Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Homeopathy: bias, mis-interpretation and other

  • Letter
  • Published:
Journal of Medicine and the Person

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Magnani P, Conforti A, Zanolin E, Marzotto M, Bellavite P (2010) Dose-effect study of Gelsemium sempervirens in high dilutions on anxiety-related responses in mice. Psychopharmacology 210(4):533–545

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Chirumbolo S (2011) Gelsemine and Gelsemium sempervirens L. extracts in animal behavioral test: comments and related biases. Front Neurol 2:31

  3. Bellavite P (2011) Gelsemium sempervirens and animal behavioral models. Front Neurol 2:56

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Cervo L, Torri V (2012) Comment on: “Dose-effect study of Gelsemium sempervirens in high dilutions on anxiety-related responses in mice” (Magnani P, Conforti A, Zanolin E, Marzotto M and Bellavite P, Psychopharmacology, 2010). Psychopharmacology (Berl) 220(2):439–40; author reply 441–2

  5. Chirumbolo S (2012) Plant-derived extracts in the neuroscience of anxiety on animal models: biases and comments. Int J Neurosci 122(4):177–188

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Chirumbolo S (2011) Bellavite illuminates the matter, BMJ Rapid Response. http://www.bmj.com/rapid-response/2011/12/02/re-bewley-and-colleagues%E2%80%99-quotation-review-selective. Accessed 03 Dec 2011

  7. Bellavite P, Magnani P, Conforti A, Marzotto M, Zanolin E (2011) Effects of high-dilutions in behavioural models: a commentary on critical issues, from reproducibility to plausibility. Int J High Dil Res 10(37):325–337

    Google Scholar 

  8. Singendonk M, Kaspers GJ, Naafs-Wilstra M, Meeteren AS, Loeffen J, Vlieger A (2012) High prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine use in the Dutch pediatric oncology population: a multicenter survey. Eur J Pediatr. doi:10.1007/s00431-012-1821-6

  9. Sarris J, Moylan S, Camfield DA, Pase MP, Mischoulon D, Berk M, Jacka FN, Schweitzer I (2012) Complementary medicine, exercise, meditation, diet, and lifestyle modification for anxiety disorders: a review of current evidence. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2012:809653

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Paris A, Schmidlin S, Mouret S, Hodaj E, Marijnen P, Boujedaini N, Polosan M, Cracowski JL (2011) Effect of Gelsemium 5CH and 15CH on anticipatory anxiety: a phase III, single-centre, randomized, placebo-controlled study. Fundam Clin Pharmacol. doi:10.1111/j.1472-8206.2011.00993.x

    Google Scholar 

  11. Davidson JR, Crawford C, Ives JA, Jonas WB (2011) Homeopathic treatments in psychiatry: a systematic review of randomized placebo-controlled studies. J Clin Psychiatry 72(6):795–805

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Grolleau A, Bégaud B, Verdoux H (2012) Characteristics associated with use of homeopathic drugs for psychiatric symptoms in the general population. Eur Psychiatry. doi:10.1016/j.eurpsy.2011.10.005

  13. Beesdo-Baum K, Knappe S (2012) Developmental epidemiology of anxiety disorders. Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am. 21(3):457–478

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Licha C, Stevens A (2012) Anxiety and anxiety disorders–differential diagnosis, etiology and medico-legal assessment. Versicherungsmedizin 64(2):60–65

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Starcevic V, Portman ME, Beck AT (2012) Generalized anxiety disorder: between neglect and an epidemic. J Nerv Ment Dis 200(8):664–667

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Koen N, Stein DJ (2011) Pharmacotherapy of anxiety disorders: a critical review. Dialogues Clin Neurosci 13(4):423–437

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Liu M, Huang HH, Yang J, Su YP, Lin HW, Lin LQ, Liao WJ, Yu CX (2012) The active alkaloids of Gelsemium elegans Benth. are potent anxiolytics. Psychopharmacology (Berl). doi:10.1007/s00213-012-2867-x

