Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic
Arthur C Clarke
Research is important to the advancement of homeopathy and the improvement of each homeopath's daily practice.
Basic Research
Recent advances in fundamental research are pointing to the day when the mechanism of action of the diluted and succussed medicines used by homeopaths will be identified. The 'memory of water' theory which was so fiercely attacked by the orthodox scientific and medical establishmet when it was first put forward by Jacques Benveniste at the end of the 1980s has once again been raised as an explanation for the action of potentised medicines by recent experiments in the field of inflammation research.
Clinical Research
Many hundreds of clinical trials have been carried out into homeopathic treatment. The results of these trials vary from the positive to the negative. Some high quality Random Controlled Trials (RCTs) have produced significant positive results showing homeopathic treatment having an effect that is not explicable by mere placebo effect. Other trials have proved negative in their results. Across the board the methodological quality of the trials has varied from high to poor with the overall average quality being poor.
ECCH has produced a document that gives an overview of the positive trials and surveys that have been published. For a copy click here:
positive homeopathy research and surveys march 2007.pdf
European Network for Homeopathy Research (ENHR)
ECCH coordinates a networking email list of those involved in or interested in research into all aspects of homeopathy.
The main purpose of the list is exchange of information on newly
published research and on ongoing research, calls for partners in new
projects, communicate information on research related events etc.
If anyone reading this would like to join the network please email Petter Viksveen: homeopat@email.com
A Useful Publication on the Scientific Basis for Homeopathy
ECCH
is pleased to bring to your attention a useful publication on the
scientific basis of homeopathy published by an Italian homeopathic
pharmaceutical company called Guna. Despite the impression they are not
particularly 'classical' in their approach to homeopathy as a company,
the contents of the document would appear nonetheless to be useful. It
can be downloaded as a pdf from the following address:
http://www.guna.it/eng/ricerca/Homeopathy%20the%20scientific%20proofs%20of%20efficacy.pdf
Appropriate Methodology
One of the things that has hindered progress in clinical trials of homeopathy has been the application of the conventional 'one medicine to one disease' approach to what is in effect an individualised approach to patient treatment. At long last the message is getting through and this year a positive trial has been published in the journal Rheumatology using an individualised approach to the treatment of fybromyalgia.
The objective of the trial was To assess the efficacy of individualized classical homeopathy in the treatment of fibromyalgia.
Following the trial the paper contained the follwoing conclusion Using a broad selection of remedies and the flexible LM dose (1/50 000 dilution factor) series, the present study demonstrated that individualized homeopathy is significantly better than placebo in lessening tender point pain and improving the quality of life and global health of persons with fibromyalgia.
Reference: Rheumatology 2004; 43: 577-582
Improved clinical status in fibromyalgia patients treated with individualized homeopathic remedies versus placebo I. R. Bell1,2,3,4,6,8, D. A. Lewis, II9, A. J. Brooks3, G. E. Schwartz3,5,6, S. E. Lewis9, B. T. Walsh4 and C. M. Baldwin3,4,7,8
For a full abstract and access to the full paper of this trial please follow the following link to the journal web-site:
http://rheumatology.oupjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/43/5/577
Research Resources Online
Overview website: Knol –
Scientific research in homeopathy
http://drnancymalik.wordpress.com/article/scientific-research-in-homeopathy/
Direct
links to several articles in various journals, many of them as full text.
American Medical College of
Homeopathy http://www.amcofh.org/index.html
Some
articles (basic research) and some info.
Annals of
Internal Medicine www.annals.org/cgi/search?fulltext=homeopathy
Includes research on homeopathy, 85 titles, mostly on
subscription, some free.
Biomed Central www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6882/1/12
An article on the quality of homeopathy research.
BMC
Complementary and Alternative Medicine www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6882
Research on CAM (also when searching for homeopathy),
summaries free of charge, some full articles available, others may be ordered.
British
Homeopathic Library http://hominform.soutron.com
Database including reference to a large number of
homeopathy articles which are mostly not found in ‘conventional’ databases, but
which are published in homeopathy journals.
British Medical
Journal http://bmj.bmjjournals.com Includes
articles on homeopathy research.
Search for ‘homeopathy’, ‘homoeopathy’. May also use *
CAM base http://cambase.dmz.uni-wh.de/opencam/index_en.html
Over 1000 articles on research on homeopathy, some
with summaries. Full articles must be ordered.
CAM Quest run by
Carstens Stiftung at http://www.cam-quest.org/en/
German site with optional English text. Good
homeopathy/CAM research site.
Searches must be carried out, but full articles are
not available.
Carstens
Stiftung http://www.carstens-stiftung.de/eng/index.html
(English version)
Carstens Stiftung veterinary
database http://www.carstens-stiftung.de/clinresvet/index.php
Complementary
and Alternative Medicine Library and Information Service (CAMLIS)
http://www.cam.nhs.uk
Library with online database
A wide range of journals may be accessed, most of them
as paper versions, but about 50 online.
This is available for members only or by visiting the
London office.
