14 DAY TRIAL // A team of scientists from the University of Southampton, found new evidence that homeopathic consultations could help reduce the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis patients.
Homeopathy is an alternative medicine first suggested in 1796, by German physician Samuel Hahnemann, in which practitioners use very diluted substances.
What homeopaths do in order to treat the illness, is administer small doses of a drug, that in considerable amounts causes symptoms in healthy individuals similar to those of the disease itself.
The researchers discovered that, over a period of six months, arthritis patients had significant benefits when they received homeopathy, additionally to their conventional treatments.
The interesting observation is that this benefit had nothing to do with homeopathic remedies, but rather with the homeopathic consultation process.
83 people suffering from rheumatoid arthritis were recruited, from clinics in Southampton, Winchester and Poole, for the purpose of the study.
Every one of them received, besides the conventional treatment, a series of homeopathic consultations over a six months period, between January 2006 and July 2008.
At the end of the homeopathic treatment series, both patients and doctors reported a significant decrease in many symptoms of the disease, including fewer swollen joints, reduced 'disease activity scores', reduced pain and better overall mood.
Lead author Dr Sarah Brien, a senior research fellow in complementary medicine at the University of Southampton, explained that “although previous trials have shown homeopathy may help patients with rheumatoid arthritis, this is the first time that we have scientific evidence that these benefits are specifically due to its unique consultation process.
“Homeopathic consultations differ from those in conventional medicine in that homeopaths focus on treating the patient, whereas conventional doctors tend to treat the illness.
“The homeopathic consultation process improves the health of these arthritis patients based on standard rheumatology measurements and does so safely and without side effects.
“What we don't yet know is if it is possible to introduce some of the techniques or approaches used within these consultations into conventional medicine.”
The next step now, is to carry out more research and find out which elements of the consultation are the most effective, and also whether it's cost effective to prescribe homeopathic treatments.
The study was published yesterday in the journal Rheumatology.