Now, as then

Success of Homoeopathy in Cuban tropical flood outbreak

Cuban experiences an annual endemic-epidemic of leptospirosis, a bacterial infection brought on usually through poor sanitation after natural disasters, such as hurricanes and flooding experienced in the area.

A homoeopathic remedy (specifically a homeoprophylaxis) was used and endorsed by the Finlay Institute, which is part of the Ministry of Public Health in Cuba. They administered repeat doses to an estimated 2.5 million people at a cost of $200,000 (as opposed to the usual pharmaceutical drug cost of $3M).

Here is the article.

AMA origins

The AMA - American Medical Association (not to be confused with the Australian AMA), was formed in the late 1840’s with 250 doctors. It netted $24.4m last year, being the largest membership organisation for physicians in America, with an approximate total membership of 240,000. (Source: 2007 Annual Report, AMA)

How did they achieve such success and what is the future of the organisation? Natural News.com sheds some light on the leadership of George H. Simmons, head of the AMA for 25 years from the late 1890’s and who pioneered the way for revenue increases through a ’seal of approval’ process from pharmacos. After much scandal, he was forced to stand down and was replaced by Morris Fishbein, who practised the same kind of conduct, eventually leading to food and cigarette companies being a major driver for advertising revenue increases.

Although the AMA was not formed as part of the Government, its influence in history as authoritative in law making is astounding. A member of the AMA’s Council on Medical Education was involved with the evaluation of medical schools, after the release of the infamous Flexner Report. This Report criticised various forms of medicine (ie herbalists, homoeopathy etc) not deemed to be of medical standard; to alarming consequence.

A great overview of the history of herbal medicine and homoeopathy, as well as the rising influence of ‘conventional medicine’ (as it is now called), can be found in the great book that is Green Pharmacy.

Gardasil side effects

For those not in the know, Gardasil is a cervical cancer vaccine, aiming to prevent 4 types of human papillomavirus (HPV). The official site is here. A number of healthcare professionals in Australia and America are reporting adverse reactions from this concoction of drugs. Don’t be deceived by the website listing the side effects; they’re not the complete list. Take note of the words ‘For a more complete list of side effects, ask your doctor or healthcare professional.’

If you are considering having the vaccination or have received it but are concerned, it is advisable to search the independent source of vaccinations: the Australian Vaccination Network.

You can find a ready list of all the vaccinations Australians are obliged to have, from birth to over 50 year olds here.

Investigating Homoeopathy & Wikipedia - Part 2

Science is defined by Wikipedia as being from the Latin word ’scientia’ meaning knowledge; ‘an effort to discover and increase human understanding of how the physical world works’. It makes reference to the words phenomenon - any occurrence that is observable and simulation - the imitation of some real thing, state of affairs or process.

So far so good; looks like Homoeopathy should fit as a science given that it aims to increase our understanding of the effects of substances and how a simillimum remedy aims to restore the individual to a healthy state.

Pseudoscience is defined by Wikipedia as ‘a body of knowledge methodology, belief, or practice that is claimed to be scientific or made to appear scientific, but does not adhere to the scientific method, lacks supporting evidence or plausibility, or otherwise lacks scientific status’. So now the truth is revealed. The definition of science alone is not enough to call something scientific; it must pass the ultimate test - the scientific method.

It appears that science has conditions, is not free form and is biased towards methodologies that are narrow and contradictory. Of course, there’s no point arguing about it. Science and their converts can have their scientific method; it won’t change the power of Homoeopathy. And it won’t change the things they can’t explain.

How big is too big?

Myer have announced that they are releasing a range of clothing for females sized 16-24, following the trend of other companies who are catering for the increasing epidemic of obesity in Australia. With 17% of 18-34 year old women considered obese, this move is expected to boost the morale and relative acceptance of being larger than the ‘norm’. This of course, widens the net for what is considered the norm.

While I support comfortable clothing for women of any size, it does bring to mind other issues such as; is there an unacceptable weight purely from a health perspective? On the other end of the scale, will size 6 (the American size 0) become the new size 8? Should this be an unacceptable weight from a health perspective? From the article:

And if figures grow bigger, so too will the Myer range. “It’s up to size 24, but we’ll move that,” Ms Coomber said. “If there’s a bigger demand for bigger sizes then we’ll look at that.”

I hope the day never comes…

Atropine & Belladonna put to the test

A professor of pharmacology once put homoeopathy to the test by placing a rat’s intestine into a fluid culture medium containing atropine, a poison from the Atropa Belladonna plant. The poison is known to cause severe stomach cramps. The intestine started to display symptoms of shrinkage and strong traction. Upon adding the homoeopathically prepared Belladonna 90x potency (prepared from fresh juice of the whole plant), the intestine displayed less traction and relaxed, responding to the dosage. Despite the professor’s goal of disproving homoeopathy, she discovered that ‘homoeopathy is effective in the absence of any material substance’. This was despite the the potency of the homoeopathic product (90x) being well beyond 10C (Avogadro’s number) and substances in this case would have no material substance or effect.

Here’s a little excerpt from the Quantum website giving a clear distinction on the difference of homoeopathic potencies. Please note: The placement of the ‘X’ and ‘C’ before or after the numerical amount are interchangeable and retain the same meaning.

