An article published in this week’s issue of the medical journal, Lancet has questioned the efficacy of homeopathic remedies and has equated their clinical effects to nothing better than dummy drugs or placebos.
Dr. Matthias Egger, from the University of Berne in Switzerland, and associates scoured 19 electronic databases to find scientific trials of homeopathy and compared these to scientific trials of conventional medicine or allopathy.
The researchers selected 110 randomized placebo-controlled trials of homeopathy and compared them with 110 conventional-medicine trials. Included in these trails were commonly encountered disease conditions like asthma, allergies and muscular problems. The researchers found that in small-scale trials, homeopathy proved beneficial to the patients, but failed to show any significant effect in larger trials. "Good large studies of homeopathy do not show a difference between the placebo and the homeopathic remedy, whereas in the case of conventional medicines you still see an effect," said Professor Egger. He added that the apparent beneficial effects are directly linked with the patients' belief that he/she would be cured. The fact that the doctor spends a lot of time with the patient was also a factor in the whole scenario, "It has nothing to do with what is in the little white pill," Egger commented.
However, Dr Peter Fisher, clinical director of the NHS Royal London Homeopathic Hospital said that these results were not conclusive, "They say the study looked at 110 homeopathic trials and 110 with conventional medicine, but their conclusions are based on just eight homeopathic trials and six of conventional medicines. This is a tiny sample. It is very partial." The Lancet editorial calls upon doctors to be honest with their patients, "Now doctors need to be bold and honest with their patients about homeopathy's lack of benefit, and with themselves about the failings of modern medicine to address patients' needs for personalized care."
Homeopathy is a branch of alternative medicine that is based on the premise of "like cures like." In recent years, this therapy has gained credence as many patients have reported a cure for illnesses that were regarded as chronic. Allopathic practitioners have always maintained that homeopathy is a illusion-based treatment.
