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Diabetes Mellitus cases are increasing day to day life throughout the global. It is major medical problem in developing and developed countries in all over world. According to World Health Organization deficiency of insulin secretion, inadequacy insulin secretion from beta cells of pancreas. In order to manage conservative line of treatment with antidiabetes drugs has been developed, but each medicine has their own side effects. So, natural way with Homoeopathic medicines can be effetely post pone diabetic and its complications. In India, certain herbal medicines like Syzygium cumini, Cephalandra Indica, Abroma Augusta, Gymnema Sylvestre and Momordica Charantia, acids, metals, biochemic and minerals can be manage diabetic mellitus. The present review focused that Homoeopathic Medicines are used in Research with scientific evidences. Dr. Siva Rami Reddy E "A Review on Homoeopathic Medicines in Diabetes Mellitus" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-2 | Issue-2 , February 2018, URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd9412.pdf

Background. Status of autonomic homoeostasis in hemostasic disturbances due to hemophilia needs to be studied. Objectives. To compare autonomic nervous system markers measured by heart rate variability (HRV) and blood flow variability (BFV) in hemophiliacs and healthy age-matched control population using medical analyzer system. Design. Cross-sectional study. Settings. Motiwala Homoeopathy Medical College, and Hemophilia Clinics, Nashik. Subjects. Eighty subjects. Interventions. Nil. Outcome Measures. Autonomic function markers for HRV and BFV. Results. Among 80 subjects, BFV time domain measure, root mean square of successive NN (normal-to-normal) interval differences (RMSSD), was significantly higher among hemophiliacs than nonhemophiliacs. Frequency domain analysis parameter, low frequency for both HRV and BFV was significantly higher among hemophiliacs as compared with nonhemophiliacs. Conclusions. Hemophiliacs were shown to have higher autonomic activity as compared with healthy controls. Homoeopathic medicines used as an adjunct was associated with decrease in parasympathetic modulations.

Background: This review discusses the importance of inter-individual variations in Homoeopathy and role of immune modulation through cytokine induction behind these variations in symptoms. Objectives: To analyse the effects of homoeopathic drugs in modulation of cytokine synthesis to find the individualised immunological mechanisms of these drugs. Methods: The PubMed database was searched for studies which analysed effects of homoeopathic medicines on cytokine synthesis. Full texts of shortlisted studies after scrutiny of abstracts, were analysed for study design, homoeopathic medicines used, cytokines analysed and results. Results: The PubMed search yielded 21 studies. After analysis of abstracts of 21 studies, 10 were shortlisted, which included 7 in vivo and 2 in vitro studies. One study had both in vivo and in vitro interventions. Majority of in vivo studies used rat and exposure to immunological challenge before administration of homoeopathic medicine. The cytokines studied were interleukin (IL)-1α, IL-1β, interferon-gamma, tumour necrosis factor alpha, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-10 and IL-12. The two in vitro studies evaluated effects of Saussurea lappa and Mercurius solubilis on lymphocytes and macrophage culture, respectively. Out of 10 studies analysed, 8 showed homoeopathic medicines can modulate cytokine synthesis either by increasing or decreasing the cytokine synthesis, in a statistically significant manner. Conclusion: The studies were heterogeneous regarding the antigenic challenge given to stimulate immune cells and only 50% of studies clearly mentioned random allocation of animals in groups. Though majority of studies showed that homoeopathic medicines can modulate cytokine synthesis, the mechanism of cytokine modulation remained unexplored.

In this study, we have chosen HPTLC as a method of analysis to develop a standard procedure based on fingerprinting characteristics for the evaluation of homoeopathic formulations. A simple and accurate HPTLC method has been developed for the quantification of BacosideA and fingerprinting of the in-house mother tincture considered here to be a standard with that of different marketed samples available from manufacturers of homoeopathic medicines in India. This HPTLC method was quantitatively evaluated in terms of stability, repeatability, accuracy and calibration providing the utility in the analysis of the mother tincture.

