About 70-80% of patients taking homeopathic treatment for chronic disease report improvement.

About 70-80% of patients taking homeopathic treatment for chronic disease report improvement, and in at least one study they prefer it over conventional treatment, according to a collection of studies written up by our friends down under, Homeopathy Plus.

Possibly you are aware of the six-year Bristol Homeopathic Hospital study, which showed that out of 6,544 patients with chronic disease, sometimes of many years’ duration, 70.7 per cent reported positive health changes.

But there’s more.

A study on several alternative health modalities in Northern Ireland shows homeopathy narrowly edging out acupuncture with 79 per cent of patients reporting positive outcomes.

A study carried out at a health clinic in Dorset, England shows 84 per cent of patients reported improvement, and 81 per cent attribute their improvement to homeopathy.

A German study found that most parents with cancer-stricken kids who had them treated homeopathically rated their satisfaction rate as “very high” and would recommend homeopathy to other parents.

A large-scale Swiss study comparing patient satisfaction with homeopathic treatment to conventional medicine for chronic disease showed homeopathy scoring significantly better, with greater improvement and fewer side effects.

Finally, a 103-centre study in Switzerland and Germany followed 3,079 patients over eight years, and found:

* On average, disease severity decreased dramatically and improvements were sustained
* Three in ten patients stopped treatment because of major improvement
* Mental and physical quality of life scores increased substantially
* Biggest and fastest improvements happened for children and the patients who started out the most sick.

Conditions treated ran the gamut, covering both physical and emotional afflictions.

Those who wonder why homeopathy continues to grow in popularity worldwide despite a mechanism of action that defies common “wisdom” and a well-funded and highly-motivated opposition should take note of these studies.

Read the original article, which has more details and full citations, here.

'Homeopathy may have cure for Japanese encephalitis'

'Homeopathy may have cure for Japanese encephalitis'

TNN Jul 14, 2010, 03.04am IST

 

LUCKNOW: Japanese encephalitis (JE), the killer disease of east UP, could have a cure in homeopathy, claims Central Council for Research in Homeopathy (CCRH).

Initial findings of a study undertaken by the School of Tropical Medicine, Kolkata show that a homeopathic medicine — Belladonna — helps in checking the infection caused by JE.

Giving details, director general, CCRH, Prof C Nayak said: "Ultra-diluted solution of belladonna was administered to a JE infected chick embryo in a planned lab study. The results of the study showed a significant decrease in rate with which the cells were dying."

Second phase trials for the same study have also shown encouraging results, Prof Nayak said. ''Mice which were given the medicine were able to fight better.... the observations are being documented and would be published shortly,'' he said.

What adds to the hope is that the possibility of a cure has been acknowledged by the American journal of infectious diseases. The journal has published an article on the study being done by the team from School of Tropical Medicine, Kolkata. ''This study is a fitting reply to the critics and skeptics of homeopathy who have been denouncing the therapy as placebo,'' Prof Nayak told TOI.

City-based homeopathy consultant Dr Girish Gupta said it is only after human studies that one can think of real help to the needy children of the affected districts in UP. ''Officials say the council is working to formulate a protocol for human trials in homeopathy... this will also boost research in the stream,'' he said.

JE presents a significant risk to humans and animals, particularly in Southeast Asia (includingIndia), where around 50,000 cases and 10,000 deaths occur per year, mainly affecting children below 10 years.

Statistics reveal that about 50% of patients who develop Japanese encephalitis suffer from permanent neurological defects and 30% of them die from the disease. Further, the JE virus has shown a tendency to extend to other geographic areas.