Examples of published homoeopathic research
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS):
In this pilot study, 100 patients, who had been diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome, were divided into three groups:
1) conventional medical care
2) conventional medical care plus individualised homoeopathic treatment
3) conventional medical care plus 'supportive listening'
Patients receiving homoeopathic medication in addition to conventional care showed more improvement than those who received conventional care alone or conventional care with 'supportive listening'. Because of the size of the study and the small number of patients for whom homoeopathic medicines were prescribed, the results were not statistically significant (in scientific terms this means that firm conclusions cannot be drawn) but they warrant a larger size study.
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Childhood diarrhoea:
In the developing world acute diarrhoea in children carries a high mortality rate. Studies were carried out in Nepal and Nicaragua with 186 and 81 children, respectively, aged between 6 months to 5 years. In these randomised double-blind clinical trials, children were either prescribed individualised homoeopathic treatment or a placebo, both together with standard oral re-hydration.
The groups receiving homoeopathic treatment had a statistically significant decrease in the duration as well as the frequency of the diarrhoea.
Link to the abstract for the Nicaraguan trial
The results from the clinical trial in Nepal can be found in this document: Homeopathic Treatment of Acute Childhood Diarrhoea
Allergic rhinitis:
A randomised controlled trial in four series of homoeopathy versus placebo was reported in the British Medical Journal in 2000. The trial was carried out by scientists at Glasgow Royal Infirmary; University of Glasgow; Institute of Health Sciences, Oxford; University of Sydney, Australia; and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York.
Fifty patients completed the study with the group receiving homoeopathic treatment reporting a significant objective improvement in nasal airflow compared with the placebo group. Both groups reported improvement in symptoms, with patients taking homoeopathy reporting more improvement in all but one of the centres, which had more patients with aggravations.
The research paper can be downloaded at this link: Taylor at al: 'Allergic Rhinitis'
The full article can be accessed here
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD):
This pilot study, which has now been expanded into a pragmatic randomised controlled clinical trial, after showing positive results from homoeopathic treatment, compared twenty children against a control group of ten children. The children whose treatment included homoeopathy showed significant improvements after 24 weeks which still continued after one year.
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