Lacrimal glands are exclusive structures possessing both epithelial and lymphoid tissue and may produce a variable range of pathologies such as neoplastic, infective, infiltrative, inflammatory and structural. Treatment is either anti-inflammatory in the form of corticosteroids, radiotherapy or complete excision in the field of modern medicine. A female patient named IB, aged 35 years, came with bilateral firm swelling of the lacrimal gland. She started treatment under modern medicine doctors; however, when she was advised for biopsy, for histopathological examination, she preferred to go for Homoeopathy. The swelling was developing gradually for 2 months – painless, no fluctuation, no fixity to skin and underlying structures. After thorough case-taking followed by repertorisation, Calcarea carbonica 1M, two doses were prescribed. The patient reported after 2 months with zero Outcome in Relation to Impact on Daily Living instrument score. Further modification was done in repertorisation, and now Silicea 1M, two doses was prescribed. Treatment continued for 4 more months and no new medicine or further repetition was required. Documentation was done in the form of photographs of the patient from the same angle under similar light exposure in every follow-up.

Context: Scientific assessment of proving symptoms or already recorded symptoms in patients refers to Clinical Verification (CV). There are serious shortcomings of existing methods of CV, mostly arising from qualitative observations made on absolute occurrence of symptoms instead of relative ones. This problem can be resolved by the use of the Likelihood Ratio (LR). Aim: This study aims to estimate the prevalence and LRs of general symptoms of 29 less frequently prescribed homoeopathic medicines. Methods: The study was multicentric, open and observational. Patients were enrolled as per pre-specified eligibility criteria. Alongside, presenting complaints and general symptoms were taken into account during prescription. Medicines were prescribed in centesimal potencies. LR calculation of general symptoms was based on clinician-rated outcomes as 'improved' and 'not improved' of presenting complaints and was divided into three sections: (1) when the prevalence of a symptom was available from literature, LR was calculated by assessing the prevalence of that symptom in the responder sample, (2) in the absence of so, calculation was restricted to mean prevalence data from study sample ('confined LR') and (3) 'confined LRs' were not calculated for symptoms whose prevalence were not recorded for at least five medicines and were kept for estimation in future. Results: Of 166 general symptoms of 29 medicines, LRs and confined LRs >1.5 were elicited for 6 and 49 symptoms, respectively. Conclusion: In spite of considerable caveats, it is the first insight into prevalence and LRs of general symptoms of less frequently prescribed homoeopathic medicines. Further research is warranted.

While the "Materia Medica fo the Homoeopathic medicine” by the Indian homoeopath S. R. Phatak has a large circulation, and the "Concise Repertory of the Homoeopathic medicines” has recently been issued in German translation, there is only scarce knowledge about Phatak's practice, as he did not leave behind a written method. To close the gap, the author studied the writings and the structure of the works by Phatak and thus developed a methodical system, which is being compared to the method of Boger.

This paper seeks to develop a hypothesis on the scientific basis of homoeopathic medicine, and the research opportunities that this field of medicine presents, by primarily stating the cardinal laws on which homoeopathy is based, and secondly reviewing literature on the basic sciences in an attempt to find out as to whether the latter has any explanation of the said laws. This has been achieved by focusing on the assumptions and theories of the founder of homoeopathy Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, precisely homoeopathy’s cardinal law which states that a substance which when administered to a healthy person produces sick symptoms in that person, will cure disease with symptoms similar to those that it produces on one hand, while on the other hand the concept of serial dilutions (potencies) and the notion that the higher the dilution, the more stronger the therapeutic effect of the drug on the other. Outcomes based evidence in support of the efficacy of homoeopathic medicines is visited, which proves the authenticity of both the law of similar and the effectiveness of potentised homeopathic drugs. Thereafter both theories are then explained in terms of established scientific laws, principles and theories. Consequently, it is established that Homoeopathic medicine holds with science in general and modern day science in particular, with the vaccination and nanoparticle theories coming up as the most conspicuous scientific explanations for the two said homoeopathic laws. Lastly, this field of medicine presents broad research opportunities, for example the determination of the number of above Avogadro number nanoparticles of a substance in a given serial dilution, so as to establish as to whether each serial dilution possess evenly distributed nanoparticles at any given time.

