The whole focus was on the physical state, with very limited work on the energy related phenomena. Keeping in his mind the state of science at that time, Hahnemann had said that it would be difficult to find the physical basis of Homeopathy as Homeopathy medicines deal with energy and not with matter. They are dynamic in nature. He said that ultimately what matters is curing the sick person, and knowing or not knowing the physical basis would not affect that.
Hahnemann was right according to his times. He did not know how science would develop in the coming centuries. And during those years developing the basics of his new system of medicine was of greater importance for him. But this inability of Homeopaths to explain the working method of homeopathic medicine proved a bane for them when allopathic medicine took the pseudo-scientific attire by borrowing information from other sciences. Allopathic medicines of that time (like blood letting, leeching, crude mercury etc) were less effective, more harmful and yet they became more scientific by covering their loop-holes with the pseudo-scientific medical jargon of anatomy and physiology.
All sciences have one thing in common - they are all based on some definite laws - some basics which remain unchanged. And here we had in allopathy, a so called scientific system of medicine, with no laws to treat the sick. Allopathic medicine was based purely on hypothesis coming out of other fields of science like physics, chemistry, anatomy, and physiology. With changing times, new hypothesis came and allopaths kept changing their treatment modalities accordingly. I do not say that the methods of treatment should not improve with time. But there must be some underlying guiding principals to support the treatment methods. And do not think Homeopathy is stuck in a rut. It's just that Homeopathy, like a proper science, follows certain principles, which remain unchanged even after two centuries.
Now in the current scenario, nearly all the so-called allopathic wonder-drugs are failing, bacteria are becoming resistant, viruses still elude them, diseases are occurring in spite of vaccinations, long-term side-effects of allopathic drugs are being realized, Homeopathy is again growing in leaps and bounds. There are more than hundred thousand practitioners worldwide. There are hundreds of homeopathic medical colleges, dozens of pharmacies, many governments have given it a legal status at par with allopathy, many universities are opening special seats for Homeopathy, plus there are million of patients world over who are taking homeopathic treatment and have benefited from it. Now again allopathic organizations are trying to play there scientific card to harm Homeopathy.
So to provide the status that is due to Homeopathy, proper scientific research and understanding of the mechanisms behind it has become a must. Curing a patient still remains our primary goal, but if we need to make this system accessible to everyone, then we need to do a lot more. Also I personally believe, where there is an 'effect', there is a 'cause' and there is a 'mechanism'. There have been many clinical studies which have clearly shown that homeopathic medicines do have an effect. Plus any homeopath and most of the patients who take homeopathic treatment can personally vouch for that. So since there is an effect, finding the cause and mechanism should not be very difficult.
With increasing understanding of energy physics, improving sensitivity of machines, and newer concepts coming into play, the research work in Homeopathy has taken a new direction. Already there has been a lot of research with nuclear magnetic resonance, memory of water, chaos theory, electrical resistance etc. Even some mathematical theories for the action of homeopathic medicines have been proposed. And some of this research work is already bearing fruits. Like some of the NMR research has shown that it is possible to differentiate homeopathic medicines from pure alcohol and water, because there spectroscopic pattern is different. It is possible to differentiate one medicine from other and one potency from other. It has also been shown that if homeopathic medicines are exposed to heat greater than 60 degrees centigrade or to a strong electromagnetic field, then the spectroscopic pattern loses its characteristics.
But still the research is in a very rudimentary state. There is a paucity of funds and facilities. And the energy physics itself is in an evolving phase. Simply because the current science cannot explain something does not make it unscientific. There was a time when science said that electrons were matter, then they said it is energy, and now they say its both. There was a time when science said that the solar system revolves around the earth. There was a time when Harvey was hounded for discovering the circulation of blood. But if you think its too historical then here are some more facts. Till very recently science said that speed of the light is the ultimate speed and nothing can travel faster than that. Now scientists have discovered some particles which travel at speed greater than that of light.
I have enumerated all these examples just to make you understand that science itself remains in a state of constant flux. What it calls unscientific today may becomes scientific tomorrow because the science itself evolves with time. Science is not definite. And so are its conclusions. The current science may not be fully able to explain the mechanism behind Homeopathy, but sooner or later this puzzle will get solved. The pieces have started to come together and I hope soon they all will fall in the right place. Let us be patient and let us be hopeful.
