Does homeopathy work ? Article by Paul GlasZiou says NO

[shaikh]

Paul Glasziou: Still no evidence for homeopathy



When the National Health and Medical Research Council report on homeopathy concluded that “There was no reliable evidence from research in humans that homeopathy was effective for treating the range of health conditions considered” few in conventional medicine were surprised, but the homeopathy community were outraged. As chair of the working party which produced the report I was simply relieved that the arduous journey of sifting and synthesising the evidence was at an end.

I had begun the journey with an “I don’t know” attitude, curious about whether this unlikely treatment could ever work. Still, who would have believed that bacteria caused peptic ulcers, or that vaccines for cancers would become routine. So just maybe . . . but I lost interest after looking at the 57 systematic reviews (on 68 conditions), which contained 176 individual studies, and finding no discernible convincing effects beyond placebo.

Of course, with 176 trials we would expect a few p-values under 5% just by chance: 1/20 of 176 is about 9, which luck would class as “statistically significant.” So we relied on replication and systematic reviews to avoid such false positives. The NHMRC did not redo all 63 systematic reviews (which at say $50,000 each would have cost over $3M), but appraised the existing reviews and used them as a window on the body of evidence. Though that body was mixed in size and quality, no clear signal of effectiveness emerged from the higher quality studies.

One surprise to me was the range of conditions that homeopathy had been evaluated in, including rheumatoid arthritis, radiodermatitis, stomatitis (inflammation of the mouth) due to chemotherapy, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. What subsequently shocked me more was that organizations promote homeopathy for infectious conditions, such as AIDS in Africa or malaria. Given the current effective treatments, that seems a very dubious activity, and is another example that justifies the NHMRC statement that “People who choose homeopathy may put their health at risk if they reject or delay treatments for which there is good evidence for safety and effectiveness.”

Unsurprisingly, there has been considerable pushback from those who use or sell homeopathic remedies. Indeed, the International Council for Homeopathy is currently leading a fundraising effort: not to fund better research, but to attack the NHMRC document. I can well understand why Samuel Hahnemann—the founder of homeopathy—was dissatisfied with the state of 18th century medicine’s practices, such as blood-letting and purging, and tried to find a better alternative. But I would guess he would be disappointed by the collective failure of homeopathy to carry on his innovative investigations, but instead continue to pursue a therapeutic dead-end.

Competing interests: While I chaired the NHMRC report on homeopathy, the contents of this blog are my own thoughts, and not those of the NHMRC or other committee members.

Paul Glasziou is professor of evidence based medicine at Bond University and a part time general practitioner.

In the west if you are a regular allopathic medical doctor only then you can administer homeopathic medicines though lately pharmacists and nurses are being given to prescribe drugs .

source http://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2016/02/16/paul-glasziou-still-no-evidence-for-homeopathy/

Another source : Ranjeet Singh phyician ( Did homeopathy , but was an allopathic doctor)

http://www.homeorizon.com/homeopathic-articles/online-homeopathic-biographies/first-indian-homeopath

 

[Mr Justice]

Big Pharma are always after killing any alternate medicines available on the planet, whether homeopathy, traditional Chinese, or Hikmat.

One must ask the researcher please describe the 'side effects' theory of modern pharma?

 

[pukhtun]

big pharma or not but homeopathy is a big hoax......it is a joke........

Big Pharma are always after killing any alternate medicines available on the planet, whether homeopathy, traditional Chinese, or Hikmat.

One must ask the researcher please describe the 'side effects' theory of modern pharma?