Anomalous dispersion of light leading to sharp changes of dielectric constant around natural frequencies of electrons in a molecule is a well known phenomenon. A similar phenomenon was reported in our earlier papers around allowed values of acoustic vibration frequencies of ordered molecular groups in a semiconductor wafer subjected to alternating electric field. This paper reports recurrence of similar thing in sugar crystals and sugar of milk, molecules of which are believed to be ordered by soaking them in homoeopathic medicines. A novel instrumentation method is employed here to observe the frequency-domain signature of the samples. These behaviors are observed repeatedly and recorded through the experimental arrangement. Further, the experimental results and the nature of results obtained from MATLAB-simulation support each other.

Verdunnen und Verschutteln sind unverzichtbare Arbeitsgange bei der Herstellung homoopathischer Arzneimittel. Ab 10 Liter ist manuelles Schutteln nicht mehr durchfuhrbar, wenn man mehrere parallele Arbeitsgange vermeiden will. Hier konnen mechanische Schuttelmaschinen eingesetzt werden. Eine neue Schuttelmaschine war Anlas, mit mestechnischen Parametern maschinelles und manuelles Schutteln zu vergleichen. Die quantitativen Versuchsergebnisse des Beschleunigungs- und Druckverlaufs werden vorgestellt. Es kann gezeigt werden, das im vorliegenden Fall Beschleunigungs- und Druckverlauf bei maschineller und manueller Verschuttelung weitgehende Ahnlichkeiten aufweisen. Diluting and shaking are indispensable Operations for the production of homoeopathic medicines. But beyond 10 liters, manual shaking can no longer be done if parallel Operations are to be avoided. At this stage it is necessary to employ mechanical shakers. A newly developed mechanical shaking machine gives rise to Publishing quantitative data on the acceleration of the shaken vessel and the pressure within the vessel during the shaking process. It can be shown that, basically, the mechanical shaking process conforms to the manual shaking process.

Conventional chemistry has no answer to either the secret of medicinal value of high potency (above 12c) homoeopathic medicines or how they can be identified, that is, differentiated from one another. Original medicinal substance being diluted away these are chemical-free medicines. This gives leverage to skeptics to brand cures by such medicines as placebo effect or mental cure. This article shows major contradictions in their hypothesis. Thereafter, as a logical derivation it arrives at the structural model: A substance is to be recognized as a medicine if it has the capability of curing disease(s) while its medicinal property is to be attributed to molecular structure of vehicle like water or of distinct chemical substance when it exists. It is a shift of focus from chemical formula to physical structure. Several works are cited to show that the no-chemical homoeopathic medicines have water structures. Structure, be it of crude medicinal substance or of molecular structure of water vehicle, plays the predominant role throughout the potency range. So, structures give us the generalized understanding of medicines. The article also shows that there is a link between structure, medicinal value and biological effect.

Gallbladder stone sample of a female patient was analysed by diagnostic, spectroscopic methods and by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Besides cholesterol as the major constituent, bilirubin, creatinine and blood urea were also found to be present in the sample. Bile acid (ursodeoxycholic acid) was used to study its effect on the dissolution of cholestrol present in the stone. Extracts of edible leaves and fruits (amla, lemon and mausammi) and the homoeopathic medicines Berberis vulgaris Q. Dioscorea Q. and Calcarea carb 200 in the concentration range 0–3% (v/v) were found to be effective in the dissolution process in the following sequences: B. vulgaris Q. and Dioscorea Q.> C. carb 200, lemon>mausammi, amla was found to be more effective than jamun and tulsi leaf extracts in the given concentration range.

Homoeopathy is among the commonly used alternative approaches in Cancer. It is being widely used as palliative and curative in patients suffering from cancer. Though studies on the use of Homoeopathy in cancer after surgery, radio therapy and chemotherapy have been reported, clinical trials on effects of Homoeopathy in cancer are rare. Some studies on the effect of dosage of Homoeopathic medicines and their mechanism of action in cancer have also been published. A few case reports published here and there also find a mention in different databases. This review aims to describe literature available on the approach of Homoeopathy in Cancer by searching various databases like Elsevier, Google Scholar, Pub Med, Scopus, Springer and Wiley online library, electronically. It was found that beneficial effect of Homoeopathic medicines are reported on some cancer cell lines via apoptosis and immune modulation. Homoeopathic treatment given as add on also improves the quality of life, survival time and presenting complaints. However, more evidence needs to be generated to demonstrate anti tumor or antimetastatic potential in controlled clinical trials.

