Estructuración de la Homeopatía en Brasil: directrices para el entrenamiento y la formación de recursos humanos / Structuring of Homeopathy in Brazil: guidelines for the training and education of human resources

La formación de recursos humanos de elevada cualificación en el área homeopática debe encararse como una de las prioridades para una sólida y definitiva consolidación de la Homeopatía en territorio brasileño. La cuestión de la estructuración de la Homeopatía en Brasil, por su parte, no puede ser convenientemente entendida sin un análisis de los sistemas formadores y captadores de recursos humanos homeopáticos. Es decir, el análisis debe recaer sobre la enseñanza homeopática de graduación y posgrado, pero también sobre las condiciones del mercado de trabajo para el médico homeópata. La reflexión sobre la enseñanza de la Homeopatía, en cambio, conduce inevitablemente al abordaje del problema de la investigación homeopática. Este artículo no tiene la intención de realizar un diagnóstico exhaustivo de la situación de la Homeopatía en lo que se refiere a la enseñanza, la investigación y el mercado de trabajo en Brasil. Sin embargo, a partir de algunos presupuestos y constataciones personales, delinearemos un marco general que permita definir algunas directrices relativas al problema de estructuración de la Homeopatía en Brasil.

The formation of highly qualified human resources in the homeopathic sector must be faced as a priority for a solid and definitive consolidation of Homeopathy in Brazilian territory. On the other hand, the structuring of Homeopathy in Brazil, cannot be conveniently understood without an analysis of both the training and recruiting systems for homeopathic human resources. In other words, the analysis must not only fall upon homeopathic teaching at a postgraduate level, but also the job-market conditions for the homeopathic physician. On the other hand, the reflection upon the teaching of Homeopathy, inevitably leads to an approach to the problem of homeopathic investigation. This article does not have the intention of carrying out an exhaustive diagnosis of the educational, investigational and jobmarket aspects of Homeopathy in Brazil. However, on some based budgets and personnel records, a general framework that will allow the definition of several directives pertaining to the problem of the structuration of Homeopathy in Brazil, will be outlined.

Similia Similibus Curentur: Theory, History, and Status of the Constitutive Principle of Homeopathy.

A clear definition of its subject and correct application of its tenets are the basis of any science. Conversely, the want of a unanimous understanding of its constituting principles by the homeopathic community is undermining its scientific practice, research and discussion. To facilitate these, first and foremost the Principle of Similars, similia similibus curentur, has to be clarified and assessed in terms of its theoretical meaning, historical development, and epistemological status. Hahnemann's conceptions, explanations, and appraisals were not static but evolved and hardened over the years, especially from 1796 to 1810. While initially he related similia similibus to an imitation of similar cures by nature and proposed it as an opposition to contraria contrariis, he later generalised it to the treatment of any disease. Whilst originally he considered it to be a hermeneutical principle, or a hint towards a curative remedy, Hahnemann later dogmatised it as the only truth. Considering advances in epistemology and theory of medicine, however, the Principle of Similars may not be assessed as a final truth or natural law to be empirically verified or falsified for good, but rather as a practical maxim, guiding the artist of healing in his/her curing of diseases rationally and individually.

Homeopathy Assessment-Contribution of the Human Sciences.

The recent questions about homeopathy raised by some sceptics have focused an awareness on this therapy and led different protagonists among the scientific community to seek a much-needed re-assessment. The inputs coming from external but benevolent experts will broaden the knowledge and the consciousness of the whole medical community, and more widely of the public, about the meaning and the value of homeopathy.Looking at this from the point of view of the human sciences gives a perspective on the universality of the philosophy that underlies homeopathic thinking, which is particularly visible in the methodological similarities between homeopathic provings and sociological or anthropological observations. It also explains how this view of health and care coincides with the expectations of the public, who no longer want a limited mechanical approach to the human body or more generally to the environment.The input to homeopathy of the human sciences, with their methodological tools and approaches, and highlighting the possibilities offered by mixed-methods research, could enable these notions to be heard and shared in the wider scientific community.

The Need for Multidisciplinary Research within the History and Theory of Homeopathy.

