‘Best homeopathy doctor in Delhi’ offers treatment for HIV/AIDS

The ‘best homeopathy doctor in Delhi‘  is so ‘marvellous’ that he and his colleagues offer homeopathic treatment for HIV/AIDS:

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Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) is recommended for each and every case of AIDS where CD4 count goes less than 350.  Aura Homeopathy does not offer cure for AIDS. However, several research and clinical studies done by various Research centre including few from CCRH (Central Council for Research in Homeopathy, Govt. of India), have prove the supportive role of homeopathic medicines. Homeopathy medicine only relief symptoms but also reduced frequency of opportunistic infections, increase appetite, weight, and sense of well being, etc. At Aura Homeopathy, we apply classical homeopathy protocols on HIV/AIDS patients, as a part of our Clinical trial and Research projects. The results were very encouraging.

At Aura Homeopathy, we have seen an increase in the CD4 count in number of patients, after using Aura homeopathy medicines. Dr.Abhishek recommend’s Homeopathy as supporting line of therapy for all HIV patients.

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When I read this I wanted to be sick; but instead I did something a little more sensible: I conducted a quick Medline search for ‘homeopathy, AIDS’.

It returned 30 articles. Of these, there were just 4 that presented anything remotely resembling data. Here are their abstracts:

1st paper

Allopathic practitioners in India are outnumbered by practitioners of traditional Indian medicine and homeopathy (TIMH), which is used by up to two-thirds of its population to help meet primary health care needs, particularly in rural areas. India has an estimated 2.5 million HIV infected persons. However, little is known about TIMH use, safety or efficacy in HIV/AIDS management in India, which has one of the largest indigenous medical systems in the world. The purpose of this review was to assess the quality of peer-reviewed, published literature on TIMH for HIV/AIDS care and treatment.

Of 206 original articles reviewed, 21 laboratory studies, 17 clinical studies, and 6 previous reviews of the literature were identified that covered at least one system of TIMH, which includes Ayurveda, Unani medicine, Siddha medicine, homeopathy, yoga and naturopathy. Most studies examined either Ayurvedic or homeopathic treatments. Only 4 of these studies were randomized controlled trials, and only 10 were published in MEDLINE-indexed journals. Overall, the studies reported positive effects and even “cure” and reversal of HIV infection, but frequent methodological flaws call into question their internal and external validity. Common reasons for poor quality included small sample sizes, high drop-out rates, design flaws such as selection of inappropriate or weak outcome measures, flaws in statistical analysis, and reporting flaws such as lack of details on products and their standardization, poor or no description of randomization, and incomplete reporting of study results.

This review exposes a broad gap between the widespread use of TIMH therapies for HIV/AIDS, and the dearth of high-quality data supporting their effectiveness and safety. In light of the suboptimal effectiveness of vaccines, barrier methods and behavior change strategies for prevention of HIV infection and the cost and side effects of antiretroviral therapy (ART) for its treatment, it is both important and urgent to develop and implement a rigorous research agenda to investigate the potential risks and benefits of TIMH and to identify its role in the management of HIV/AIDS and associated illnesses in India.

2nd paper (I am a co-author of this one)

The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is widespread. Yet, little is known about the evidence supporting its use in HIV/AIDS. We conducted a systematic review of randomized clinical trials assessing the effectiveness of complementary therapies for HIV and HIV-related symptoms. Comprehensive literature searches were performed of seven electronic databases. Data were abstracted independently by two reviewers. Thirty trials met our predefined inclusion/exclusion criteria: 18 trials were of stress management; five of Natural Health Products; four of massage/therapeutic touch; one of acupuncture; two of homeopathy. The trials were published between 1989 and 2003. Most trials were small and of limited methodological rigour. The results suggest that stress management may prove to be an effective way to increase the quality of life. For all other treatments, data are insufficient for demonstrating effectiveness. Despite the widespread use of CAM by people living with HIV/AIDS, the effectiveness of these therapies has not been established. Vis à vis CAM’s popularity, the paucity of clinical trials and their low methodological quality are concerning.

3rd paper (author is our old friend Dana Ullman!)

Homeopathic medicine developed significant popularity in the nineteenth century in the United States and Europe as a result of its successes treating the infectious disease epidemics during that era. Homeopathic medicine is a medical system that is specifically oriented to using nanopharmacologic and ultramolecular doses of medicines to strengthen a person’s immune and defense system rather than directly attacking the microbial agents.

To review the literature referenced in MEDLINE and in nonindexed homeopathic journals for placebo-controlled clinical trials using homeopathic medicines to treat people with AIDS or who are human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive and to consider a different theoretical and methodological approach to treating people with the viral infection.

A total of five controlled clinical trials were identified. A double-blinded, placebo-controlled study was conducted on 50 asymptomatic HIV-positive subjects (stage II) and 50 subjects with persistent generalized lymphadenopathy (stage III) in whom individualized single-remedy homeopathic treatment was provided. A separate body of preliminary research was conducted using homeopathic doses of growth factors. Two randomized double-blinded, placebo-controlled studies were conducted with a total of 77 people with AIDS who used only natural therapies over a 8-16-week period. Two other studies were conducted over a 2.5-year period with 27 subjects in an open-label format.

The first study was conducted by the Regional Research Institute for Homeopathy in Mumbai, India, under the Central Council for Research in Homeopathy, with the approval of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. The second body of studies was conducted in clinic settings in California, Oregon, Arizona, Hawaii, New York, and Washington.

The first study found no statistically significant improvement in CD4 T-lymphocytes, but did find statistically significant pretest and post-test results in subjects with stage III AIDS, in CD4 (p = 0.008) and in CD8 (p = 0.04) counts. The second group of studies found specific physical, immunologic, neurologic, metabolic, and quality-of-life benefits, including improvements in lymphocyte counts and functions and reductions in HIV viral loads.

As a result of the growing number of people with drug-resistant HIV infection taking structured treatment interruptions, homeopathic medicine may play a useful role as an adjunctive and/or alternative therapy.

4th paper

In 1996, [name removed] was convicted on charges of conspiracy and introducing an unapproved drug into interstate commerce and the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the conviction. [Name removed]’s company, Writers and Researchers Inc. sold a drug called 714X to individuals and physicians, promoting it as a nontoxic therapy for AIDS, cancer, and other chronic diseases. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned [name removed] that his marketing was illegal because the product had not been proven safe and effective for use in treating disease. [Name removed] argued that the product was a homeopathic drug, revealed by FDA tests to contain 94 percent water, and a mixture of nitrate, ammonium, camphor, chloride, ethanol, and sodium. The courts found that 714X was subject to FDA scrutiny because it was touted as a cure for cancer and AIDS.

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So, what does this collective evidence tell us?

I think it makes it abundantly clear that there is no good reason to suggest that HIV/AIDS patients can be helped in any way by homeopathy. On the contrary, homeopathy might distract them from essential conventional care and it would needlessly harm their bank balance. It follows that claims to the contrary are bogus, unethical, reckless, and possibly even criminal.