Introduction: The first-of-its-kind World Integrated Medicine Forum (WIMF) on the regulation of homoeopathic medicinal products (HMPs) which was attended by various stakeholders from 23 countries witnessed rigorous discussions to strengthen existing regulatory framework of homoeopathic medicines in the world, as well as to bring harmony within the Homoeopathy market for drug manufacture standards including pharmacopoeial convergence. Materials and Methods: A feedback questionnaire was shared with the participants through SurveyMonkey online platform to seek their opinion about the Forum, obtain their country-specific views about regulations of HMPs, to evaluate the extent to which the Forum could meet its objectives and also to identify areas of improvements which may be taken note for organising a future WIMF. Results: Sixty-one percent participants from 18 countries returned the survey. Analysis of the responses revealed a group consensus about the remarkable organisation of the Forum, its usefulness from a national perspective, etc. The questions could also fetch insight about country-specific reforms that are required in the availability and regulations of HMPs. All the respondents who took the survey recommended a next Forum on the same lines, out of which 92% said they would recommend it to other colleagues. Conclusion: Homoeopathy is a widely recognised and accepted system worldwide. Based on its increasing demand, a harmonised regulatory system for homeopathic medicines must be developed to ensure good quality of HMPs, and this can be achieved through cooperative interactions among various stakeholders, both nationally and globally. A Forum such as this, at least once every 2 years, can provide the right push on this front.

We should consider these from two viewpoints: -Tha t of the pathologies as we understand them today. Are they recognized? Which medicines apply to which pathology? -Where in the repertory are the appropriate references to be found? References are to Synthesis I unless stated otherwise. Sexual pathology is poorly represented in the homoeopathic literature. Pathological desire at either extreme is well covered. Homosexuality is included. There is a short, inadequate rubric on anal intercourse, and an even shorter one on one type of paedophilia. Sadism and masochism are not mentioned, either by name or by direct description. Some medicines have both cruelty and violent tendencies and impulses, and occur also in the rubrics of sexual excess. From these we can extrapolate potential rubrics, which really need confirmation with case studies. I have had no such cases personal ly . They are scarcely the bread and butter of homoeopathy, and when the occasional one does occur, it may not be possible to tackle it homoeopathically. Bestiality is not intended, I think, by the rubric Love of animals, which is woefully inadequate. Scholten 2 mentions incest (v.i.).

Since the 1960s, homoeopaths, along with biomedical physicians, have generally acknowledged the double-blind, randomized, controlled trial (RCT) as the ‘gold standard’ for establishing the efficacy of a clinical intervention. The homoeopathic profession has, however, been ambivalent about the incorporation of the RCT model for the internal validation of homoeopathic medicines. This paper looks at important components of the RCT such as blind assessment, randomization and statistical inference and examines some of the historical and scientific issues about their adoption for homoeopathic provings.

Potentization of homoeopathic medicines by successive dilutions and succussion at each step is interpreted in terms of stochastic resonance, a non-linear response of certain systems when perturbed by noise and a weak periodic signal, which increasingly enhanced at the output as the magnitude of the noise grows towards an optimal value for maximum signal amplification. The possible relevance of stochastic resonance in other physiological phenomena like the kindling effect, where epileptic convulsions are induced in rats and other animals by periodic stimulation of the brain with weak electric signals, is also considered.

The effects of homoeopathic medicines on children suffering from recurrent upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) were studied in a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial conducted at the paediatric outpatients department of the university hospital of the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam from 1987 to 1992.The study was designed to meet both the requirements of proper homoeopathic practice and the current standards of a clinical trial. The purpose of a randomized placebo-controlled double-blind trial is to identify the effects of the agents under investigation by equalizing the effects of other factors that may influence outcome.The object of the trial, eligibility criteria, follow-up period, treatments and concurrent interventions, data collection and effect measures are discussed in the light of homoeopathic thinking.

