Gems in homeopathy, part 2: pre-clinical research

In my previous post, I mentioned the current volume of the ‘Allgemeinen Homöopathischen Zeitung’ which contains the abstracts of the ‘Homeopathic World Congress 2017’ (btw: the remarkable opening speech for the WORLD CONFERENCE ON HOMEOPATHY 1937, in Berlin might also be of interest; excerpts from it can be found here). Amongst these abstracts, the collector can find many true gems. Today I have for you a few more abstracts that I found remarkable; they are from what I call pre-clinical (or non-clinical) research.

Homeopathy has a polarized image. Many people experience homeopathic cure, but critics say this is only a placebo-effect. However, there, are 3800 studies and evidence is steadily growing. All comprehensive investigations prove that homeopathy is more efficient than placebo. What are the reasons for this controversy? How do we improve the image of homeopathy? Methods Data collection regarding effectiveness, benefits and mechanisms over 30 years. Order development to archive all data according to their scientific content. Systematic analysis of criticisms towards homeopathy over the last 12 years. Discussions with sceptics to understand their rejections. Findings Main reasons for controversy are: ▪ Since homeopathy does not meet the contemporary scientific concepts, people believe that homeopathy is implausible. ▪ Different homeopathic methods appear contradictory. ▪ Conventional medicine rejects homeopathy.  Missing overview regarding scientific principles. ▪ Modern studies are no more understandable. Due to our fast-moving times, people quickly form opinion with their own personal logic, influenced by media information. This causes a systematic interpretation bias. Results The knowledge of homeopathy and potentized remedies will be publicly illustrated: ▪ Information about different methods. ▪ Basics of holistic thinking and limitations of science in medicine. ▪ State of the art regarding effectiveness and benefits. ▪ Scientific principles and body of evidence. ▪ Correcting wrong media information. A special didactic structure was developed to provide this information at the portal: “Homeopathy & potentized medicines” (www.dellmour.org, available autumn 2016). Physicians and patients will find comprehensible information to aquire a plausible picture of homeopathy.

The use of agrochemicals has been associated with environmental and ecological damages. Excessive use of fertilizers, for example, can lead to the groundwater contamination with nitrate, rendering it unfit for consumption by humans or livestock. Water containing large concentrations of nitrate can poison animals by partial immobilization of the hemoglobin in blood, reducing the ability to transport oxygen. These and other environmental effects in the use of agrochemicals are unfortunate consequences in the application of these chemical tools. Researchers are constantly searching for non-chemical solutions in dealing with many of these agricultural needs. Much attention is being paid, for example, to developing “organic” methods of enhancing soil fertility and dealing with pests. The application of homeopathy in agriculture (agrohomeopathy) is an alternative that can help solve the problems caused by agrochemicals. Several countries have begun to implement this new option to solve the problems that have been caused by agrochemicals. The use of agrohomeopathy allows a control of diseases in plants, caused by bacteria, fungi, viruses and pests, it also helps to improve and promote seed germination, as well as by enhancing the growth of plants. Moreover, with the application of agrohomeopathy it is possible to decontaminate soils that have been exposed to agrochemical treatments. The goal of this study is to analyze the major results obtained in agrohomeopathy. Also we demonstrate the importance of botanical models to find out or clarify the mechanism of homeopathy in living organisms.

Dr. Hahnemann improvised homeopathy to such an extent, that his discovery of potentization of homeopathic medicines questioned the fundamental belief systems of the basic sciences. This resulted in a constant disapproval of homeopathic system by the main stream science and was accused as a placebo therapy, yet the clinical efficacy of homeopathy remained unquestionable. Objectives The present study was done to analyze the presence/absence of particles in aurum metallicum 6C to CM and carbo vegetabilis 6C to CM potencies. This is a part of the 31 homeopathic drugs studied by using HRTEM&EDS and FESEM&EDS in Centesimal scale 6C, 30, 200, 1M, 10M, 50M and CM and LM scale in LM1, LM6, LM12, LM18, LM24 and LM30 potencies. Method HRTEM (High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscope), FESEM (Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope) and EDS (Energy dispersive Spectroscopy) were used for the analysis of samples. Results Plenty of particles in nanometer and Quantum Dots (QD – less than 10nm) scale were seen in aur. with presence of gold in all the potencies of aur. Enormous particles were identified in all the potencies of carb-v. in nanometer scale composed of carbon and oxygen. Conclusion The presence of NPs & QDs in all potencies must be the reason for the cure in diseases and also produce signs and symptoms in Hahnemannian drug proving. This discovery of NPS in all the drug potencies is an important evidence which substantiate the individualized drug selection and place homeopathy an established “individualized nanomedicine” with 200 years of collective clinical experience.

