Homeopathy – Is it a safer and effective alternative?

By Dr. Ananya Mandal, MDApr 20 2010

Scene in the UK

Studies have shown that nearly 45% Britons rely on Homeopathy, a branch of medicine that has been doubted by many and loved by an equal number. Many scientists have believed that there is virtually no medicine or active ingredient after it is subjected to numerous dilutions. The sugar globules offered to the patients are said to have a placebo effect on patients. A placebo is a dummy medication that plays on a person’s psyche more than on his body.

What is Homeopathy?

Homeopathy has enjoyed its popularity since 1800s after its discovery by Samuel Hahnemann (1755-1843), a German physician disillusioned with the medical practice of the time. It was popular in both United States and Europe and celebrities and royalty who have approved of it lend it some credibility to the common population. Many believe that it has more than placebo effect since it is effective in children, babies and pets where the psyche cannot have been important enough for cure or relief.

There is a huge range of illnesses that are claimed to be cured with Homeopathy. Some of these include, allergies like eczema, asthma etc. arthritis, back pain, gastric disorders like heart burn, irritable bowel syndrome, nausea, etc., psychiatric disorders like depression, insomnia, phobias, etc., gynecological and sexual problems, skin problems like pigmentation, hair loss, insect bites, warts etc. and obesity. The principles of homeopathy state that these medicines become more effective the more they are diluted.

Doubts regarding efficacy

In England homeopathy comes under the purview of National Health Scheme (NHS). All the attention to this age old system of therapy was due to the observance of the World Homeopathy Awareness Week, last week. End of last month the British Science and Technology Select Committee (part of the United Kingdom's Parliament) released the results of a comprehensive examination of whether homeopathy has any medical or scientific validity.

The report stated, “The Committee concluded—given that the existing scientific literature showed no good evidence of efficacy—that further clinical trials of homeopathy could not be justified.... The Committee carried out an evidence check to test if the Government’s policies on homeopathy were based on sound evidence. The Committee found a mismatch between the evidence and policy.... The Government acknowledges there is no evidence that homeopathy works beyond the placebo effect (where a patient gets better because of their belief in the treatment). The Committee concurred with the Government that the evidence base shows that homeopathy is not efficacious and that explanations for why homeopathy would work are scientifically implausible.... Given that the existing scientific literature showed no good evidence of efficacy, further clinical trials of homeopathy could not be justified.”

Homeopathy experts have also revealed that over the last two centuries there has been no scientifically conducted trial of any of these medicines.

Prof Edzard Ernst, Director of Complementary Medicine at the University of Exeter, UK however writes that about 150 controlled clinical trials have been published on homeopathy. But there have been no conclusive results to show that these medicines are effective. He searched the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews January this year for reviews that had the term "homeopathy" in their title, abstract or keywords. Of the six articles that met the inclusion criteria, none provided compelling evidence for the effectiveness of homeopathic remedies. “Homeopaths have argued that systematic reviews that fail to generate positive conclusions about homeopathy are biased…However, as most of the reviews I appraised were authored by homeopaths, it seems unlikely that they were biased against homeopathy. In fact, one might argue that they were biased in favor of homeopathy.…For instance, one reviewer [not a Cochrane author] deliberately set out to select only the positive evidence and omit all negative evidence…A more rational explanation would be that the positive outcomes of observational studies are caused by the non-specific aspects of homeopathic treatments, while the controlled trials demonstrate that homeopathic remedies are placebos,” Prof Ernst said. There has been a recent review in the Medical Journal of Australia, a publication of Australian Medical Association refuting claims of efficacy of homeopathy.