Background: Some homoeopathic practitioners fear that prognostic factor research (PFR) of homoeopathic symptoms neglects the context of these symptoms. Materials and Methods: The function of repertory and materia medica in the homoeopathic method is discussed. Previous research shows how the repertory can be improved. Outcome and Discussion: The homoeopathic procedure can be divided into two stages: an open mind stage to make an inventory of all possible medicines and a confirmatory stage to select the medicine that fits the totality. Closing the open mind stage too soon will cause confirmation bias. PFR is meant to improve the repertory in several aspects. Bayes' theorem provides an algorithm for homoeopathy and the inherent likelihood ratio (LR) a generalisation of Hahnemann's aphorism 153 to a broad differentiation of importance of symptoms arranged by peculiarity and by prevalence in respective medicine populations. Conclusion: PFR does not alter the way we select homoeopathic medicines, but it improves the repertory. LR generalises Hahnemann's aphorism 153 to an algorithm that distinguishes a large range of symptoms, peculiar and less peculiar, according to their importance for the choice of a medicine.

Assuming that homeopathy is effective beyond the placebo effects, its biological explanation in favour of the hypothesis of the hydrate-structure formation is presented. Since cell-surface proteins are likely to be activated by the hydration-shell structure of molecules in some cases, the interaction between cell-surface proteins and the putative clathrate-like hydrate microcrystals formed during the homoeopathic dilution process is suggested as a primary molecular mechanism of biological responses to homoeopathic medicines. This paper examines the probable protein-microcrystal interaction, forcusing on the cases in which silicon dioxide (silica) microcrystals cause inflammation and in which hydrate microcrystals may be formed during general anesthesia.

2 sets of homoeopathic medicines prepared from Lycopodium clavatum (6cH, 12cH and 100cH) and the dynamized water and ethanol mixture used (3cH and 6cH) were analysed using ultraviolet spectroscopy. The spectra for each set of Lycopodium and dynamized solvent were similar and differed from that of the inert solvent. The 2 sets of dynamized medicines nevertheless showed significant differences. These results suggest the possible introduction of contaminants during the dynamization process, the effects of which on clinical results are considered.

Introduction Central to the science of homoeopathy is the homoeopathic medicine which is defined, in the context of the pharmacopoeia, by the method of preparation, 'the Hahnemannian method using serial dilution'. 1 Recent biological and clinical experiments relating to homoeopathic medicines have led to rapidly growing support for the theory linking specific pharmacological action to homoeopathic medicines; this applies also to ultramolecular dilutions. 2-5 To improve our understanding of how these medicines have objective effects on living organisms when prescribed on the basis of similarity we will consider the various ways they may work, differentiating mechanisms relative to t he nature of biological information present in high dilutions; here it will be necessary to differentiate facts clearly f rom hypotheses; the specific action of homoeopathic medicines which allows us to distinguish psychosomatic aspects of the pharmacology of homoeopathic medicines from psychosomat ic e f fec t s due to the the rapeu t ic approach or to the doctor-patient relationship. A separate description is given of the physiochemical processes relating to the nature of the information contained in high dilutions and the biological action which influences the local and general action of homoeopathic medicines. In view of the complexity of the findings relating to physicochemical processes in high dilutions, it is necessary to distinguish the analysis of experimental results, including the study of factors which modify the activity of high dilutions and the direct spectroscopic study of high dilutions, from the numerous hypotheses published on the subject.