In March 2015, the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) published an Information Paper on homeopathy. This document, designed for the general public, provides a summary of the findings of a review of systematic reviews, carried out by NHMRC to assess the evidence base for effectiveness of homeopathy in humans. ’The Australian report’, concludes that ”there are no health conditions for which there is reliable evidence that homeopathy is effective … no goodquality, well-designed studies with enough participants for a meaningful result reported either that homeopathy caused greater health improvements than placebo, or caused health improvements equal to those of another treatment”. Such overly-definitive negative conclusions are immediately surprising, being inconsistent with the majority of comprehensive systematic reviews on homeopathy. In-depth analysis has revealed the report’s multiple methodological flaws, which explain this inconsistency. Most crucially, NHMRC’s findings hinge primarily on their definition of reliable evidence: for a trial to be deemed ’reliable’ it had to have at least 150 participants and a quality score of 5/5 on the Jadad scale (or equivalent on other scales). Trials that failed to meet either of these criteria were dismissed as being of ’insufficient quality and/or size to warrant further consideration of their findings’. Setting such a high quality threshold is highly unusual, but the n=150 minimum sample size criterion is arbitrary, without scientific justification, and unprecedented in evidence reviews. Out of 176 trials NHMRC included in the homeopathy review, only 5 trials met their definition of ’reliable’, none of which, according to their analysis, demonstrated effectiveness of homeopathy. This explains why NHMRC concluded there is ’no reliable evidence’ that homeopathy is effective. A distillation of other detailed findings, presented at conference, reveals further significant flaws in this highly influential report, providing critical awareness of its misrepresentation of the homeopathy evidence base.

An extensive review of the literature dealing on the results obtained by homeopathy during epidemics has revealed important findings about the efficacy of homeopathic treatment. The main findings of this research are: ▪ With more than 25,000 volumes, the homeopathic literature is vast and rich in reports about results obtained by homeopathy during epidemics. The speaker has uncovered over 7,000 references addressing this subject. ▪ Results obtained by homeopathy during epidemics reveal a very important and clear constancy: a very low mortality rate. This constancy remains, regardless of the physician, time, place or type of epidemical disease, including diseases carrying a very high mortality rate, such as cholera, smallpox, diphtheria, typhoid fever, yellow fever and pneumonia. ▪ Interestingly, this low mortality rate is always superior to the results obtained not only by allopathy practiced at that particular time but, as a rule, by allopathy of today, despite benefiting from modern nursing and hygienic care. ▪ Even the lesser-trained homeopaths obtained, as a rule, better results than the highest authorities of the allopathic school. However, the most consistent, predictable and impressive results were obtained by the ones who practiced genuine homeopathy whom are known as Hahnemannians. ▪ Homeopathic remedies have been successfully used to protect large segments of the population from upcoming infectious diseases. Homeopathic prophylaxis is safe and effective combining inexpensive costs. ▪ The results obtained by homeopathy during epidemics cannot be explained by the placebo effect.

It is often considered that a physico-chemical explanation of homeopathy would require a major rewriting of much of physics, chemistry and biochemistry. Yet, despite the fact that the bio-activity of homeopathic dilutions appears to fly in the face of modern science, such an upheaval might not actually be necessary. The aim of this presentation is to demonstrate that we can indeed formulate a plausible and testable theory of homeopathy based on current physics and chemistry. We will start by going over the requirements made of an explanation of homeopathy, such as: memory of the starting substance, compatibility with the dilution/succussion process and finally bio-activity. We will then formulate a minimal set of physical assumptions able to explain the experimental results found in homeopathy. We will show how these assumptions are validated both from the theoretical physics and experimental physico-chemistry side. On the one hand we have, the theoretical predictions of Preparata and DelGuidice of the existence in water structures. These predict the formation of distinct water domains through the stabilising effect of electromagnetic oscillations. On the other hand, we will present a set of experiments from within and outside the field of homeopathy (Demangeat, Elia, Pollack and others). These experiments support the idea that water does form relatively stable structures under certain conditions and that these structures have electromagnetic properties, which could be at the root of the specific biological effects seen in clinical and animal studies. Thus we will show that it is possible to formulate a plausible physico-chemical explanation of homeopathy based on current physic and chemistry. Crucially this formulation is testable, providing important parameters and suggestions for the design of future experiments.

Hilarious, isn’t it? There are many sentences that are memorable treasures in these abstracts. One is almost tempted to book a ticket to Leipzig and listen to the presentations. I particularly love the following statements:

• All comprehensive investigations prove that homeopathy is more efficient than placebo…
• …the clinical efficacy of homeopathy remained unquestionable…
• …overly-definitive negative conclusions are immediately surprising…
• Homeopathic prophylaxis is safe and effective…
• …we can indeed formulate a plausible and testable theory of homeopathy based on current physics and chemistry…

The naivety, ignorance and chutzpa that we observed in the abstracts of clinical studies is mirrored here very clearly.  I am therefore inclined to repeat the questions I asked in part 1 of this post: How can a scientific committee reviewing these abstracts let them pass and allow the material to be presented at the ‘World Congress’? How can a Health Secretary accept the patronage of such a farce?