  18. Dutt V, Dhar VJ, Sharma A (2010) Antianxiety activity of Gelsemium sempervirens. Pharm Biol 48(10):1091–1096

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Lakshmipathy Prabhu R, Ruckmani A, Venkatesan D, Madhusudhanan N, Pavithra R (2012) Anxiolytic effect of homeopathic preparation of Pulsatilla nigricans in Swiss albino mice. Homeopathy 101(3):171–4

    Google Scholar 

  20. Marzotto M, Conforti A, Magnani P, Zanolin ME, Bellavite P (2012) Effects of Ignatia amara in mouse behavioural models. Homeopathy 101(1):57–67

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Paris A, Schmidlin S, Mouret S, Hodaj E, Marijnen P, Boujedaini N, Polosan M, Cracowski JL (2012) Effect of Gelsemium 5CH and 15CH on anticipatory anxiety: a phase III, single-centre, randomized, placebo-controlled study. Fundam Clin Pharmacol. doi:10.1111/j.1472-8206.2011.00993

  22. Bellavite P, Magnani P, Marzotto M, Conforti A (2009) Assays of homeopathic remedies in rodent behavioural and psychopathological models. Homeopathy 98(4):208–227

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Bellavite P, Magnani P, Zanolin E, Conforti A (2011) Homeopathic doses of gelsemium sempervirens improve the behavior of mice in response to novel environments. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2011:362517

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Venard C, Boujedaini N, Mensah-Nyagan AG, Patte-Mensah C (2011) Comparative analysis of gelsemine and gelsemium sempervirens activity on neurosteroid allopregnanolone formation in the spinal cord and limbic system. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2011:407617

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Pilkington K, Kirkwood G, Rampes H, Fisher P, Richardson J (2006) Homeopathy for anxiety and anxiety disorders: a systematic review of the research. Homeopathy 95(3):151–162

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Ezenwa VO, Gerardo NM, Inouye DW, Medina M, Xavier JB (2012) Microbiology. Animal behavior and the microbiome. Science 338(6104):198–199

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Hohoff C (2009) Anxiety in mice and men: a comparison. J Neural Transm 116(6):679–687

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. McMillan FD (1999) The placebo effect in animals. J Am Vet Med Assoc 215(7):992–999

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Maren S (2008) Pavlovian fear conditioning as a behavioral assay for hippocampus and amygdala function: cautions and caveats. Eur J Neurosci 28(8):1661–1666

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Hettema JM, Webb BT, Guo AY, Zhao Z, Maher BS, Chen X, An SS, Sun C, Aggen SH, Kendler KS, Kuo PH, Otowa T, Flint J, van den Oord EJ (2011) Prioritization and association analysis of murine-derived candidate genes in anxiety-spectrum disorders. Biol Psychiatry 70(9):888–896

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Graham BM, Milad MR (2011) The study of fear extinction: implications for anxiety disorders. Am J Psychiatry 168(12):1255–1265

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Chang CH, Knapska E, Orsini CA, Rabinak CA, Zimmerman JM, Maren S (2009) Fear extinction in rodents. Curr Protoc Neurosci. Chapter 8:Unit 8.23

  33. Bellavite P (2010) A homeopathic remedy showed reproducible effects in murine behavioural models. J Med Pers 8:143–144

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Lai CK, Chan YW (2009) Confirmation of gelsemium poisoning by targeted analysis of toxic gelsemium alkaloids in urine. J Anal Toxicol 33(1):56–61

    Google Scholar 

  35. Rujjanawate C, Kanjanapothi D, Panthong A (2003) Pharmacological effect and toxicity of alkaloids from Gelsemium elegans Benth. J Ethnopharmacol 89(1):91–95

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  36. Garattini S, Bertelé V (2009) Homoeopathy: not a matter for drug-regulatory authorities. Lancet 374(9701):1578–1580

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. Weingärtner O (2003) What is the therapeutically active ingredient of homeopathic potencies? Homeopathy 92(3):145–151

