Homeopathy最新文献

The biological mechanism behind the action of homeopathic medicines (HMs) is a matter of debate, despite the fact that many studies have been put forth to demonstrate its efficacy. The occurrence of nanoparticles (NPs) in homeopathic remedies has been the subject of recent studies. NPs in homeopathic triturations and dilutions have been characterized using various analytical methods, including spectroscopic and microscopic techniques.We made a comprehensive literature search of articles in which HMs were characterized using any of the relevant characterization techniques. A narrative review of the strengths and limitations of the studies retrieved was made.A total of 33 articles were retrieved and thoroughly reviewed, including aspects of study design and methods. Scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, nanoparticle tracking analysis, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, zeta potential, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy are techniques that have been employed to date to explore HMs for NPs. Though a few studies were of good methodological quality, many presented poor design in the form of lack of control groups, deployment of a single microscopic technique alone for characterization, and sometimes insufficient limit of detection of the instruments involved. Additional characterization of HMs may be approached using methods such as wavelength dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and neutron scattering.With more robust protocols and suitable combinations of existing characterization techniques, the precise characteristics of NPs in HMs and their role in the pharmacology of homeopathy can be more clearly understood.

Homeopathic practice is founded on individualisation and the totality of symptoms, seeking correspondence between a patient's clinical manifestations and the effects observed in drug provings. This conceptual basis demands research strategies that uphold contemporary standards of clinical science while ensuring model validity, faithfully representing the therapeutic rationale of homeopathy. The choice of an appropriate methodological design is essential to ensure both reliability and consistency with homeopathic principles. Conventional frameworks such as randomised controlled trials must be adapted to preserve model validity, particularly through the use of individualised prescriptions. In other contexts, research may employ standardised remedies (including the genus epidemicus), N-of-1 trials, non-randomised interventional studies or observational designs. The suitability of each model depends on clinical characteristics (chronic, acute or epidemic conditions), the purpose of the study (exploratory or confirmatory), epidemiological factors such as symptom homogeneity, morbidity and mortality, as well as statistical considerations. This article thus examines the theoretical, clinical, and epidemiological criteria guiding the selection of research designs in homeopathy. By emphasising model validity as a central criterion, and by analysing the conceptual foundations, practical challenges and limitations of each approach, it aims to promote the methodological and clinical relevance of homeopathy research.

The study investigated the role of homeopathic medicines in daily treatment of uncomplicated (i.e., without need for an initial antibiotic prescription) acute otitis media (AOM). Recurrence rates and antibiotic prescriptions over 12 months were compared in patients initially prescribed either homeopathic medicines or medicines from one of three conventional therapeutic classes.This exploratory cohort study used real-world electronic health care data from the Disease Analyzer database (IQVIA). German patients of all ages diagnosed with AOM between 2010 and 2018 who were prescribed either homeopathic, nasal, otological medicines or non-opioid analgesics on the day of diagnosis or within 6 days thereafter were included. AOM recurrence was assessed using multivariable logistic regression; the number of antibiotic prescriptions was assessed using multivariable negative binomial regression.A total of 113,983 of 745,372 patients diagnosed with AOM were eligible for analysis. Of these, 9.9% of patients initially received prescriptions for homeopathic medicines. In the total patient group, these prescriptions were associated with a slightly reduced risk of AOM recurrence compared with otological medicines (odds ratio, 1.17; statistically significant, p = 0.011). All results of the negative binomial regression analysis of antibiotic prescriptions were in favor of homeopathic medicines. Those were statistically significant in the comparison versus otological medicines in all patients and in the adult sub-group. Time-to-event analysis for first antibiotic prescriptions showed statistically significantly reduced time-related risks in the homeopathy group compared with all groups of conventional medicines included (in all patients and in two pre-defined age-dependent sub-groups).The real-world data analyzed in this study reveal that homeopathic medicines play a relevant role in daily AOM treatment as a stand-alone therapy class. Additionally, the study yielded important methodological findings on prescription patterns in routine AOM care in Germany, with specific focus on the role of homeopathic medicines.