X potencies are diluted at the ratio of 1:10 and shaken 10 times. A X1 is thus created by using 1 drop of the original tincture plus 9 drops of the alcohol-water solution and shaking it 10 times. A X2 by 1 drop of X1 plus 9 drops, etc. . . .
C potencies are diluted at the ratio of 1:100 and shaken 10 times.
LM potencies are diluted at the ratio of 1:50,000 and shaken 100 times, with the added specialty that the original substance is a specially produced C 3 potency instead of the original tincture.

References: 1. Quantec.ch; 2. ‘Materia Medica Pura’ Vol. I, S. Hahnemann

Investigating Homoeopathy & Wikipedia - Part 1

Dr. Manish Bhatia of Hpathy.com (Homeopathy 4 Everyone) has written about anti-CAM (Complementary & Alternative Medicine) information on Wikipedia.

Here is a sample of what it states regarding Homoeopathy:

Claims to the efficacy of homeopathic treatment beyond the placebo effect are unsupported by the collective weight of scientific and clinical evidence,[7][8][9][10] although advocates of homeopathy point to studies of the effects of compounds diluted almost out of existence.[11][12] Common homeopathic preparations are diluted beyond the point where there is any likelihood that molecules from the original solution are present in the final product; the claim that these treatments still have any pharmacological effect is thus scientifically implausible[13][14] and violates fundamental principles of science,[15] including the law of mass action.[15] Critics also object that the number of high-quality studies that support homeopathy is small, the conclusions are not definitive, and duplication of the results, a key test of scientific validity, has proven problematic at best.[16] The lack of convincing scientific evidence supporting its efficacy[17] and its use of remedies without active ingredients have caused homeopathy to be regarded as pseudoscience;[18] quackery;[19][20][21] or, in the words of a 1998 medical review, “placebo therapy at best and quackery at worst.”[22] Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeopathy

In response to reading the above excerpt I went to Wikipedia to see the whole article and found a lengthy description of the modality and 167 References. This is in contrast with the search for ‘Conventional medicine’ (but being diverted to ‘Medicine’) with 15 References. My first thought was wow, whoever is slamming Homoeopathy must really think it a threat! To spend enough time to find so many References. Of course, there is neutral information to be found but overall there is definitely a message suggesting homoeopathy is somehow pseudoscientific.

More on this argument in Part 2…
In response to the misleading and bias claims found on Wikipedia, Hpathy.com have decided to launch their own version of Wikipedia, called Wiki4CAM Online Encyclopedia. At the risk of appearing even more of a breakaway from so-called ‘modern medicine’, it will attempt to right the wrongs and provide a CAM practitioner-only view of each modality, from Acupressure to Yoga. I believe this will create an excellent source of one-stop-shop information for practitioners within CAM but outside of this I’m not sure how it will be perceived, particularly because the information on Wikipedia will remain and is open for further comment. Although potential for embarking on a tit-for-tat argument, I believe the focus should be on providing positive, evidence based documentation on the efficacy of homoeopathy and EVERY other modality, on Wikipedia. That is, add to the existing data. What are we afraid of? Do we feel there is insufficient proof of healing? Must we crawl on our knees while others stand tall in their beliefs?

The curse of Thimerosal

Homeopathy for Everyone did an excellent interview with Homoeopath Beth Rotondo recently. She discussed the lasting effects of a preservative called Thimerosal (or Thimerson), which is an alcohol and mercury mixture used for many years in vaccines, particularly childhood vaccines. It is now reportedly used in flu shots, which children receive as standard annually. Due to large stockpiles of the vaccines used, children may still be administered with ones that contain Thimerosal - the preservative is thought to contribute to autism and other related disorders affecting the central nervous system.

As Thimerosal is a substance known to cause strong reactions, it was thought to be an ideal substance for a homoeopathic remedy. It has been used in a clinical setting by Beth Rotondo for over two years with great improvement, particularly in autistic children.

P.S Here is a website demonstrating the use of the homoeopathic remedy Thimerosal, in a child with autism.

Who wants to be a victim of low expectations?

Alan Schmukler of the website Homeopathy for Everyone discusses the issue of what it is to be a victim of low expectations when it comes to orthodox medical treatment:
A young doctor recently told me that he had to present a patient with a choice between her symptoms and a drug with lethal side effects. He said she chose the drug and suffered terribly. He’s a dedicated physician and cares about people, but as a victim of low expectations, he saw nothing wrong with those limited options.

With such inadequate tools, why doesn’t the medical establishment embrace homeopathy? I think one important reason is its magical quality. Of course we know that it’s totally scientific, based on thousands of proving (yes, they count!), hundreds of thousands of clinical cures and numerous studies.

He also refers to a desperate ad campaign for a drug that ‘has never been taken off the market’ as a selling point; check it out here.

Research for neglected diseases

The George Institute has received $US8.8m in grant funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. It will undertake a 5-year analysis on where R&D money is spent globally, on the development of new prescription drugs for neglected diseases. Neglected diseases include malaria, TB, HIV/AIDS. Currently, more than $US1.6b is handed over to R&D pursuits to address neglected diseases.
The key objective of the study is to examine how the money could be better spent, by addressing areas of low awareness and exposure to existing funding.

What an amazing opportunity it would be for complementary medicine to receive similar funding; to pursue clinical trials in the development of natural medicine.