    Google Scholar 

  38. Weingärtner O (2007) The nature of the active ingredient in ultramolecular dilutions. Homeopathy 96(3):220–226

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  39. Leick P (2008) Comment on: “Conspicuous by its absence: the Memory of Water, macro-entanglement, and the possibility of homeopathy” and “The nature of the active ingredient in ultramolecular dilutions”. Homeopathy 97(1):50–51

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  40. Ullman D (2006) Let’s have a serious discussion of nanopharmacology and homeopathy. FASEB J 20(14):2661

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  41. Seĭfulla RD (2010) Nanopharmacology: not a constituent part of homeopathy. Eksp Klin Farmakol 73(7):40–41

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  42. Toumey C (2009) Small differences. Nat Nanotechnol 4(5):275

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  43. Bernardini S, Dei A (2006) Hormesis may provide a central concept for homeopathy development. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol 211(1):84–85

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  44. Bernardini S (2010) Homeopathy: clarifying its relationship to hormesis by EJ Calabrese and WB Jonas. Hum Exp Toxicol 29(7):537–538

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  45. Oberbaum M, Samuels N, Singer SR (2005) Hormesis is not homeopathy. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol 206(3):365

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  46. Bellavite P, Chirumbolo S, Marzotto M (2010) Hormesis and its relationship with homeopathy. Hum Exp Toxicol 29(7):573–579

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  47. Rattan SI, Deva T (2010) Testing the hormetic nature of homeopathic interventions through stress response pathways. Hum Exp Toxicol 29(7):551–554

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  48. Chirumbolo S (2012) Acqua informata o informante? Ipotesi, modelli ed evidenze sulla misteriosa natura dell’acqua nei sistemi biologici. GUNA Ed, Milano, p 579

    Google Scholar 

  49. Bellavite P, Betti L (2012) Editorial: homeopathy and the science of high dilutions: when to believe the unbelievable. Int J High Dilution Res 11:107–109

    Google Scholar 

  50. Bellavite P, Conforti A, Marzotto M, Magnani P, Cristofoletti M, Olioso D, Zanolin ME (2012) Testing homeopathy in mouse emotional response models: pooled data analysis of two series of studies. Evid-Based Complementary Alternat Med. Volume 2012, Article ID 954374

  51. Troncoso Skidmore S, Thompson B (2012) Bias and precision of some classical ANOVA effect sizes when assumptions are violated. Behav Res Methods. doi:10.3758/s13428-012-0257-2

  52. Keselman HJ, Huberty CJ, Lix LM, Olejnik S, Cribbie RA, Donahue B, Kowalchuk RK, Lowman LL, Petoskey MD, Keselman JC, Levin JR (1998) Statistical practices of educational researchers: an analysis of their ANOVA, MANOVA, and ANCOVA analyses. Rev Educ Res 68:350–386

    Google Scholar 

  53. Alemayehu D (2011) Perspectives on pooled data analysis: the case for an integrated approach. J Data Sci 9:389–397

    Google Scholar 

  54. Cryan JF, Holmes A (2005) The ascent of mouse: advances in modelling human depression and anxiety. Nat Rev Drug Discov 4(9):775–790

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  55. Weissmann G (2006) Homeopathy: Holmes, Hogwarts, and the Prince of Wales. FASEB J 20(11):1755–1758

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  56. Weisz GM (1997) The papal contribution to the development of modern medicine. Aust N Z J Surg 67(7):472–475

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Conflict of interest

The author declares that he has no conflict of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, University of Verona, University Laboratory of Medical Research (LURM), Policlinico GB Rossi, Piazzale AL Scuro 10, 37134, Verona, Italy

    Salvatore Chirumbolo

Authors
  1. Salvatore Chirumbolo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Salvatore Chirumbolo.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Chirumbolo, S. Homeopathy: bias, mis-interpretation and other. J Med Pers 11, 37–44 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12682-012-0141-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12682-012-0141-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation