But you are quite right to ask whether interviews formed part of the placebo process – I don’t knowin relation to the ones I presented, but here are a few where case-taking wasn’t involved;

Reilly and colleagues have conducted a series of trials in patients with hay fever, asthma and perennial rhinitis. Patients were given skin tests and remedies were chosen on the basis of reactivity. This design allows individualisation whilst avoiding the issues of case-taking and the effect that this has on the process. The results demonstrate a significant difference between the placebo and homeopathic groups which is reproducible.

Anon. Reilly’s challenge (editorial). Lancet 1994; 344: 1585.
Reilly DT, Taylor MA. Potent placebo or potency? A proposed study model with initial findings using homoeopathically prepared pollens in hay fever as a model. British Homoeopathic Journal 1985; 74: 65-75.
Reilly DT, Taylor MA, Campbell J, Beattie N, McSharry C, Aitchison T, Carter R, Stevenson R. Is evidence for homoeopathy reproducible? Lancet 1994; 334: 1601-1606.
Reilly DT, Taylor MA, McSharry C, Aitchison T. Is homoeopathy a placebo response? Controlled trial of homoeopathic potency, with pollen in hay fever as a model. Lancet 1986; ii: 881-886.
Taylor MA, Reilly D, Llewellyn-Jones RH, McSharry C, Aitchison T, Lancaster T, Vickers A. Randomised controlled trial of homeopathy versus placebo in perennial allergic rhinitis with overview of four trial series British Medical Journal 2000; 321: 471-476.

In a survey of 26 patients receiving homeopathic Arnica montana or placebo after face-lift operation, patients receiving homeopathic Arnica montana had statistically significant smaller areas of ecchymosis (bruising) after operation.

Seeley BM, Denton AB, Ahn MS, Maas CS. Effect of Homeopathic Arnica montana on Bruising in Face-lifts. Results of a Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial. Arch Facial Plast Surg/Vol 8, Jan/Feb 2006.

The bit I’d love to drill into (if I ever had the time) is the “were given an individualised homoeopathic medicine or placebo”.

Was the same set interviewing/consultation process carried out in both cases with the only difference being what was administered at the end or was it interview+pill vs placebo?

http://www.badscience.net/?cat=35

There are also interesting trials on herbal medicines such as St. Johns Wort, Echincacea etc., and some of these herbs now have conventional medical licenses on the basis of such trials, but it is an expensive procedure for a product with no patent.

“Treatment of acute childhood diarrhoea in Nicaragua”
This trial involved 81 children aged from 6 months to 5 years in a randomised, double-blind trial of intravenous fluids plus placebo versus intravenous fluids plus homeopathic remedy individualised to the patient. The treatment group had a statistically significant decrease in duration of diarrhoea.
Jacobs J. Treatment of acute childhood diarrhoea with homeopathic medicine: a randomized clinical trial in Nicaragua. Pediatrics 1994; 93: 719-725.

“Treatment of acute childhood diarrhoea, repeated in Nepal”
In a replication of a trial carried out in Nicaragua in 1994, 116 Nepalese children aged 6 months to 5 years suffering from diarrhoea were given an individualised homoeopathic medicine or placebo. Treatment by homoeopathy showed a significant improvement in the condition in comparison to placebo.
Jacobs J., Jimenez M., Malthouse S., Chapman E., Crothers D., Masuk M., Jonas W.B., Acute Childhood Diarrhoea- A Replication., Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 6, 2000, 131-139.

“Homeopathy versus conventional treatment in respiratory tract complaints”
In an outcome study, 30 practitioners in four countries enrolled 500 consecutive patients with at least one of three complaints: upper respiratory tract complaints including allergies; lower respiratory tract complaints including allergies; or ear complaints. Of 456 patients, 281 received homeopathy and 175 conventional treatment. The primary outcome criterion was response to treatment, defined as cured or major improvement after 14 days of treatment. Results showed a response rate of 82.6% in the homeopathy group compared to 67.3% in the group receiving conventional medicine. The authors concluded that homeopathy appeared to be at least as effective as conventional treatment of patients with the three conditions studied.
Riley D, Fischer M, Singh B, Haidvogl M, Heger M. Homeopathy and conventional medicine: an outcomes study comparing effectiveness in a primary care setting. J Altern Complement Med 2001; 7: 149–159.

“Rheumatoid arthritis”
Forty-six patients with rheumatoid arthritis received an individualised remedy or placebo in a 3-month randomised trial. Both groups were allowed to continue standard anti-inflammatory drugs. After 3 months, the double-blind code was broken and remedies were given to members of the placebo group in a single crossover study. Articular index, limbering up time, grip strength and pain all showed statistically significant differences.
Gibson RG, Gibson SLM, MacNeill AD, Buchanan WW Homeopathic therapy in rheumatoid arthritis: evaluation by double-blind clinical therapeutic trial. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 1980; 9: 453-459.

“Osteoarthritis”
In this trial, 65 sufferers of Osteoarthritis (OA) were split into 2 groups, and through a double blinding process were given either a homoeopathic medicine or Acetaminophen, a commonly prescribed drug for pain relief in OA. Researchers found that homoeopathy provided a level of pain relief that was superior to Acetaminophen, and produced no adverse reactions.
Shealy C.N., Thomlinson P.R., Cox R.H., and Bormeyer V. Osteoarthritis Pain: A Comparison of
Homoeopathy and Acetaminophen. American Journal of Pain Management, 8, 3, July 1998, 89-91.