The controversial issue of homeopathy's scientificity will, in all probability, not be settled by means of clinical trials alone, as long as uncertainty or ignorance about methodological, philosophical, and socio-economical essentials prevail on both sides of the argument. Rather than uncritically adopt the standards of the currently predominant paradigm, homeopathy should not forget its roots, peculiarities, and self-conception. Contrary to conventional medicine, it is based on a teleological image of humanity, a holistic and sustainable approach towards curing sickness, and an up-to-date concept of medical theory in terms of healing arts. However, under today's frameworked conditions of industrialisation, commercialisation and commodification, the strengths of homeopathy tend to be disregarded or even attacked, and a special kind of reductionist and materialist rationality, compatible with expanding markets and profits, is preferably facilitated. To reveal and demonstrate these developments and relationships on a scientific level, there is a need for multidisciplinary research on the part of the humanities, such as history and theory of medicine, history and theory of science, history of economics, sociology of scientific knowledge, and philosophy.

International Patent Survey of Products and Processes Concerning Homeopathy.

BACKGROUND: Homeopathy is a complementary medicine characterized by the use of diluted and potentized medicines. Innovations in this area are constantly being proposed in the relevant literature, such as scientific articles and patents. The objective of this study was to carry out a patent survey of homeopathic products and processes. METHODS: A free and international patent database, Espacenet, was used. The search was carried out using the keyword homeop*, with two approaches: (1) no date restrictions for the search and (2) a date limit for the publication years 2008 to 2018. The patents from the limited period were organized as depositor countries, ownerships and groups, including homeopathic formulations, equipment, packaging, production procedures, and analytical methods. RESULTS: Without date restriction, 601 patents were identified in the survey. Of these, 174 were related to homeopathy and published in the period 2008 to 2018. Technologies come mainly from the following countries: United States (55 patents), Russia (24), Germany (15), France (13), India (12), Ukraine (11), Brazil (6), and China (6). Among the ownerships, 69% of patent applications were by independent depositors, 23% by companies, 7.5% by universities, and 0.5% by company/university partnerships. New formulations represented 75.9% of technologies, whilst the others comprised 14.3% for equipment, 3.8% for drugs packaging, 3.8% for production procedures, and 2.2% for analytical methods. CONCLUSIONS: The present review helps visualize the homeopathy-related patents published in recent years, as well as the main countries and researchers investing in the field of homeopathy.

Can Homeopathy, a Particularly Mild Therapeutic Approach, Survive and Grow in a World of Violence?

This short treatise addresses a philosophical question concerning the place of homeopathy in our modern world. The question raised is whether a therapeutic system as peaceful, mild, and non-violent as homeopathy can survive and grow within a society that often displays the opposite characteristics.Much of contemporary society is more interested in fast and impressive cures, even if these may also bring side effects; whereas homeopathy can offer solutions with a personalized approach that requires long hours of case study by the homeopath to find the correct personal remedy that aims to bring about positive results, which the therapy can produce in deep chronic diseases.The conclusion drawn is that homeopathy does not readily fit within a modern and violent society that prefers quick and invasive solutions to its clinical problems.

Perfil sociodemográfico del usuario de la homeopatía en España / Sociodemographic profile of the homeopathy user in Spain

Objetivo: Identificar el perfil sociodemográfico del usuario de la homeopatía en España. Diseño: Estudio cuantitativo. Emplazamiento: España. Corpus: Base de datos del Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas (Estudio 3205, febrero de 2018), con un total de 2.486 entrevistas, y se analiza una submuestra (n = 124), que agrupa a todos los ciudadanos que afirman que han usado la homeopatía en España en los 12 meses anteriores. Mediciones principales: Se utilizaron los porcentajes, las medias y/o la desviación estándar de las medias, así como la significación de los cambios en las distintas variables analizadas entre la población en general y los usuarios específicos de la homeopatía en España. Esto se determinó mediante el análisis de la varianza o prueba χ2 de Pearson, dependiendo de la naturaleza de la variable en el estudio. Resultados: El perfil tipo del usuario de la homeopatía en España es una mujer, de clase media/alta, con estudios superiores universitarios y con una ideología política progresista. Conclusiones: El perfil trazado es similar al de otros estudios internacionales

