Development of homeopathy

Hahnemann's first experiments on himself arguably constituted some of the earliest medical trials. Medical research has become far more sophisticated since then, yet strict clinical trials into the efficacy of homeopathy were rare until as late as the 1980s.

While funding existed for major drug research due to investment by drug companies, such funding has been harder to find for homeopathic trials. Nor do homeopathic trials have the same kind of access to the research facilities of universities, hospitals, and researchers. Trials into homeopathy are further disadvantaged by the fact that so much depends on the skill and judgment of the practitioner in assessing the appropriate remedy for the patient. One of the most important issues to be addressed in trials is the influence of the placebo effect. Clinical trials conducted by Dr. D. Taylor-Reilly in 1986 in Glasgow, Scotland, demonstrated a clear, statistically significant improvement in patients treated homeopathically that could not be attributed purely to a placebo response. He concluded that either homeopathy does work or clinical trials do not. There have also been meta-analyses, in which a large group of similar trials are analyzed as if they were one huge study, often yielding more significant results than small-scale trials might do individually. Three of the most important meta-analyses to date are that led by Prof. J. Kleijnen, published in the British Medical Journal in 1991; that led by Dr. J. P. Boissel, which was carried out for the European Commission and published in Brussels in 1996; and that by Dr. K. Linde and others, published in The Lancet in 1997. All three meta-analyses were done by skeptical, independent researchers, none of whom were practicing homeopaths, and all three concluded that, despite their best efforts to show otherwise, homeopathy has an action above and beyond that of merely a placebo. Valuable trials of homeopathy in veterinary medicine, undertaken by the British homeopathic veterinarian Mr. C. Day in 1984, suggest that homeopathy's action cannot be attributed purely to a placebo effect if it works on animals, since animals are not susceptible to such influences. Various individual trials have demonstrated a degree of success for homeopathic treatment of specific ailments, such as a 1980 study by Dr. R. G. Gibson in Glasgow of homeopathic treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, and a 1994 trial of homeopathy for diarrhea in Nicaragua by a US pediatrician, Dr. J. Jacobs. There have also been positive trials on the efficacy of homeopathy on toothaches and teething, including a 1985 French study in Lyon by Dr. P. Berthier, and a German study, published in 1994 by Dr. A. Vestweber in Erfahrungsheilkunde.

On the theoretical side, there is ongoing research into finding a scientific explanation for how a homeopathic remedy can be effective when it has been diluted so much that not a single molecule of the remedy's base ingredient is left in the water. However, research suggests that water "remembers" a substance, or leaves a "molecular fingerprint." More work is now being conducted to determine the properties of homeopathic remedies on an energetic or "quantum" level.

An effective alternative
Alongside clinical trials there have been a number of outcome studies that, while not being double-blind and controlled, ask patients about the outcome of their treatment. Outcome studies at the Glasgow Homoeopathic Hospital in Scotland, on patients who had already had unsuccessful conventional treatment for a range of illnesses, including depression, multiple sclerosis, and cancer, reported a significant decrease in their use of conventional medicine. While these studies are not directly clinically controlled, they have great implications, not just for patients' health but also for the financing of medical services. Possible consequences include the use of cheaper medication, a decrease in hospital admissions, and the reduced costs of treating the side-effects of conventional medication. A 1998 report by the Faculty of Homoeopathy in the UK argues that clinical trials consistently demonstrate the benefits of homeopathy in terms of patient care and cost-effectiveness.

In many Western countries there is a public trend away from some aspects of conventional, drug-based medicine, and sympathy with the idea of a more "holistic" way of treating the "whole person." There is growing interest from the medical establishment in exploring the possibility of integrating some complementary therapies, including homeopathy, into their treatment approaches. This is in part due to rising healthcare costs, the alarming side-effects of some medical treatments, and the lack of success in conventionally treating some conditions, such as cancer. If integration is to become a reality, however, high standards of education, practice, and research within homeopathy are needed. Ultimately, the aim is to ensure that homeopathy is being delivered to the public by suitably qualified and regulated practitioners operating according to a strong code of ethics to protect the patient. While there are still clearly key questions as to how homeopathy works, research and experience suggest that it is, as Hahnemann first proposed, safe, gentle, and effective. The active ingredients are given in highly diluted form and homeopathic remedies are virtually 100 percent safe and can be given to babies, pregnant women, and the elderly. Homeopathy integrates well with conventional medicine and can be used in a truly complementary fashion.