“ADHD”
A randomised double blind placebo controlled crossover trial of 62 children showed significant improvement of visual global perception, impulsivity and divided attention (p

Through rigorous scientific research and test, it was proven that most serious stomach complaints are caused by a specific bacteria. So instead of spending hundreds of Euro each year on drugs like Zantac, you could have a one-off treatment of antibiotics and be cured for life.

It took 10 years for this approach to become mainstream but now it is and it has knocked hundreds of millions of euro (if not more) in annual revenue out of many large drug companies. Homoeopathy has had 200 years and still can’t achieve this.

Of course the response I got from a Homoeopath was “ahh, but where does the bacteria come from? That’s what we’re all about”. Yeh.

I did a long post on it (and its failing double blind) in 2005 over here.

Wouldn’t be so hard on homoeoapathy. Double blind clinical trials have shown positive results so it isn’t all placebo. The fact that we don’t understand it doesn’t necessarily mean that it doesn’t work. But whether I would personally trust homoeopathic nosodes to prevent a life-threatening illness is one I’d have to chew on a bit.

One of the reasons why so many “alternative” medicines don’t get subjected to scrutiny is because they don’t go for medical licenses. Why? Because they can’t be patented, so no company is going to invest heavily in the research required. Pity.

Homoeopathy has been around since the start of the 19th Century yet until the arrival of anti-biotic treatments and vaccinations in the 20th century, millions of people died from TB all over the world. In Europe, deaths from TB fell from 500 out of 100,000 in 1850 to 50 out of 100,000 by 1950. None of that fall was due to shaking vials of water diluted with water.

I highly recommend you read a discussion over on Justin Mason’s blog where the nuts and bolts of vaccination is discussed in the context of Patricia McKenna’s recent radio appearance.

One loon in that discussion pointed us over to a site which dismisses BCG but is associated with a man who claims that homoeopathy cures autism. Despicable people.

I’d be interested to see what “cures” and “preventions” your local homoeopath would come up with for:

* Mumps (encephalitis, meningitis, sterility)
* Measles (pneumonia, encephalitis)
* Rubella (birth defects, miscarriages)
* TB (lung damage, death)
* Diphtheria (neck swelling, skin disease, death)
* Tetanus (lockjaw, death)
* Whooping cough (pneumonia, death)
* Hib (previously the leading cause of bacterial meningitis)
* Polio (we’ve all seen the effects of this on older people)

I am not totally dismissive of homoeopathy and in fact I went to college with someone who now practices as one and attended one in Dunshaughlin as a bet with the first person. It functions as a reasonably effective placebo treatment by providing discount psychotherapy. “Oh so you suffer from stomach pains. Do you worry much?” etc etc etc.

I think the issue for Conor was that there was no choice, unless you had the resources to pay privately, or travel, or both.

I don’t know if the multi-resistant version of TB can be prevented with the vaccine. New Scientist have had a run of articles on this recently, but my dial-up is acting the maggot and I can’t find it right now.

I remember reading it and thinking that this is one to watch….

I had held off on commenting on this because of an instinctive reluctance to engage in the orgy of promises, but this is a common sense no-brainer. A miniscule expenditure which may save millions, not to mention the heartache, trauma and hardship for sufferers and their families. And it isn’t just a finance problem, probably an administrative one in truth. There mustn’t be half enough administrators in the HSE (:~p)

TB is particularly important today because multi-resistant TB is also doing the rounds spreading through the Far East at present, and this risks becoming an epidemic that leaves SARS and Bird-flu in the ha’penny place. Are we ready? Doesn’t look like it.

It is very easy for me as a Green candidate to say that in government we would resolve this and ensure that it never happened again, but in an election, promises are just that and people can view them as cynically as they wish. The Health Strategy, announced to great fanfare just before the last election, and dropped shortly afterwards was perhaps the most cynical of these.

I am worried that all the main parties have promised income tax cuts, and even more worried that most people seem to blandly (or selfishly) accept that this is a good idea. They have costed their promise (or “commitments” as they have been re-badged by some) on the basis of 7.7% growth in the financial economy (4.2% to 4.5% in real terms from FG & FF respectively). The ESRI says we’re not going to make those figures, so there’s the get-out clause. I sincerely hope that the first thing to row back on are the tax cuts. Cutting taxes and driving economic growth are a formula for further inequality in society which ensures that the spoils of the celtic tiger are not spread around.

You seem to be on the right track with FOI requests. I am watching eagerly from the sidelines. Keep it up.

I’ll have the questions under FOI up on this blog before the end of the weekend.

The longterm solution is to change to one nationwide policy to vaccinate all children born in or immigrating into the country. I had my own BCG at 3 days old thanks to a very forward looking hospital in Co. Antrim.

In the interim, there are unvaccinated children and an outbreak of the disease. It’s up to each parent to do the math and see if it’s of value to them to spend money to resolve this risk/problem in the near future. Plus the more vaccinated children, the less likely the outbreak of any is to spread…

The utter disinterest by the newspapers in this is very surprising. Surely they love bad news, particularly one which could drag politicians into a quagmire.

I saw one report, when the story was breaking, saying that “levels of TB have traditionally been higher in Cork than the rest of the country”. It obviously never struck that journalist to ask the simple question “why?”.

I’m going do up a list of questions to the HSE under Freedom of Information and post them here for comment and feedback before I send. They want €15 for every enquiry!