[escepticos] Homeopathic remedy 'ineffective'

["Ababol" <ababol@...>]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/2710107.stm


Monday, 3 February, 2003, 00:25 GMT
Homeopathic remedy 'ineffective'


Arnica is derived from Leopard's bane

The popular homeopathic remedy arnica proved to be no more effective than a
dummy treatment in clinical trials.
However, critics say the study is flawed, and does not prove that arnica has
no effect.

Arnica tablets are available in most High Street chemists and are usually
sold to control bruising, reduce swelling and generally help recovery after
an injury or operation.

       I hope this research will help people to look for more effective
treatments



      Professor Edzard Ernst

It is one of the most popular and well known homeopathic remedies.

However, although there are lots of anecdotes about cases where arnica
'really works', scientific studies have produced contradictory results.

Researchers, from the University of Exeter and the Royal Devon & Exeter
Hospital, focused on three groups of patients who were about to have surgery
on their wrists for carpal tunnel syndrome.

One group was given 'high-potency' homeopathic arnica tablets to be taken
before the operation and afterwards for two weeks.

Another group was given 'low-potency' tablets and the third was given a
placebo.

Analysis

Patients filled in a standard pain-assessment questionnaire before and after
surgery.

They recorded their symptoms and use of painkillers in a daily 'pain diary'.

The hospital analysed photographs of patients' wrists, using computer
software to measure exact shades of bruising.

They also measured changes in swelling around the wrist.

There was no significant difference between any of the groups in terms of
pain, bruising, swelling, or the number of painkillers the patients had
taken.

Lead researcher Professor Edzard Ernst said: "I hope this research will help
people to look for more effective treatments and save money by not buying
homeopathic arnica."

Professor Ernst suggested that arnica had gained a reputation because people
who took it and recovered quickly from surgery tended to tell their friends
about it, while those who did not were much less likely to mention it.

Writing in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, he said: "These
results do not support the routine use of homeopathic arnica for preventing
or reducing post-operative complications such as bruising, swelling and
pain.

"However, they do not rule out the possibility that individual patients
could benefit."

Inconclusive

Dr Janet Richardson, chairman of the Research Council for Complementary
Medicine (RCCM), told BBC News Online the results of the study were far from
conclusive.

She said: "The results suggest that people undergoing carpal tunnel surgery
are not helped by arnica.

"But this does not mean that arnica is of no help with other conditions."

Dr Richardson said 16 articles extracted from the RCCM database showed a
split between those that showed arnica had a positive effect, and those that
showed negative results.

She added that the new study was poorly designed and based on a small
sample.

In addition some patients did not necessarily follow the treatment properly.