In homeopathic philosophy, chronic miasms are considered the fundamental causes of 'true, natural' chronic diseases. Hahnemann classified these into three types: psora, syphilis and sycosis. This project primarily aimed to collect and analyze qualitative experts-derived data to develop a consensus-based checklist of secondary symptoms of psora. The secondary aim was to quantitatively evaluate the checklist through partition clustering for compatibility with Hahnemann's miasmatic classification. This paper reports the development of the psora checklist, with two addenda addressing parallel work on syphilis and sycosis.An exploratory sequential mixed-methods design (qual → QUAN) was used. Key secondary symptoms were identified through a staged qualitative inquiry. Initially, symptoms were conceptualized deductively from the literature. Their salience was then ranked through free-listing by five homeopathy experts; symptoms with salience < 0.1 were excluded. Face validity was assessed. Next, five different experts evaluated item congruence in Delphi rounds to establish content validity. Symptoms with an average congruency percentage (ACP) <80% were removed. Pilot usability testing was completed by 15 end-users.A total of 91 psoric symptoms were conceptualized; 67 remained after free-listing, whereas 17 low-salience symptoms were excluded. Fifty symptoms passed face validation and proceeded to content validation. Eighteen symptoms failed the ACP threshold (<80%), leaving 32 items. Pilot testing produced three iterations, and the final version contained 23 symptoms suitable for large-scale data collection. Similar procedures were followed concurrently for syphilis and sycosis symptom lists.This staged, experts-driven process produced a conceptually and quantitatively supported checklist of secondary psoric symptoms. The checklist demonstrated acceptable salience and content validity, forming a structured basis for future miasm-focused research. Further studies should examine its broader clinical applicability and psychometric performance.

The scientific and public discourse on medicine has in the last century been framed in a way that the progress of high-tech medicine, with its methodological restriction on materialistic aspects of the physical body, may appear as a plain success story, from ancient ignorance to modern science-leaving no constructive idea or reason for being of homeopathy. On the other hand, there has always been a tradition of scholarly criticism of medicine, be it historiographic, natural scientific, social or economical. The shortcomings of most conventional forms of critique, however, rest on their embeddedness in the usual one-dimensional thinking: i.e. their unintentional complying with, rather than questioning, the frame of predominant narratives.A categorial reframing of medicine may be possible on the basis of three recently rediscovered traditions of thinking, termed lógos-, hómoion- and iásthai-thinking. Within such an enlarged reframing of the scientific and public discourse, not only medical, social, economic, political and cultural problems could be handled and possibly solved on a higher level of consciousness, but also homeopathy, properly understood as 'homeo-patho-logy', would benefit and attain a better, much more reasonable standing.

Homeopathic medicines from plant sources such as Nux vomica face skepticism due to presumed absence of original material in high potencies (30cH, 200cH) whose dilution exceeds Avogadro's number. Whilst nanoparticles exist in metal-derived preparations, physicochemical characterization of plant-based remedies remains limited.This study aimed to analyze Nux vomica potencies (Q to 200cH) to determine nanoparticle presence, stability and retained molecular signatures.We characterized Nux vomica potencies using dynamic light scattering (DLS) for particle size distribution, electrophoretic light scattering for zeta potential, UV-vis spectroscopy for electronic absorbance profiles, and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy for functional group analysis. Measurements were compared with ethanol control.DLS revealed bimodal particle distribution in nanometer (140-697 nm) and micrometer (0.8-2.5 µm) ranges across potencies, indicating complex colloidal structures. Zeta potential confirmed stable, negatively charged suspensions, with a negative charge spike at 60cH (-16.85 mV), suggesting stable nanoaggregates. UV-vis spectroscopy showed peaks at 261 nm (strychnine) and 331 nm (brucine), with a broad band between 920 and 1,025 nm. A hypsochromic shift occurred with increasing potencies. Higher potencies showed shifts toward shorter wavelengths, changes in peak intensities, and altered absorption patterns, suggesting solvent-related structural modulation. FTIR spectra showed absorption bands for OH, C-H, N-H, C = O, C-N and C-O stretching vibrations, representing sample constituents.This study provides evidence that high-potency Nux vomica preparations contain stable nanostructures and retain molecular signatures of source material. The non-linear changes in particle size, surface charge and molecular architecture suggest that succussion induces dynamic cyclical transformations in the colloidal system.