Objective: To identify the sociodemographic profile of the homeopathy user in Spain. Design: Quantitative study. Location: Spain. Corpus: The Centre for Sociological Research database (Study 3205, February 2018), with a total of 2,486 interviews, and the sub-sample that includes all patients who have claimed to use homeopathy in Spain in the last 12 months (n = 124). Main measurements: The percentages, means and/or standard deviation of the factors were calculated, as well as the significance of the changes in the different variables analysed in the general population, and the specific users of homeopathy in Spain. This was determined by the variance analysis or Pearson's χ2 test, depending on the nature of the variable in the study. Results: The homeopathy user-type profile in Spain is a woman, of middle/high social status, with higher university studies, and with a progressive political ideology. Conclusions: The Spanish profile is similar to that in other international studies

Explaining Homeopathy with Quantum Electrodynamics.

BACKGROUND: Every living organism is an open system operating far from thermodynamic equilibrium and exchanging energy, matter and information with an external environment. These exchanges are performed through non-linear interactions of billions of different biological components, at different levels, from the quantum to the macro-dimensional. The concept of quantum coherence is an inherent property of living cells, used for long-range interactions such as synchronization of cell division processes. There is support from recent advances in quantum biology, which demonstrate that coherence, as a state of order of matter coupled with electromagnetic (EM) fields, is one of the key quantum phenomena supporting life dynamics. Coherent phenomena are well explained by quantum field theory (QFT), a well-established theoretical framework in quantum physics. Water is essential for life, being the medium used by living organisms to carry out various biochemical reactions and playing a fundamental role in coherent phenomena. METHODS: Quantum electrodynamics (QED), which is the relativistic QFT of electrodynamics, deals with the interactions between EM fields and matter. QED provides theoretical models and experimental frameworks for the emergence and dynamics of coherent structures, even in living organisms. This article provides a model of multi-level coherence for living organisms in which fractal phase oscillations of water are able to link and regulate a biochemical reaction. A mathematical approach, based on the eigenfunctions of Laplace operator in hyper-structures, is explored as a valuable framework to simulate and explain the oneness dynamics of multi-level coherence in life. The preparation process of a homeopathic medicine is analyzed according to QED principles, thus providing a scientific explanation for the theoretical model of "information transfer" from the substance to the water solution. A subsequent step explores the action of a homeopathic medicine in a living organism according to QED principles and the phase-space attractor's dynamics. RESULTS: According to the developed model, all levels of a living organism-organelles, cells, tissues, organs, organ systems, whole organism-are characterized by their own specific wave functions, whose phases are perfectly orchestrated in a multi-level coherence oneness. When this multi-level coherence is broken, a disease emerges. An example shows how a homeopathic medicine can bring back a patient from a disease state to a healthy one. In particular, by adopting QED, it is argued that in the preparation of homeopathic medicines, the progressive dilution/succussion processes create the conditions for the emergence of coherence domains (CDs) in the aqueous solution. Those domains code the original substance information (in terms of phase oscillations) and therefore they can transfer said information (by phase resonance) to the multi-level coherent structures of the living organism. CONCLUSIONS: We encourage that QED principles and explanations become embodied in the fundamental teachings of the homeopathic method, thus providing the homeopath with a firm grounding in the practice of rational medicine. Systematic efforts in this direction should include multiple disciplines, such as quantum physics, quantum biology, conventional and homeopathic medicine and psychology.

Homeopathy Seen as Personalised Nanomedicine.

Among all the discoveries of Hahnemann, potentisation was the most important, though controversial. The curative effect of individualised homeopathic potencies is empirical but inexplicable by the conventional principles of science. This paradox is a highly contentious topic of debate between rationalists and homeopaths. Recent discoveries relating to the nano-particulate nature of homeopathic ultra-high potencies and their potential effect on individual gene expression give new insights into this complex issue. It is concluded that homeopathy may be viewed as 'personalised nanomedicine'.

Estruturação da homeopatia no Brasil: diretrizes para o treinamento e formação de recursos humanos / Structure of the homeopathy in Brazil: guide for the training and constitution of human resources

A formação de recursos humanos de elevada qualificação na área homeopática deve ser encarada como uma das prioridades para uma sólida e definitiva consolidação da homeopatia em território brasileiro. A questão da estruturação da homeopatia no Brasil, por sua vez não pode ser convenientemente entendida sem uma análise dos sistemas formadores e captadores de recursos humanos homeopáticos. Ou seja, a análise deve recair tanto sobre o ensino homeopático de graduação e pós-graduação quanto sobre as condições do mercado de trabalho para o médico homeopata.

