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Habs, Michael ; Koller, Michael

Material Risks of Homeopathic Medicinal Products: Regulatory Frameworks, Results of Preclinical Toxicology, and Clinical Meta-Analyses and Their Implications

Habs, Michael and Koller, Michael (2020) Material Risks of Homeopathic Medicinal Products: Regulatory Frameworks, Results of Preclinical Toxicology, and Clinical Meta-Analyses and Their Implications. Complementary Medicine Research 21 (1), pp. 64-84.

Date of publication of this fulltext: 07 Dec 2021 08:24
Article
DOI to cite this document: 10.5283/epub.51145


Abstract

Homeopathy is widely used and broadly accepted by health care professionals and the general public but less in academic circles. To assess possible material health risks of homeopathic medicinal products, it is necessary to identify, select, and synthesize the findings of recent reviews of controlled homeopathic clinical trials. Matching these findings with experimental data from toxicological ...

Homeopathy is widely used and broadly accepted by health care professionals and the general public but less in academic circles. To assess possible material health risks of homeopathic medicinal products, it is necessary to identify, select, and synthesize the findings of recent reviews of controlled homeopathic clinical trials. Matching these findings with experimental data from toxicological studies helps to clarify what is known and not known about the material risks of homeopathic medicines. Rules for toxicological risk assessment and management need to be applied independently of individual attitudes towards specific therapeutic options. European regulatory bodies have developed special protocols and decision trees to assure the safety of nonindividualized homeopathic remedies. This narrative review leads to suggestions that could ease and improve toxicological decision making. No homeopathy-specific type or pattern of side effects could be extracted from the meta-analysis data. No differences in the frequency of adverse reactions between homeopathic treatment and placebo treatment could be seen, no matter whether adverse events were reported in a quantitative or a qualitative manner. Some patterns of side effects show that adverse reactions do not necessarily correlate with treatment but with the condition of the patient. Overall, the controlled clinical data available for the material risk assessment of homeopathic remedies support the statement that, if a risk exists, it must be so small that it has not yet been established. To make our risk findings useful for personal decisions regarding homeopathy, we provide a thought experiment based on four different health situations and ask the question: is homeopathy as a monotherapy or as an add-on treatment an option or should it be rejected?



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Details

Item typeArticle
Journal or Publication TitleComplementary Medicine Research
Publisher:KARGER
Open Access Type:Karger (Hybrid)
Place of Publication:BASEL
Volume:21
Number of Issue or Book Chapter:1
Page Range:pp. 64-84
Date1 July 2020
InstitutionsMedicine > Zentren des Universitätsklinikums Regensburg > Zentrum für Klinische Studien
Identification Number
ValueType
10.1159/000507952DOI
KeywordsHomeopathic medicinal products; Toxicological assessment; Safety; Material risks; Balanced risk assessment; Decision making
Dewey Decimal Classification600 Technology > 610 Medical sciences Medicine
600 Technology > 615 Pharmacy
StatusPublished
RefereedYes, this version has been refereed
Created at the University of RegensburgYes
URN of the UB Regensburgurn:nbn:de:bvb:355-epub-511452
Item ID51145

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