Is homeopathy effective?

I came across this on the European Council of Homeopaths website. We all know from our own experience that homeopathy is effective . The biggest stumbling block to wider acceptance still remains being able to articulate what the mechanism of action.

This article brings up some interesting points around the recent analysis of large studies involving homeopathy.

A meta-analysis of a subset of eight ‘larger higher quality’ randomised controlled trials (RCTs), drawn from 110 matched RCTs each of homeopathy and conventional medicine, concluded that the results of the trials were consistent with the hypothesis that homeopathy is a placebo effect [1].  This meta-analysis was criticised for the heterogeneity of the trials on which its conclusion was based (all eight were for different conditions).

In an apparent paradox, the same meta-analysis concluded that homeopathy had a ‘substantial beneficial effect’ in acute upper respiratory tract infections (URTI), without evidence of positive bias. Other meta-analyses have reached similar conclusions [2, 3].  There is evidence from clinical studies of varying designs that homeopathy may be effective in treating acute otitis media [4-6].  Homeopathy is frequently prescribed for URTI by homeopathic GPs [7]. There is also some evidence from western Europe that general practitioners (GPs) with homeopathic training prescribe fewer antibiotics than their counterparts in conventional medicine [8-10].

The plausibility paradox
The problem with homeopathy for most doctors and scientists is the inherent implausibility of the idea that ultra-diluted solutions can have chemical effects [11].  Clearly it is highly unlikely that a medicine that does not contain a single molecule of the original substance could work like a conventional medicine.  Sometimes the outcome of RCTs overturns theory, but at other times evidence is dismissed because of theory.  Vandenbroucke states “Accepting that infinite dilutions work would subvert more than conventional medicine; it wrecks a whole edifice of chemistry and physics” [12].

To read the full article go to:
http://www.webmedcentral.com/article_view/1126

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