Websites having information on the scientific research on the physical basis of Homeopathy.
hem.passagen.se/thebee/SCIENCE/Potprobl.htm
www.high-dilutions.net/
www.karpouzelis.sto.gr/
www.digibio.com/
www.biolumanetics.net/
www.boiron.com/en/htm/service/plan.htm
www.homeopathic.com/
www.boiron.com/en/htm/04-politique/fondamentale.htm
www.boiron.com/en/htm/04-politique/fondamentale_01.htm
www.boiron.com/en/htm/04-politique/fondamentale_03.htm
In Homeopathy ("homeo-" means "similar"), each of us is a total. complete individual, no aspect of which can be separated from any other. To be effective, any valid therapy must be based on a deep understanding of and respect for the uniqueness of each individual. In Homeopathy each patient is evaluated as a whole person- mental, emotional and physical. The prescribing remedy is based on the unique patterns found on all three levels. This means that each person is given a remedy that will fit their constitution. Ten people with macular degeneration might receive ten different homeopathic remedies.
Homeopathy has been carefully researched and its effectiveness has been reported in the following well respected national medical journals: Jacobs J, Treatment of Acute Childhood Diarrhoea with Homeopathic Medication. Paediatrics 1994; 93:719-7255, Reilly DT , Is Homeopathy a Placebo Response? Lancet 1986; Oct: 881-886 and Kleijnen J, Clinical Trails of Homeopathy. British Medical Journal 1991; 302: 315-323.
Homeopathy is widely practiced in Europe, South America and India. Between 32 and 35% of French, English and German Physicians utilize Homeopathy.
Does Homeopathy Work?
Homeopathy has a two hundred year track record of curing illness. Homeopathy received widespread public attention through its effectiveness during epidemics of cholera in the 19th century. During the great influenza epidemic of the 1920's, homeopathic hospitals reported low death rates, while hospitals employing conventional medicine reported death rates of 20% to 30%.
Since the late '40's, double blind trials testing homeopathy on various medical conditions have led to mixed results. Some are claimed to support the use of homeopathy. In other cases, this method of evaluation proved itself incapable of documenting the success of homeopathic cures.
In a report published in the September 20, 1997 issue of Lancet, Dr. Wayne Jonas, head of the Office of Alternative medicine, and Dr. Klaus Linde, concluded that, when the evidence of the 89 studies of homeopathy judged to be of good quality was pooled, homeopathy was deemed to be 2.45 times more effective than placebo.
In 1996, an unpublished study from the Homeopathic Medicine Research Group, an organization formed by the European Union to determine the effectiveness of homeopathy, concluded that homeopathy was more effective than a placebo... and the probability was only 0.027% that this result might be due to chance! Remarkably, a group sceptical toward homeopathy had assisted in the study's design.
In the February 9, 1991 issue of the British Medical Journal, an analysis by two Dutch researchers asked to assess the efficacy of various forms of alternative medicine, reported that although initially they had been sceptics as to homeopathy and alternative medicine in general, "The amount of positive results came as a surprise to us... The evidence presented in this review would probably be sufficient for establishing homeopathy as a regular treatment for certain indications."
Another, more recent, study stated “Compared with placebo, homeopathy provoked a clear, significant, and clinically relevant improvement in nasal inspiratory peak flow, similar to that found with topical steroids.” British medical Journal August 19th 2000.
Today, as we learn more and become more sensitive to the relationships between all living things, homeopathy has rightfully attracted the interest of a great many intelligent, inquisitive and perceptive minds within both the lay and the medical community.
When Dr. Hahnemann discovered Homeopathy more than 2 centuries ago, science was not the way we see it today. Modern Science - be it physics, chemistry, biology, or medicine - itself was in a stage of relative infancy. At that time science was still trying to figure out the basis of matter. The whole focus was on the physical state, with very limited work on the energy related phenomena. Keeping in his mind the state of science at that time, Hahnemann had said that it would be difficult to find the physical basis of Homeopathy as Homeopathy medicines deal with energy and not with matter. They are dynamic in nature. He said that ultimately what matters is curing the sick person, and knowing or not knowing the physical basis would not affect that.