Background: A double-blind randomised controlled trial in 2010 on diarrhoea caused by Escherichia coli (E. coli) in piglets, has shown promise in significantly fewer piglets becoming ill with diarrhoea in the homeopathy group compared with placebo.

Aim: Our objective is to present the study protocol of a clinical trial (ETEC-HOM) that will assess the efficacy and safety of the HOMeopathic medicinal product E. coli C30 in EnTerotoxigenic E. Coli diarrhoea in piglets during the first 2 weeks after weaning.

Methods: A prospective, cluster-randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind, two-arm monocentre study has been designed. Sows without post-partum dysgalactia syndrome will be included in the trial. The decision regarding the suitability of the sows and their piglets for inclusion in the study will be in line with defined criteria according to Baumgartner & Wittek 2016 and Hirsch et al. 2003. The medical intervention includes sows and their piglets being randomly assigned to one of two prophylaxis and treatment arms: verum or placebo. The prophylaxis and treatment will consist of E. coli C30 or indistinguishable placebos. Both groups will be treated with conventional medicine if indicated. The primary outcomes are the evaluation of the incidence of ETEC diarrhoea in piglets, confirmed by cultivation of ETEC, and of the antibiotic treatment days needed for treatment of ETEC diarrhoea in piglets per animal days at risk during the first 2 weeks after weaning. Secondary outcomes are performance parameters such as daily weight gain and mortality. Adverse events will be documented.

Discussion: The ETEC-HOM trial protocol is designed to investigate a homeopathic strategy for treatment of ETEC diarrhoea in weaned piglets. Favourable outcomes for homeopathy could prompt subsequent studies and meta-analysis.

Homeopathic treatments for hypothyroidism have shown clinical efficacy in reducing dependency on levothyroxine, but there is no reported activation of thyroxine (T4) or reduction in thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) in animal models. In crude form, somatostatin inhibits TSH secretion, while methimazole decreases thyroid hormone synthesis. Potentized preparations of somatostatin and methimazole were examined in an animal model based on the principle of similars.Potentized preparations (30c) of somatostatin (Soma), methimazole (Mazo), and their combination were tested in the treatment of propylthiouracil-induced hypothyroidism in mice (n = 6 per group), together with vehicle, disease, and positive (thyroxine) controls. These preparations were administered orally at a daily dose of 0.1 mL for 7 to 22 days. Changes in body weight, food intake, water intake, glucose, albumin, and total proteins were monitored on days 0 and 22. Serum T3, T4 and TSH levels were measured on days 0, 7, 14 and 22.Body weight, food and water intake were not significantly altered in the groups, except the disease control group. The thyroxine-treated animals showed significant recovery in T3 levels. Similar but less prominent recovery was observed with Soma, Mazo, and the combination. Among the treatment groups, Soma (p = 0.027), Mazo (p = 0.001) and combination (p < 0.0001) showed moderate but statistically significant improvement in T4 levels. Soma (p = 0.001), Mazo (p = 0.001) and combination (p = 0.001) displayed a reduction in TSH elevation by day 22 compared with the disease control group. Serum albumin levels were similar in all groups and were not altered by any of the treatments. Serum glucose levels in disease control were significantly higher than normal control and the combination of test drugs.Potentized preparations of somatostatin and methimazole exhibited efficacy in regulating thyroid hormones in an animal model, supporting the concept of the principle of similars.