Annual fee £6 – £27, min. 50 member organisations.
Complementary
Health Practice Review http://chp.sagepub.com/
Searchable database, abstracts available, full
articles must be purchased.
Complementary
Therapies in Clinical Practice
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/17443881
About 80 titles on homeopathy may be found, abstracts
available, full articles must be purchased.
Complementary
Therapies in Medicine
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/09652299
Over 300 titles on homeopathy may be found, abstracts
available, full articles must be purchased.
Complementary
Therapies in Nursing and Midwifery
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/13536117
This journal has been continued as Complementary
Therapies in Clinical Practice.
About 200 titles on homeopathy may be found, abstracts
available, full articles must be purchased.
Forschung und Homöopathie http://www.jhofaecker.de/forschung/
English
and German, full text articles, inteviews, etc.
Formal Case
Study (FCS) – a potential method for assessing single cases
http://www.homeopathy.org/research/studies/Thompson.pdf
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2288/4/4/abstract
Groupe
International de Recherche sur l'Infinitésimal www.giriweb.com
French website with research on homeopathy. A limited
number of articles may be downloaded.
Includes links to other websites containing homeopathy
research.
H.Blog: Homöopathie &
Forschung http://www.psychophysik.com/h-blog/ German site
Homeopathic
Educational Services E-book on homeopathy research, apr. 60 USD
https://www.homeopathic.com/cms-global/shoppingcart/ViewProduct.do?productId=227
Homeopathy http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/14754916
The journal ’Homeopathy’, former ’British Homeopathic
Journal’.
Main focus on homeopathy research. The only homeopathy
journal accessible through Pubmed.
Abstacts available for many articles, most full
versions must be purchased.
Homeopathy
Research Institute http://homeoinst.org/database
This website gives access to a new database
established in cooperation with the British Homeopathic Association. Provides
titles of RCTs.
HomBRex
Database http://www.carstens-stiftung.de/hombrex/index.php
The Carstens Stiftung
database. May
search for article titles, membership for full access.
Informationen zur Homöopathie http://www.informationen-zur-homoeopathie.de/
German
site with news, interviews, etc.
Interhomeopathy www.interhomeopathy.org Free online
journal, some articles on research.
International
Journal of High Dilution Research
http://www.feg.unesp.br/~ojs/index.php/ijhdr/index
(Archive)
Membership free, full access to research articles.
Iris Bell on homeopathy and
research –
video presentation 6 min
http://amcofh.org/videos/ResearchTalkIris.mov
PubMed/MEDLINE (National
Library of Medicine)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Or easier to remember www.pubmed.com
Major medical research website, includes research on
homeopathy.
Some articles with abstracts and some full articles
available.
PubMed searches journals in the MEDLINE database +
other journals.
The world’s largest library of health sciences, based
at the US National Institute of Health.
It links 2 700 journals and over 11 million citations.
National
Institutes of Health (NIH, USA) http://nccam.nih.gov/health/providers/
New Scientist www.newscientist.com A lot of articles critical to
homeopathy.
Official Indian
research centre www.ccrhindia.org
Information on homeopathy in general and some
homeopathy research.
NAFKAM www.nafkam.no NIFAB www.nifab.no
Norwegian national CAM research and information centres,
University of Tromsoe. Publicly funded.
NCCAM
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
http://nccam.nih.gov/health/homeopathy/
Website run by the US National
Institutes of Health. Limited info on homeopathy research.
National Centre
for Homeopathy http://www.nationalcenterforhomeopathy.org/articles-research
A regularly updated website with some summaries on
research on homeopathy.
New Zealand CAM site – Complementary and
Alternative Medicine www.cam.org.nz
Some CAM research, four homeopathy reviews. Funded by
NZ Government.
Open
PDF http://openpdf.com/ebook/homoeopathy-pdf.html
Some pdf files on homeopathy
research freely available.
Quantec – homeopathic dilutions work
http://www.quantec.ch/english/biocommunication/biocommunication_homeopathy_quantec.html
The Research
Council for Complementary Medicine www.rccm.org.uk
CAM research in general. Website currently not
functioning well (many outdated links).
Townsend Letter www.townsendletter.com Research on
CAM in general.
Vifab www.vifab.dk
Danish publicly funded CAM research organisation, links to Cochrane reviews.
Provings
www.provings.info/en/index.html Developed by
Jörg Wichman.
Search function free. Some proving info free, other accessible by
subscription 25 Euro / annum.
http://www.hominf.org/proving.htm
23 remedies, detailed information
http://www.provings.com/ App. 1200
provings, some with info, others with email contact
http://www.homeopathyhome.com/reference/provings.shtml
Mostly not available or available through other websites
http://www.dynamis.edu/new/submit.htm Search for
specific provings
http://www.wholehealthnow.com/books/homeopathy-provings.html Proving literature
http://www.patriciahatherly.com/proving.html Limited number of
provings, with info
http://www.amcofh.org/Research/Provings.html Limited number of
provings, some with info
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