 

[Believer12]

میرے نزدیک ہومیوپیٹھی نہ صرف کام کرتی ہے بلکہ ایسی امراض جنکے مریض ڈاکٹرز سے لاعلاج ہونے کا سندیسہ لے کر مرنے کا انتظار کر رہے ہوتے ہیں ٹھیک ہوکراپنے گھروں کو گئے ہیں اور نارمل زندگی گزار رہے ہیں، ٹیسٹ کروانے پر انکے ڈاکٹرز نے بھی حیرت کا اظہار کیا کہ خطرناک مرض حیرت انگیز طور پر جسم سے ختم ہوچکی تھی
میں دو تین مثالوں کا ذکر کروں گا جو میری خود کی نظر میں آئیں، ایک دوست نے بتایا کہ ایک اٹھارہ سالہ لڑکا کینسر سے مرنے والا ہے، ڈاکترز نے جواب دے دیا ہے اور اس کے پورے جسم پر آبلے ہیں جو پھٹ کر انتہای تکلیف کا باعث بنتے ہیں، لڑکے کو ٹیوبز میں ہوا بھر کے لٹایا جاتا ہے کیونکہ وہ بستییر پر لیٹ بھی نہیں سکتا،بھوک نہ لگنے کی وجہ سے انتہای کمزور ہوچکا ہے
میں نے ایک واقف ڈاکتر کو علامات بتا کرفورا ہومیوپیتھک دوای بھجوای کچھ دنوں کے بعد میں بھول گیا مگر اس لڑکے کے گھر والے مجھے ڈھوندھتے پھر رہے تھے کہ لڑکے کی درد کم ہوگئی ہے اور اس نے کھانا بھی کھانا شروع کردیا ہے، میں نے اسے مزید دوای بنوا کر بھیج دی تو وہ ٹھیک ہوگیا
ایک دوست کو یورک ایسڈ کی وجہ سے چلنا بھی مشکل تھا، وزن بڑھ رہا تھا، اس کو میں نے ایک دوای بربرس دو مزید دوائیوں کے ساتھ بھجوای الحمدللہ وہ بھی اب ٹھیک ہے
ہمارے گھر میں بچوں کو ایلوپیتھک دوای نہیں دی جاتی اور ہومیو سے علاج کیا جاتا ہے مین یہ بھی مانتا ہوں کہ ہومیوپیتھک علاج میں ابھی بہت ریسرچ ہونے والی ہے، مختلف کمپنیاں اب اس پر ریسرچ کروانے لگ گئی ہیں امید ہے کہ ایکدن یہ بہت ہی موثر اور طاقتور طریق علاج بن کر سامنے آجاے گی جس سے غریب لوگوں کی مہنگی دوائیوں اور ہوس پرست ڈاکٹروں سے جان چھوٹ جاے گی

 

[Eyeaan]

[h=2]Homeopathy should be condemned and banned. Their claims are impossible and is simply a fraud.
A few years ago they tried to justify the claims based on 'the water memory' however the further hydrodynamics research showed that these claims (by fluid mechanics researchers and nothing to do with homeopathy) were just erroneous.
Learn about the fundamental claim of homeopathy to evaluate that how it is impossible on the basis of physics. Homeopathy dudes make wide usage (but do not tell) of other medicine but that does not make then Homeopathy. Homeopathy dudes are to cure by the diluted elements.
Chemistry of water/elements is well known and the claims that we are still unable to find the mechanism and somehow homeopathy is yet unresolved/mystery of science is just does not hold. Homeopathy guys are keen to add this one in the unresolved mysteries of science.

However it is true that the placebo effects pose a true mystery/enigma in science and medicine and humble us that we are still far away from the many truths of the nature.[/h][h=2]The claimed success rate of homeopathy do not exceed even the placebo effects.[/h]

 

[Eyeaan]

Please don't compare homeopathy with the other so called alternative medicine.
Yunani or folk/herb medicine etc. are true medicine practices. There may be exaggerated claim but still those are the cures and demand funds/research to explore further. There were hopes for acupuncture in the initial years and Chinese invested a lot however the therapy proved good (and no very very effective) only in some cases of stress and pain. I assume the Chinese have given up and now Acupuncture survives more as a fashion in the West and of course as home therapy in china.
For homeopathy, there are thousands of anecdotal claims however, those are never proved under the controlled experiments by the independent scientist.

