With an aim of creating awareness about benefits of Homeopathy, World Homeopathy Day 2023 will be celebrated on April 10. Dr Subhash Kaushik, Director General, Central Council for Research in Homoeopathy, Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India in an interaction with Express Healthcare shares some interesting studies on Homeopathy medicines and patient recovery and more
Do Homoeopathic medicines really enhance immunity? Did these medicines help during COVID-19?
Homoeopathic medicines work by enhancing the body’s own mechanism of healing. Research studies during epidemics of dengue, cholera, ILI, JE showed good effect of Homoeopathy as a prophylactic, suggesting an immunology-related effect of our medicines.
Arsenicum album 30C has been found effective for upregulating the immune markers (CD4:CD8 ratio and absolute lymphocyte count) and thereby maintaining the immunity of individuals.
Role of Homoeopathy in the pandemic to understand the preventive and treatment initiatives have also produced encouraging outcomes.
Our studies have also found that adjunct individualised homoeopathic medicine with the standard treatment significantly improves overall recovery of patients admitted in the hospitals with early resolution of symptoms compared to those who received placebo along with the standard treatment.
Where does the popularity of Homoeopathy stand in and around the world?
In the current complementary and alternative medicine workforce of EU, Homoeopathy is the second most provided method (45,000 doctors and 5250 non-medical practitioners), only after acupuncture. Homoeopathic prescribers have been stated in the ECHAMP report -In Poland, Spain, and Netherlands there are 14.4, 10.9 and 10.8 homoeopathic prescribers per 1 lakh inhabitants respectively. In Bulgaria, it is 21.6 per 1 lakh inhabitants. In India alone, as in January 2017, there were 3,19,098 registered homoeopathic practitioners, trained and educated in 268 homoeopathic medical colleges, recognised and supported by the Indian Government. According to the report of WHO in 2019, Homoeopathy medicines are used by 100 Member States.
Does research in Homoeopathy differ from modern medicine? In what ways is it similar or dissimilar?
No, there is no difference between the two in terms of the study designs and rigor, as research is to be conducted in a standardised manner for global acceptance. In Homoeopathy all types of researches are conducted like surveys, observational studies, randomised controlled trials, etc. Earlier, there were few quality research articles in Homoeopathy due to lack of exposure and insufficient guidelines but now, there are many research papers which are at par with modern medicine research in methodology and conduct. There are international guidelines available on how Homoeopathy cases can be optimally reported.
Are there any adverse events reported in the Homoeopathic clinical trials?
The risk profile of homoeopathic ultra-diluted medicines is minor and almost imperceptible. So, while assessing the patient’s response to the homoeopathic treatment (from several observational studies and surveys) it was found that the adverse effects from homoeopathic treatment fluctuate between 2 and 11 percent. But despite minor adverse events, the adverse effects of homoeopathic remedies are consistently reported in observational studies, while homoeopathic aggravations are less documented. Also, to label the instances as actual ADRs, the quality of medicines is to be ensured so that the medicines are devoid of any adulterant that me cause these ADRs. ADRs observed by practitioners are documented and reported to the concerned pharmacovigilance centres (PPvCs / IPvCs) using suspected adverse reactions reporting form for ASU&H Drugs.
It is important for clinicians to include the concept of adverse events in their theory and clinical practice. Adopting safety precautions will only improve the credibility of the homoeopathic profession and enhance patient safety.
Does Homoeopathy have a role in dealing with Anti-Microbial Resistance (AMR)?
AMR poses a major threat to global health with more than 700,000 yearly deaths worldwide, expected to rise to 10 million within 30 years. There is an urgent need to decrease the use of antibiotics. Acute upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) and their complications are the most frequent cause of antibiotic prescribing in primary care. With multi-resistant organisms proliferating, appropriate alternative treatments to these conditions are urgently required. Here, Homoeopathy can play a significant role. There are multiple peer-reviewed studies which support the beneficial effect of Homoeopathy in these cases. So, by using Homoeopathy as the first line of defense in the cases where antibiotics are usually prescribed, like influenza-like illness, we can reduce the use of antibiotics and hence, reduce the burden of AMR.
There are some reviews against Homoeopathy, what is your take on those?
The points on which Homoeopathy is generally criticised are:
- Homoeopathic remedies are diluted to such an extent that it’s unlikely there’s a single molecule of the original substance remaining in the final remedy.
Response: Recent studies at molecular/nano level demonstrate how we can trace the presence of homoeopathic medicines in high potencies.
- Homoeopathy is considered as the placebo effect.
Response: Many RCTs, meta-analysis, plant/animal-based studies, in-vitro/in-vivo studies have been performed to show statistically significant difference between the medicine and control groups.
- Lack of any evidence for its effectiveness.
Response: More and more homoeopathic physicians are now publishing evidence-based research. CCRH is also continually promoting and conducting credible research to establish the effectiveness of homoeopathy in various health conditions. So, this view on Homoeopathy is incorrect.
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