Hahnemann was right according to his times. He did not know how science would develop in the coming centuries. And during those years developing the basics of his new system of medicine was of greater importance for him. But this inability of Homeopaths to explain the working method of homeopathic medicine proved a bane for them when allopathic medicine took the pseudo-scientific attire by borrowing information from other sciences. Allopathic medicines of that time (like blood letting, leeching, crude mercury etc) were less effective, more harmful and yet they became more scientific by covering their loop-holes with the pseudo-scientific medical jargon of anatomy and physiology.
All sciences have one thing in common - they are all based on some definite laws - some basics which remain unchanged. And here we had in allopathy, a so called scientific system of medicine, with no laws to treat the sick. Allopathic medicine was based purely on hypothesis coming out of other fields of science like physics, chemistry, anatomy, and physiology. With changing times, new hypothesis came and allopaths kept changing their treatment modalities accordingly. I do not say that the methods of treatment should not improve with time. But there must be some underlying guiding principals to support the treatment methods. And do not think Homeopathy is stuck in a rut. It's just that Homeopathy, like a proper science, follows certain principles, which remain unchanged even after two centuries.
Now in the current scenario, nearly all the so-called allopathic wonder-drugs are failing, bacteria are becoming resistant, viruses still elude them, diseases are occurring in spite of vaccinations, long-term side-effects of allopathic drugs are being realized, Homeopathy is again growing in leaps and bounds. There are more than hundred thousand practitioners worldwide. There are hundreds of homeopathic medical colleges, dozens of pharmacies, many governments have given it a legal status at par with allopathy, many universities are opening special seats for Homeopathy, plus there are million of patients world over who are taking homeopathic treatment and have benefited from it. Now again allopathic organizations are trying to play there scientific card to harm Homeopathy.
So to provide the status that is due to Homeopathy, proper scientific research and understanding of the mechanisms behind it has become a must. Curing a patient still remains our primary goal, but if we need to make this system accessible to everyone, then we need to do a lot more. Also I personally believe, where there is an 'effect', there is a 'cause' and there is a 'mechanism'. There have been many clinical studies which have clearly shown that homeopathic medicines do have an effect. Plus any homeopath and most of the patients who take homeopathic treatment can personally vouch for that. So since there is an effect, finding the cause and mechanism should not be very difficult.
With increasing understanding of energy physics, improving sensitivity of machines, and newer concepts coming into play, the research work in Homeopathy has taken a new direction. Already there has been a lot of research with nuclear magnetic resonance, memory of water, chaos theory, electrical resistance etc. Even some mathematical theories for the action of homeopathic medicines have been proposed. And some of this research work is already bearing fruits. Like some of the NMR research has shown that it is possible to differentiate homeopathic medicines from pure alcohol and water, because there spectroscopic pattern is different. It is possible to differentiate one medicine from other and one potency from other. It has also been shown that if homeopathic medicines are exposed to heat greater than 60 degrees centigrade or to a strong electromagnetic field, then the spectroscopic pattern loses its characteristics.
But still the research is in a very rudimentary state. There is a paucity of funds and facilities. And the energy physics itself is in an evolving phase. Simply because the current science cannot explain something does not make it unscientific. There was a time when science said that electrons were matter, then they said it is energy, and now they say its both. There was a time when science said that the solar system revolves around the earth. There was a time when Harvey was hounded for discovering the circulation of blood. But if you think its too historical then here are some more facts. Till very recently science said that speed of the light is the ultimate speed and nothing can travel faster than that. Now scientists have discovered some particles which travel at speed greater than that of light.
I have enumerated all these examples just to make you understand that science itself remains in a state of constant flux. What it calls unscientific today may becomes scientific tomorrow because the science itself evolves with time. Science is not definite. And so are its conclusions. The current science may not be fully able to explain the mechanism behind Homeopathy, but sooner or later this puzzle will get solved. The pieces have started to come together and I hope soon they all will fall in the right place. Let us be patient and let us be hopeful.
Websites having information on the scientific research on the physical basis of Homeopathy.
hem.passagen.se/thebee/SCIENCE/Potprobl.htm
www.high-dilutions.net/
www.karpouzelis.sto.gr/
www.digibio.com/
www.biolumanetics.net/
www.boiron.com/en/htm/service/plan.htm
www.homeopathic.com/
www.boiron.com/en/htm/04-politique/fondamentale.htm
www.boiron.com/en/htm/04-politique/fondamentale_01.htm
www.boiron.com/en/htm/04-politique/fondamentale_03.htm