Tiempos de pseudoInmunología / No disponible

No disponible

Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomised, Other-than-Placebo Controlled, Trials of Individualised Homeopathic Treatment.

BACKGROUND: This study focuses on randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of individualised homeopathic treatment (IHT) in which the control (comparator) group was other than placebo (OTP). AIMS: To determine the comparative effectiveness of IHT on health-related outcomes in adults and children for any clinical condition that has been the subject of at least one OTP-controlled trial. For each study, to assess the risk of bias and to determine whether its study attitude was predominantly 'pragmatic' or 'explanatory'. METHODS: Systematic review. For each eligible trial, published in the peer-reviewed literature up to the end of 2015, we assessed its risk of bias (internal validity) using the seven-domain Cochrane tool, and its relative pragmatic or explanatory attitude (external validity) using the 10-domain PRECIS tool. We grouped RCTs by whether they examined IHT as an alternative treatment (study design Ia), adjunctively with another intervention (design Ib), or compared with a no-intervention group (design II). For each RCT, we identified a 'main outcome measure' to use in meta-analysis: 'relative effect size' was reported as odds ratio (OR; values >1 favouring homeopathy) or standardised mean difference (SMD; values < 0 favouring homeopathy). RESULTS: Eleven RCTs, representing 11 different medical conditions, were eligible for study. Five of the RCTs (four of which in design Ib) were judged to have pragmatic study attitude, two were explanatory, and four were equally pragmatic and explanatory. Ten trials were rated 'high risk of bias' overall: one of these, a pragmatic study with design Ib, had high risk of bias solely regarding participant blinding (a bias that is intrinsic to such trials); the other trial was rated 'uncertain risk of bias' overall. Eight trials had data that were extractable for analysis: for four heterogeneous trials with design Ia, the pooled OR was statistically non-significant; collectively for three clinically heterogeneous trials with design Ib, there was a statistically significant SMD favouring adjunctive IHT; in the remaining trial of design 1a, IHT was non-inferior to fluoxetine in the treatment of depression. CONCLUSIONS: Due to the low quality, the small number and the heterogeneity of studies, the current data preclude a decisive conclusion about the comparative effectiveness of IHT. Generalisability of findings is limited by the variable external validity identified overall; the most pragmatic study attitude was associated with RCTs of adjunctive IHT. Future OTP-controlled trials in homeopathy should aim, as far as possible, to promote both internal validity and external validity.

Homeopathy Use in the United States and Implications for Public Health: A Review.

Homeopathy is used by just over 2% of the U.S. population, predominantly for respiratory, otorhinolaryngology, and musculoskeletal complaints. Individual users who see a homeopathic provider for care are more likely to perceive the therapy as helpful than those who do not; however, only 19% of users in the United States see a provider. The rest presumably rely upon over-the-counter products. Recent clinical trials highlight several areas in which homeopathy may play a role in improving public health, including infectious diseases, pain management, mental health, and cancer care. This review examines recent studies in these fields, studies assessing costs associated with homeopathic care, safety, and regulations in the United States. Data suggest the potential for public health benefit from homeopathy, especially for conditions such as upper respiratory infections and fibromyalgia.

HRI Malta 2017-Cutting Edge Research in Homeopathy: HRI's Third International Research Conference in Malta.

The third international conference on "Cutting Edge Research in Homeopathy" organised by the Homeopathy Research Institute (HRI) was held on the inspiring and historic island of Malta from 9th to 11th of June, 2017. One hundred and two abstracts underwent peer review by the HRI Scientific Advisory Committee and external experts to produce the programme of 36 oral presentations and 37 posters, presented by researchers from 19 countries. The 2.5-day programme covered a diverse range of topics, including quantitative and qualitative clinical research, basic research, veterinary research, and provings. These intensive plenary and parallel sessions were interspersed with multiple opportunities for delegates to discuss and exchange ideas, in particular through interactive panel discussions and a pre-conference workshop. The continuing commitment of the homeopathy research community to generate high-quality studies in this rapidly evolving field was clear. In this conference report, we present highlights from this memorable event.