Understanding Why Homeopathic Medicines are Used for Menopause: Searching for Insights into Neuroendocrine Features.

BACKGROUND: Menopause is a physiological event that marks the end of a woman's reproductive stage in life. Vasomotor symptoms and changes in mood are among its most important effects. Homeopathy has been used for many years in treating menopausal complaints, though clinical and pre-clinical research in this field is limited. Homeopathy often bases its prescription on neuropsychiatric symptoms, but it is unknown if homeopathic medicines (HMs) exert a neuroendocrine effect that causes an improvement in vasomotor symptoms and mood during menopause. OBJECTIVES: The study's objectives were to address the pathophysiological changes of menopause that could help in the understanding of the possible effect of HMs at a neuroendocrine level, to review the current evidence for two of the most frequently prescribed HMs for menopause (Lachesis mutus and Sepia officinalis), and to discuss the future directions of research in this field. METHODS: An extensive literature search for the pathophysiologic events of menopause and depression, as well as for the current evidence for HMs in menopause and depression, was performed. RESULTS: Neuroendocrine changes are involved in the pathophysiology of vasomotor symptoms and changes in mood during menopause. Gonadal hormones modulate neurotransmitter systems. Both play a role in mood disorders and temperature regulation. It has been demonstrated that Gelsemium sempervirens, Ignatia amara and Chamomilla matricaria exert anxiolytic effects in rodent models. Lachesis mutus and Sepia officinalis are frequently prescribed for important neuropsychiatric and vasomotor symptoms. Dopamine, a neurotransmitter involved in mood, is among the constituents of the ink of the common cuttlefish, Sepia officinalis. CONCLUSION: Based on all the pathophysiologic events of menopause and the improvement in menopausal complaints that certain HMs show in daily practice, these medicines might have a direct or indirect neuroendocrine effect in the body, possibly triggered via an as-yet unidentified biological mechanism. Many unanswered questions in this field require further pre-clinical and clinical research.

Menopause: Questions and Answers for Improving Homeopathic Clinical Practice.

BACKGROUND: Medical attention for menopausal women is frequently delivered by health care providers (general practitioners, gynecologists or homeopathic physicians) who are not specialized in post-reproductive care. Homeopathy has been used for treating menopausal complaints for more than two centuries. Therefore, it is important to improve clinical knowledge in this field among homeopathic physicians. Nowadays, there is a special interest in the study of menopause-related chronic conditions due to the impact on women's quality of life. The aim of this review is to address the important key points of the menopause, clinical assessment, and available tests for evaluating menopausal women, as well as some general topics regarding homeopathic clinical practice for menopause. METHODS AND RESULTS: A literature search regarding menopause and current guidelines and recommendations was performed. To be practical and concise, the information is presented in the form of questions and answers. Currently, there is an international classification of woman's reproductive aging that can be useful for clinical and research purposes in homeopathy. A comprehensive homeopathic approach is mandatory for evaluating women with a healthy menopause, but also for those experiencing co-morbidities. In an integrative health care system, several assessment resources can be incorporated into the homeopathic consultations. Clinical and laboratory examinations for detecting metabolic disorders (dyslipidemia, insulin resistance, diabetes and hypertension, among others), mood disorders, cognitive impairment and osteoporosis are available in many clinical settings. Screening for gynecological cancers is an international recommendation at this stage. All data obtained from homeopathic consultations would help to integrate well-documented case reports. This would give the possibility to generate hypotheses to design high-quality clinical research. CONCLUSION: Improving homeopathic clinical practice for menopause is useful for both clinical and research purposes. The international recommendations for evaluating menopausal women should be incorporated in homeopathic clinical practice, mainly in clinical settings where homeopathy is integrated in outpatient services.

Why Is the Healing of Emotional Problems So Difficult?

BACKGROUND: This article deals with the difficulties involved in the healing of emotional problems. It focuses on the homeopathic treatment combined with other therapeutic approaches. FINDINGS: In working with emotional problems, homeopathy focuses mainly on the action of the homeopathic medicine. Arguably, it over-relies on the healing power of the medicine and gives less attention to the importance of working dynamically with the patient's emotional problems. This article suggests a more balanced approach that combines between these two facets of the healing process, giving more weight to the role of potencies. CONCLUSION: Emotional healing becomes more plausible when the patient's inner strength attains the level of strength of the disturbance, represented by "level of potency", which allows the patient to cope with his/her disturbance more successfully.

Over-the-counter-drugs for the treatment of mood and anxiety disorders--the views of German pharmacists.

INTRODUCTION: Depression, anxiety, agitation and sleep disorders are highly prevalent in the general population, but few persons receive psychiatric care. METHODS: Our aim was to study the views of 690 German pharmacists on "over-the counter" (OTC) drugs for these indications. RESULTS: They reported dispensing OTC medication to an average of 12 customers per day, and this corresponded to almost one quarter of the medications provided for these indications. Herbal drugs and complex homeopathic formulations were used most frequently. Patients preferring OTC substances were described as being younger, with shorter durations of illness and less severe symptoms, and more skeptical regarding psychopharmacology. While genuine pharmacological effects were considered as most relevant, pharmacists were highly aware of placebo and interpersonal factors. Symptoms, comorbidity and advice on drug intake were prominent topics during pharmacy consultations. CONCLUSION: German pharmacists report dispensing large amounts of OTC drugs for anxiety, agitation, sleep disturbances or depression. It is unclear whether this constitutes a rational and cost effective method to deal with mild courses of high prevalence diseases or must be seen critically.

Individual differences in response to randomly assigned active individualized homeopathic and placebo treatment in fibromyalgia: implications of a double-blinded optional crossover design.