 

[Vitamin_C]

 

[aazad.mubassir]

کیا اوسلومیں بھی کوئ مستند ہومیو پیتھک ڈاکٹر دستیاب ہے

میرے نزدیک ہومیوپیٹھی نہ صرف کام کرتی ہے بلکہ ایسی امراض جنکے مریض ڈاکٹرز سے لاعلاج ہونے کا سندیسہ لے کر مرنے کا انتظار کر رہے ہوتے ہیں ٹھیک ہوکراپنے گھروں کو گئے ہیں اور نارمل زندگی گزار رہے ہیں، ٹیسٹ کروانے پر انکے ڈاکٹرز نے بھی حیرت کا اظہار کیا کہ خطرناک مرض حیرت انگیز طور پر جسم سے ختم ہوچکی تھی
میں دو تین مثالوں کا ذکر کروں گا جو میری خود کی نظر میں آئیں، ایک دوست نے بتایا کہ ایک اٹھارہ سالہ لڑکا کینسر سے مرنے والا ہے، ڈاکترز نے جواب دے دیا ہے اور اس کے پورے جسم پر آبلے ہیں جو پھٹ کر انتہای تکلیف کا باعث بنتے ہیں، لڑکے کو ٹیوبز میں ہوا بھر کے لٹایا جاتا ہے کیونکہ وہ بستییر پر لیٹ بھی نہیں سکتا،بھوک نہ لگنے کی وجہ سے انتہای کمزور ہوچکا ہے
میں نے ایک واقف ڈاکتر کو علامات بتا کرفورا ہومیوپیتھک دوای بھجوای کچھ دنوں کے بعد میں بھول گیا مگر اس لڑکے کے گھر والے مجھے ڈھوندھتے پھر رہے تھے کہ لڑکے کی درد کم ہوگئی ہے اور اس نے کھانا بھی کھانا شروع کردیا ہے، میں نے اسے مزید دوای بنوا کر بھیج دی تو وہ ٹھیک ہوگیا
ایک دوست کو یورک ایسڈ کی وجہ سے چلنا بھی مشکل تھا، وزن بڑھ رہا تھا، اس کو میں نے ایک دوای بربرس دو مزید دوائیوں کے ساتھ بھجوای الحمدللہ وہ بھی اب ٹھیک ہے
ہمارے گھر میں بچوں کو ایلوپیتھک دوای نہیں دی جاتی اور ہومیو سے علاج کیا جاتا ہے مین یہ بھی مانتا ہوں کہ ہومیوپیتھک علاج میں ابھی بہت ریسرچ ہونے والی ہے، مختلف کمپنیاں اب اس پر ریسرچ کروانے لگ گئی ہیں امید ہے کہ ایکدن یہ بہت ہی موثر اور طاقتور طریق علاج بن کر سامنے آجاے گی جس سے غریب لوگوں کی مہنگی دوائیوں اور ہوس پرست ڈاکٹروں سے جان چھوٹ جاے گی

 

[Believer12]

کیا اوسلومیں بھی کوئ مستند ہومیو پیتھک ڈاکٹر دستیاب ہے

برادر اوسلو میں ابھی زیادہ لوگ نہیں جو اس کو جانتے ہوں اگر آپ کا کوی واقف ڈاکٹر پاکستان میں ہے تو اس سے علامات بتا کر منگوا لیں
ہاں البتہ اوسلو میں ایک دو بندے اپنے طور پر دوا دے دیتے ہیں

 

[Believer12]

Please don't compare homeopathy with the other so called alternative medicine.
Yunani or folk/herb medicine etc. are true medicine practices. There may be exaggerated claim but still those are the cures and demand funds/research to explore further. There were hopes for acupuncture in the initial years and Chinese invested a lot however the therapy proved good (and no very very effective) only in some cases of stress and pain. I assume the Chinese have given up and now Acupuncture survives more as a fashion in the West and of course as home therapy in china.
For homeopathy, there are thousands of anecdotal claims however, those are never proved under the controlled experiments by the independent scientist.