The high potential variability of chemical composition of the plant material involved in the manufacture of homoeopathic mother tinctures (a common source of homoeopathic medicines), renders both their quality control and assurance a significant challenge (Pande and Pathak, 2006). The absence of significant regulations regarding the quality of Complementary and Alternative Medicines (CAM) in South Africa contributes to this challenge (Gqaleni et al, 2007). In order to assess any quality differences between local and international manufacturers, the following homoeopathic mother tinctures, Artemisia absinthium, Rosmarinus officinalis e foliis recentibus, Salvia officinalis and Sambucus nigra, were chosen on the basis that they can be grown both locally in South Africa and internationally and are prepared according to the German Homoeopathic Pharmacopoeia (GHP), method 3a. Colour analysis was followed by thin layer chromatographic (TLC) analysis on each selected sample and relevant reference sample using both aluminum-backed TLC plates and glassbacked HPTLC plates. Photographs were taken of the resultant chromatograms, active components were identified, comparisons to the reference chromatograms were made and the overall quality of each homoeopathic mother tincture deduced. The quality of all nine of the selected samples manufactured internationally complied with the minimum quality standards set by the GHP. Five out of the six local samples complied with the minimum standards of the GHP._Notwithstanding the minimum GHP standards, the superior number of high quality international samples implies that their quality exceeded that of the locally manufactured tinctures. Greater regulation regarding the quality of these types of products has therefore been identified.Keywords: Artemisia absinthium; Rosmarinus officinalis e foliis recentibus; Sambucus nigra; Salvia officinalis; thin layer chromatography; quality, homoeopathic, mother tincture, South Africa.doi: 10.4314/ajtcam.v8i5S.14

Objectives. To assess Pakistani pharmacy students’ perceptions of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), the frequency with which they use CAM, and barriers to use of CAM. Method. A CAM health belief questionnaire was administered to 595 students enrolled in a 5-year doctor of pharmacy program (PharmD) in Pakistan. Results. Attitudes of students towards CAM were positive. Lack of evidence supporting CAM practices was considered to be the major barrier toward more students using CAM. A majority of students (79%) agreed that clinical care should integrate conventional medicine and CAM practices. Many CAM-based therapies, such as dietary supplements, massage, herbal medicines, and homoeopathic medicines were used by the students. Significant gender differences in attitude were observed, with male students having more conservative attitudes toward CAM use. A high percentage of students desired more training in CAM. Conclusions. Pakistani students exhibited positive attitudes about the value of CAM and most felt that CAM should be included in the PharmD curriculum.

The stability of 55 mother tinctures stored under standard conditions over a twelve month period was estimated in terms of anti-bacterial activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus. There was little change in activity over the period.

Background: Prostatic enlargement (prostatomegaly) is a common condition in aging men which can be progressive and lead to acute urinary retention and ultimately need for surgery. Although clinical evidence of disease occurs less commonly, symptoms of prostatic obstruction are also age related and if untreated affect quality of life. Patients with huge prostatic enlargement mostly undergo surgical intervention. Objective: To assess the usefulness of homoeopathic medicines in patients with huge prostatomegaly, a clinical study was conducted at Gaurang Clinic and Centre for Homoeopathic Research, Lucknow, India. Materials and Methods: A total of 116 patients have been shortlisted with prostate weight above 50 g, out of which 61 were found fit for the study. The medicines have been selected on the basis of principles of Homoeopathy. Prostate weight and postvoid residual urine (PVRU) on ultrasonography were assessed before and after treatment. Results: After comparing pre- and post-treatment results, the difference in mean values of prostate weight and PVRU were 67.47 ± 2.78-60.15 ± 3.62 (P < 0.001) and 91.61 ± 11.91-65.94 ± 9.01 (P = 0.009), respectively, which were found statistically significant. Lycopodium (n = 21), Pulsatilla (n = 7), and Nux vomica (n = 3) were found to be most useful medicines. Conclusion: Results obtained from the study are encouraging with findings that almost 64% of patients reduced their prostatic weight significantly. However, such study with inclusion of more parameters is needed for further validation of the role of homoeopathic medicines.

Validation of homoeopathic medicines is about validating effectiveness in individual cases. Homoeopathic practitioners base their expectation that a medicine will work on the experience that specific symptoms of the patient indicate specific medicines. The prevalence of such symptoms is higher in a population responding well to a specific medicine than in the remainder of the population. This principle has a solid mathematical foundation in Bayes' theorem, identifies homoeopathic symptoms as prognostic factors, and offers an interesting perspective of individualized research. This kind of research depends on recording symptoms and results of treatment. An important challenge in this research is establishing causality between medicine and improved health. Prognostic factor research could become one of the main pillars of Homoeopathy's scientific identity.

