From: bsimon@elvis.stsci.edu (Bernie Simon)
Subject: homeopathy
Organization: None. This saves me from writing a disclaimer.
	<1h7grbINNnoc@skat.usc.edu>
Date: Tue, 22 Dec 1992 18:03:23 GMT

In article <1h7grbINNnoc@skat.usc.edu> walker@skat.usc.edu (Michael D
Walker) writes:

   What do you mean by homeopathic medicine?

Homeopathy is an alternative system of medicine that was founded in
the early 19th cxentury by a German physician, Dr. Hahnemann. It had
its greatest popularity in the late 19th century here in the United
States, when 15% of the doctors in this country were homeopaths.
However, with the advent of modern medicine, homeopathy began to look
old and stodgy and its popularity to a nosedive. Classical homeopathy
rests on three principles: the law of similars, the single medicine,
and the minimum dose. The law of similars states that a disease is
cured by a medicine which creates symptoms similar to those the patient
is experiencing in a healthy person. Hence an important part of the
prescription of a homeopathic medicine is a lengthy interview to
determine all the symptoms the patient is experiencing. The
homeopathic physician then determines which medicine best matches the
symptoms the patient is experiencing and prescribes it. The principle
of the single remedy states that a single medicine should cover all
the symptoms the patient is experiencing: mental, emotional, and
physical. A classical homeopath would not prescribe one medicine for a
headache and another for an upset stomach, he or she would find a
single medicine that covered both symptoms. The principle of the
minimum dose has two parts. First the homeopathic physician only
prescibes a small number of doses of the homeopathic medicine and
waits to see what effect the medicine has. Usually a medicine is
taken for a week at most. Second, the medicine is given in an
infintesmal dose. Homeopaths have discovered that the effect of
homeopathic medicines is strengthed upon successive dilutions as long
as the medicine is violently shaken between each dilution. Medicines
are typically used in very high dilutions such as 30C (1 part in
10^-60) or 200C (1 part in 10^-400). It is the use of infinitesmal
doses that is the most controversial aspect of homeopathy and the
reason why most conventional doctors claim it functions only as a
placebo. However, a number of controlled, double blind studies have
been performed which show the effectiveness of homeopathic medicine in
treating a number of diseases. The following is a brief list of some
of these studies.

D.T. Reilly, M.A. Taylor, C.McSharry et al., "Is Homeopathy a
Placebo Response? Controlled Trial of Homeopathic Potency with Pollen
in Hayfever as Model," Lancet (1986):881-886.

J.P. Ferley, D.Zimirou, D. D'Adhemar, et al., "A Controlled
Evaluation of a Homeopathic Preparation in the Treatment of
Influenza-like Syndromes," British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology,
27(1989):329-35. 

P.Fischer, A.Greenwood, E.C.Huskisson, et al., "Effect of
Homeopathic Treatment on Fibrositis (Primary Fibromyalgia)," British
Medical Journal 299(1989):365-366.

E.Ernst, T.Saradeth, and K.L.Resch, "Complementary Treatment of
Varicose Veins: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Double-Blind Trial,"
Phlebology (1990): 157-163.

Kleijnen, Jos, Knipschild, Paul, ter Riet, Gerben, "Clinical trials of
Homoeopathy.", British Medical Journal, Feb 9, 1991 v302 n6772
p516(8).
--
Bernie Simon	(bsimon@stsci.edu)		ad astra per aspera