OBJECTIVE: To assess individual difference characteristics of subgroups of patients with fibromyalgia (FM) patients with respect to the decision to stay in or switch from randomly-assigned verum or placebo treatment during an optional crossover phase of a double-blinded homeopathy study. DESIGN: Double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled, optional crossover clinical trial. PARTICIPANTS: Fifty-three (53) community-recruited patients with FM entered the optional crossover phase. INTERVENTION: Two homeopaths jointly selected an individualized homeopathic remedy for all patients. The pharmacy dispensed either verum LM remedy or indistinguishable placebo in accord with randomized assignment for 4 months and the patient's optional crossover decision for an additional 2 months. OUTCOME MEASURES: Patients completed a battery of baseline state/trait questionnaires, including mood, childhood neglect and abuse, and trait absorption. They rated global health (whole person-centered) and tender point pain on physical examination (disease-specific) at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months. RESULTS: Rates of optional crossover from verum to placebo or placebo to verum were comparable (p = 0.6; 31%, and 41%, respectively). The switch subgroups had greater baseline psychologic issues (emotional neglect in placebo-switch; depression and anger in verum-switch). The verum-stay subgroup scored highest on treatment helpfulness and included all six exceptional responders who fell, prior to crossover, into the top terciles for improvement in both global health and pain. Patients staying in their randomly assigned groups, active or placebo (n = 34), scored significantly higher in trait absorption than did those who switched groups (n = 19). CONCLUSION: Individual difference factors may predict better and poorer responders with FM to specific and nonspecific effects of homeopathic and placebo treatment.

Rotación miasmática por supresión sintomática: caso clínico / Miasmatic rotation by suppressing symptomatic: case report

En occidente, la homeopatía ha sido la medicina integradora para el ser humano, donde las funciones mentales son parte de toda una dinámica vital, así lo concibió Hahnemann el fundador de la homeopatía, y con base en esto dejó el Método Homeopático, esta propuesta la dejó detallada en el Organón 6ª ed.

Rotación miasmática por supresión sintomática, Caso Clínico / Miasmatic rotation by suppressing symptomatic Case Report

En occidente, la homeopatía ha sido la medicina integradora para el ser humano, donde las funciones mentales son parte de toda una dinámica vital, así lo concibió Hahnemann el fundador de la homeopatía, y con base en esto dejó el Método Homeopático, esta propuesta la dejó detallada en el Organón 6ª ed.

Medecine affective et pathologies dorsales / Affective medicine and dorsal pathologies

"Mal de dos, mal du siecle", indiquait le celebre Docteur Maigne; en 2001, vingt ans apres, l'osteopathie est une pratique medicale reconnue. La medecine affective n'a donc qu'une place limitee dans les... (AU)

Cumplimiento con la profilaxis en los trastornos afectivos / Prophylaxis compliance in patients with affective disorders

Se investiga la conducta de cumplimiento de 120 pacientes en tratamiento profiláctico por trastornos afectivos en una clínica especializada, utilizando una entrevista semiestructurada, los niveles plasmáticos de fármacos, el despacho de recetas y los registros de las fichas clínicas y de enfermería. Se encuentra que sólo el 46 por ciento de los pacientes cumplía adecuadamente con la prescripción médica, al definir operacionalmente cumplimiento, teniendo en cuenta el informe del paciente y los registros objetivos directos e indirectos. El incumplimiento se correlacionó significativamente con edad menor de 50 años, abuso de alcohol, aprensiones respecto al tratamiento y presencia de recaídos durante la profilaxis

Diagnostic affectif des maladies virales / Affective diagnostic of viral diseases

Et si le système immunitaire, avec son réseau d´idiotypes, fonctionnait comme un langage? Après tout, le virus n´est-il pas une invasion massive d´information démultipliée, une charge informationnelle provenant de l´extérieur et qui ne peut être "traitée" correctement et immédiatement par l´organisme? (AU)

Importancia da avaliacao dos disturbios emotivo-afetivos em criancas (o metodo homeopatico) / The importance of the evaluation of the emotional affective disturbance in children (the homeopathic method)

Os autores procuram demonstrar a importancia dos disturbios psicologicos relacionados com problemas fisicos, atraves do levantamento sistematico de 100 casos de criancas e adolescentes, tratados pela homeopatia

Correlaçäo entre sintomas psicoafetivos e asma, em crianças submetidas a tratamento homeopático / Correlation between psycho-affective symptoms and asthma, in children submetted to homeopathic treatment

O presente trabalho foi baseado em dados coletados dentro de um grupo de 42 crianças asmáticas tratadas homeopaticamente nos ambulatórios da Associaçäo Paulista de Homeopatia entre março e dezembro de 1985. O objetivo do trabalho foi o de correlacionar a evoluçäo da asma com a evoluçäo dos sintomas psicoafetivos envolvidos na etiologia da asma

Interacao negativa entre fluoxetina e litio / Negative interaction between fluoxetine and lithium

Casos de interacao negativa entre fluoxetina e litio ja foram descritos na literatura, e o mecanismo da interacao parece envolver a acao sinergica no sistema serotosinergico, alem de descricoes de elevacao nos niveis sericos de litio quando da adicao da fluoxetina. Os autores relatam o caso de interacao negativa entre fluoxetina e litio em um paciente de 43 anos com diagnostico de transtorno bipolar tipo II...

Troubles de l'humeur et menopause / Humor troubles and menopause

Etats depressifs, troubles dysthymiques, maniaco-depressifs, manies franches ou parfois meme delire sont caracteristiques de cette periode de transformation constituee par la menopause. (AU)

Diagnostic affectif des maladies veineuses / Affective diagnostic of the venous diseases

En avoir ou pas: de la veine! Qui voit ses veines, voit ses peines, L'avarice, la varice, l'absence de variation dans les richesses.La phlebite, le crack boursier: l'echec de toutes les... (AU)