جب بھی کوی نئی چیز ایجاد ہوتی ہے تو لوگ اس کی مخالفت کرتے ہیں یہی دنیا کا دستور ہے مگر ان کی مخالفت سے کبھی ترقی کا قدم رکا نہیں، گلیلیو نے جب کہا کہ زمین سورج کے گرد گردش کرتی ہے ناکہ سورج زمین کے گرد تو اس کو پادریوں کی شدید مخالفت کے بعد جیل میں ڈال دیا گیا تھا
اسلئے دھیرج رکھو میرے دوست، ہومیو پیتھک دوا ڈاکٹروں کی لوٹ مار ختم کروا دے گی انشااللہ

 

[Eyeaan]

جب بھی کوی نئی چیز ایجاد ہوتی ہے تو لوگ اس کی مخالفت کرتے ہیں یہی دنیا کا دستور ہے مگر ان کی مخالفت سے کطھی ترقی کا قدم رکا نہیں، گلیلیو نے جب کہا کہ زمین سورج کے گرد گردش کرتی ہے ناکہ سورج زمین کے گرد تو اس کو پادریوں کی شدید مخالفت کے بعد جیل میں ڈال دیا گیا تھا
اسلئے دھیرج رکھو میرے دوست، ہومیو پیتھک دوا ڈاکتروں کی لوٹ مار ختم کروا دے گی انشااللہ

Thank you for your comment.
You are right. Science is an on-going process and there is unending progress and new theories will emerge as we will obtain and process the new data, and devise new measurement methods.
On the basis of history of science, all serious scientist are certain that there is more than 90% chance that the current theories will be replaced by the new ones in the future, and the coming generations will ridicule us, the same as today we wonder about the short-comings of the scientist of the olden times.

As I said earlier, there are about 10-12 unresolved issues in science; all those problems are not about 'discoveries' but the solution of each one will lead us to a new understanding of the fundamentals/theories in their regarding field. There are a few issues in medicine as well and as I mentioned earlier, the Placebo effects is one of them, and with its resolution/explanation, we shall not only find an unknown biological process but also be forced to devise new explanations what cure really is.

The mind of science is ever open to new ideas however at the same time it is very strict and close.
The science is one of the avenues to knowledge and is defined by the its methodology. When a scientist, makes a statement about science, he/she is bound to follow the method - he/she cannot go beyond that.

Every one has his own take, however, for me homeopathy is not an issue of medicine but related to physics and statistics. Validity of homeopathy is not about some 'new discovery' but about some new property/physics of materials especially the water. I admit that there is still one unresolved issue regarding motion of fluids, however that is not helpful in the context of homeopathy.

You are free to assert that Homeopathy is valid and its works, but my hands are tied, I need a valid scientific evidence and, moreover, a solid/repeatable physical explanation for the process, explaining how the successive extremely diluted solutions emerge new successive physical properties, which is the original claim of homeopathy. There are a number of other questions as well but this is fundamental.

The day homeopathy will be scientifically validated or a plausible explanation of the process will be put froward, either by the medicine community or the from the physics, there would be no choice for a scientist but to accept (though I agree, there is a resistance to new ideas, which is all human however such resistance would not last long.)

Just an anecdotal comment: Your story about Galileo, has many other takes as well. There exists a wide critical literature about this popular/politically motivated story. It will be interesting to read the history of science of those times.
By the way, in those days, the 'Padre' were the ones who were engaged in science: Similarly many Muslim scholars and theologian were the scientist of their times. The strict separation of religious knowledge and scientific knowledge is quite recent.

 

[HamzaAfzal]

Pakistan is the country where every disease once enters never leaves its roots and Patients cannot afford the costly treatment and fees of doctors so they go to other treatment like homeopathy and allopathy. It is the duty of the government to provide better healthcare facilities as many charity organizations striving hard to provide quality healthcare facilities to all the segments of Pakistan.