[Life-threatening hyponatremia provoked by alternative treatment. An occurrence in a patient with chronic lymphocytic leukemia with no indication for treatment]. / Livstruende hyponatriaemi udløst af alternativ behandling. Et tilfaelde hos en patient med ikkebehandlingskraevende kronisk lymfatisk leukaemi.

Alternative medicine is a heterogeneous group of treatments which has become increasingly popular in cancer patients in the Western world in recent years. We describe a 77-year-old female with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, who developed severe hyponatremia during treatment with alternative medicine given by a general practitioner over a 3-year-period. From a hematological point of view, there was no need for this expensive treatment as the disease was stable with a normal hemoglobin and thrombocyte count and no B-symptoms. The case illustrates a need for better control of the alternative practitioners and for the adverse reactions to their treatments by the National Health Service.

Homeopathic pathogenetic trials of Acidum malicum and Acidum ascorbicum.

Two homeopathic pathogenetic trials (HPTs, provings), of identical design were conducted: of Acidum malicum 12 cH and Acidum ascorbicum 12 cH. Each trial included 20 healthy volunteers. Both were of double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomised, four period crossover design, with two sequences. 'Healthy' was defined in terms of SF-36 scores, medical judgement and blood tests. All volunteers had regular interviews with the same supervisor. No serious adverse reactions occurred. The causal relationship of each symptom with treatment was judged, blind, by the volunteer, the supervisor and a 9-item pathogenetic index. For Acidum malicum 79 symptoms were identified by the supervisor, 57 were included in the final analysis, 22 occurred in verum treatment periods. For Acidum ascorbicum, of 55 symptoms, 39 were included in the analysis. 16 occurred in verum treatment periods.