This is not a regurgitation o f the textbooks. I think you will find that when you use homoeopathic medicines your need for standard antidepressants and anxiolytics will steadily decline; this is certainly something which I have found. Here, when you think about it, are two groups of conventional medicines, the anxiolytics and antidepressants, which really have been woefully over prescribed during the last couple of decades in general practice. As a result we now have hundreds of thousands of what one might call psychotropic addicts in our land and this is because there has been a tremendous over-prescription of these ordinary drugs. I think this is a field where one can very quickly see some of the very simple advantages of homoeopathic medicines. These are all pretty well known to you: f r eedom from side-effects, such a big problem with the psychotropic group of drugs, and then this particular factor, safe ty from the possibility of overdosage. This is a very useful area when using homoeopathic therapeutics in the acute situation in general practice because, obviously, there is always a problem, or at any rate a potential problem, of patients taking an overdose of their tablets. This has happened to me on a number of occasions where one has prescribed remedies for a patient and later the same day relatives have rung up and said: 'Horrors, Veronica has taken the whole bottle ' . It is very nice to just be able to say: 'Well, that 's fine and not to worry about it at all, ' because you are not going to do any damage. So that is really quite an important point in being able to use homoeopathic therapeutics in this particular field: and then, of course, there is an important point: t h a t homoeopathic medicines are free from problems of drug abuse or addiction. I am going to review a number of medicines some of which are very major medicines, but I only want to highlight that part of their materia

Background Trituration of base substances, commonly to the 3cH level, is the cornerstone of the homeopathic pharmaceutical process or insoluble solutions. 1 Becker and Ehrler claim that trituration to 4cH gives a new, spiritual dimension to the homoeopathic medicine picture. 2 Aim and method This study sought to establish whether the claim that C4-derived potencies possess different physicochemical qualities to the homoeopathic medicines derived from a 3cH trituration is valid. All potencies were produced by hand according to the German Homoeopathic Pharmacopoeia (GHP). Five different samples were analysed using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Spectroscopy. Results The results indicated a significant difference between the 12cH samples of potassium dichromate ( Kalium bichromicum ) produced from 3cH and 4cH triturations. This was especially prominent in the chemical shift values of all four peaks and the relative integration levels of the H 2 O, OH and CH 3 peaks when comparing two sample groups. Conclusion Trituration plays a part in the development of physicochemical properties specific to homoeopathic medicines. The higher the level of trituration, the more pronounced is the alteration of the physical structure of the active ingredient. The study concludes that 4cH potencies are physicochemically distinct from 3cH-derived potencies (as currently employed).

A 6 month study comprising of a Double-blind Placebo-controlled trial of homoeopathic medicines in HIV/AIDS under 2 separate schemes (I) Asymptomatic HIV infection and (II) Persistent generalised lymphadenopathy (50 subjects each) was undertaken from June 1995 to February 1997. As soon as a subject had undergone 6 months of study, they were put on an indicated medicine. Unblinding of the schemes was done only when the last subject had undergone 6 months of study. Changes in the CD4+ T cell numbers in each case before, during and after completion of the study, was taken as the main criterion to assess the outcome of the treatment. Preliminary studies in Scheme I after unblinding, show practically no significant difference in changes in number of CD4+ T cells in subjects of both the placebo and the medicine group. Studies in Scheme II after unblinding, show a significant improvement in CD4+ cell numbers (Upward trend) in the subjects of the medicine group compared to the placebo group. Significantly, after 6 months of study, 5 subjects of the placebo group under Scheme II and 4 from Scheme I with an initial downward trend of CD4+ T cell, have shown an increase in CD4+ T cell count after administration of the indicated homoeopathic medicine in a period of 15–30 days. The study confirms a positive role of homoeopathic medicines in improving immune status of HIV/AIDS patients.

3 sets of potentized hydroalcoholic solutions were analyzed by ultraviolet spectroscopy in order to observe changes due to the dynamization process. For the sets prepared in pharmacies, the spectra from dynamized solutions were different from those of inert solutions; for the set prepared under more rigorous conditions of cleanness, no significant difference could be noted. These results indicate the presence of contaminants in commercial homoeopathic medicines. We discuss the implications of this for scientific research.

Homoeopathy is an alternative medical treatment developed in Germany by Dr. Samuel Hahnemann. He proposed two theories about homoeopathy: “Like cures Like” and the “Law of Minimum Dose”. The objective for this study was to evaluate the level of awareness about homoeopathic medical treatment among university students. A Questionnaire was developed containing five basic questions related to homeopathic medical sciences. 500 students from Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan were selected for this study. The only 5% university students used homoeopathic medicines in their live. From our research, it was concluded that awareness about homoeopathy among students is not up to the mark. While, homoeopathy awareness may make the world a healthier, and happier place.

Homeopathy has been used by millions of people in different continents for almost 200 years with a widespread belief, shared by practitioners and patients, that it is safe. Up to now little has been done to explore in a more accurate way the question of safety of homeopathic medicines: meta-analysis or systematic reviews of controlled clinical trials showed that homeopathy is more ef®cacious than placebo but do not report on adverse effects of homeopathic medicines. Regulatory agencies, consumers' protection organisations and practitioners need reliable information about the safety of homeopathic medicines. The de®nition of what constitutes a homeopathic medicine should also be reviewed as currently it can accommodate substances which have never been proved to cause, in healthy volunteers, the symptoms for which they are said to be indicated. In addition mixed preparations with plant extracts or other substances in non-diluted preparations which are not applied following the simile principle are sometimes mislabelled as `homeopathic products'. Issues involving risk and safety in homeopathy deserve the full attention from practitioners and researchers. Information on safety was highly rated by commissioners of services of the Royal London Homoeopathic Hospital in a recent survey. Many questions remain about the safety of homoeopathic medicines. These include

Papers p 520 Why should you read about a trial comparing homoeopathic treatment to placebo? If you prescribe homoeopathic medicines a trial will not influence your prescribing decisions because most trials of homoeopathic medicines do not individualise treatment, the hallmark of homoeopathic practice. If they do1 it is difficult to apply the results to individual treatment decisions in practice. Moreover randomisation and blinding of participants substantially distorts the context of homoeopathic prescribing, potentially weakening its effect. If you do not prescribe homoeopathic medicines you will not use the results directly in your practice, so why take any interest in such trials? One reason could be that every year 8.5% of adults in the United Kingdom and 4% in the United States use a homoeopathic medicine.2 It is also possible to refer patients to homoeopathic specialists in the NHS or refer to general practitioners who prescribe homoeopathically within a practice or primary care trust. The number of such referrals is growing. The study by …

Experts have described the practice of prescribing homoeopathic medicines on the NHS as unethical, unreliable, and pointless. Several witnesses giving evidence to MPs on the parliamentary science and technology committee on 25 November questioned the wisdom of giving such remedies to patients in an NHS setting. The committee was holding a one-off evidence session on homoeopathy as part of an investigation of the scientific evidence that underpins the government’s existing policies. MPs asked about the ethical dimension and James Thallon, medical director of NHS West Kent, giving evidence, said: “I’m not saying that it does not happen, but in principle if you prescribe with that which you know to have no clinical efficacy on …

The health of patients in the United Kingdom could be at risk after rules governing the licensing of homoeopathic medicines were changed. Members of the House of Lords have described the changes as the “abandonment of science.” Peers in the House of Lords last week debated the changes, which allow homoeopathic medicines to make medicinal claims. In September, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) introduced a scheme to regulate homoeopathic products in the …

The present work is concerned with the study of the antitumour activities of the 4 homoeopathic medicines Kali muriaticum, Phytolacca decandra, Hydrastis canadensis and Zincum metallicum in murine models. The experiments showed that the administration of Zincum met 200x considerably increased the life span of the tumour-bearing mice.

We describe an infant with atopic eczema, treated with homoeopathic medicines, who presented with erythema and limb oedema. Concentrations of urinary and plasma sodium and plasma albumin were low. On conventional treatment he made a satisfactory recovery.