What happened to our ‘researchers’ at CCRH? Are they doing ‘research’ without any idea about the basics of homeopathy?

What happened to our ‘researchers’ and ‘authorities’ at CCRH? Are they doing ‘research’ without any idea about the basics of homeopathy?

Today I happened to visit the ‘collaborative research’ page of CCRH. 25 studies are listed under the title ‘concluded studies- national’, with their relevant abstracts.

Here I am quoting the abstract of a study given as number one in the list. It was done in ‘collaborations’ with  Jawahar Lal Institute of Post-Graduate Medical Education & Research (JIPMER), Puducherry. Topic of ‘research’ is ‘Effect of Homoeopathic drugs used in Insomnia on Serum Melatonin and Cortisol level in healthy volunteers’. Study was conducted during Nov 2005 – Nov 2008.

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ABSTRACT:

Background: Homeopathic drugs are known to be clinically useful in the treatment of  insomnia. However, there is need to scientifically validate the effectiveness of   homoeopathic medicine through clinical trial using laboratory parameters as evidence base.

Objectives: This study was conducted with the aim of documenting the effect of four homeopathic drugs, viz. Coffea cruda, Passiflora incarnata, Nux vomica, and Kali phosphoricum which are used in Homoeopathy for the treatment of insomnia, on serum melatonin and cortisol levels of healthy volunteers. It also sought to evaluate the effects of these drugs on psychomotor skills during daytime.

Methods: Five groups of healthy adult male volunteers were recruited (10 persons in each group) and randomly assigned to five groups ( four for the drugs and one for placebo). The participants were blinded to the protocol. Serum cortisol and melatonin levels were estimated by radioimmunoassay methods before and after taking the drugs in different potencies. Development of sleep related symptoms after taking the drug was considered as response. A battery of eleven psychomotor tests was done to test the alertness in the morning.

Results: The study showed that 38.1% responded to Nux vomica and that 23.1% responded to Coffea cruda in terms of complaining of sleep related symptoms when the drugs were taken. None responded to Passiflora incarnata, Kali phosphoricum or to placebo. The mean difference in serum cortisol in the responders to Nux vomica (38.9±8.8 ng/ml) was significantly less (p

Conclusion: Out of the four drugs chosen for the study only Nux vomica produced symptoms and showed a decrease in serum cortisol levels in those subjects who responded to the drug. However since only 38% of the subjects responded, it is too small a number to comment on the clinical efficacy of this drug. Further studies using Nux vomica in patients with chronic insomnia may throw light on this.

This research paper was published in Indian Journal of Research in Homoeopathy 2010;4(1): 47-50.

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MY COMMENTS:

Please note the ‘objective’ of the study: “This study was conducted with the aim of documenting the effect of four homeopathic drugs, viz. Coffea cruda, Passiflora incarnata, Nux vomica, and Kali phosphoricum which are used in Homoeopathy for the treatment of insomnia, on serum melatonin and cortisol levels of healthy volunteers. It also sought to evaluate the effects of these drugs on psychomotor skills during daytime.”

See how the study is done: “Methods: Five groups of healthy adult male volunteers were recruited (10 persons in each group) and randomly assigned to five groups (four for the drugs and one for placebo).The participants were blinded to the protocol. Serum cortisol and melatonin levels were estimated by radioimmunoassay methods before and after taking the drugs in different potencies. Development of sleep related symptoms after taking the drug was considered as response. A battery of eleven psychomotor tests was done to test the alertness in the morning.”

It is admitted by the ‘researchers’ that the aim of the study was to determine the effects of ‘Coffea cruda, Passiflora incarnata, Nux vomica, and Kali phosphoricum’ up on HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS, measured in terms of changes in “serum melatonin and cortisol levels of healthy volunteers”. It also sought to “evaluate the effects of these drugs on psychomotor skills during daytime.”

In what form they used these drugs on volunteers? “In  different potencies”.

What was the result? “None responded to Passiflora incarnata, Kali phosphoricum or to placebo”. They did not produce any “sleep related symptoms”. “38.1% responded to Nux vomica and that 23.1% responded to Coffea cruda”.

What is the conclusion drawn by the researchers from this study by the researchers?

“Out of the four drugs chosen for the study only Nux vomica produced symptoms and showed a decrease in serum cortisol levels in those subjects who responded to the drug. However since only 38% of the subjects responded, it is too small a number to comment on the clinical efficacy of this drug. Further studies using Nux vomica in patients with chronic insomnia may throw light on this.”

According to the researchers, the outcome of this study does not help to “comment on the clinical efficacy” of even nux vomica, which gave ‘response’ in 38% volunteers.

What about the “clinical efficacy” of Passiflora incarnata, Kali phosphoricum and Coffea? It should be assumed they have no any “clinical efficacy”?

The basic knowledge the ‘researchers’ happened to ignore while designing this study is: ‘only molecular forms of drugs’ can produce any effect up on healthy volunteers. Drugs potentized above avogadro limit cannot produce any biological effects if they are not homeopathically indicated for the individual. You cannot do such a study using “different potencies”. Nux vomica might have produced some responses in some volunteers, only because it was homeopathically indicated for them!

If you were doing the study to evaluate the changes that could be produced by a drug, you should do it by using mother tinctures or potencies below 12- in ‘molecular forms’. Only drug molecules can act up on biological molecules, create molecular errors and produce symptoms.

If you were doing the study for evaluating the ‘efficacy’ of potentized drugs, you should do such studies using potencies above 12c, and it should be applied only up on patients ‘as per indications’. Potentized drugs can act only upon ‘pathogenic molecules’ having conformational affinity, which could be decided only by ‘similarity’ of drug symptoms and disease symptoms.

To study ‘clinical effects’, either drugs should be used in potencies according to indications upon patients, or, used in crude forms upon healthy individuals. You cannot study ‘clinical effects’ by applying potentized drugs upon healthy individuals. Potentized drugs contain only molecular imprints, which cannot cause derangement in biological processes, as they cannot produce inhibitions in biological molecules. They cannot interfere in the normal interactions between biological molecules and their natural ligands. That is the basic lesson the researchers forgot in organizing this study.

ACTUALLY THE ONLY RATIONAL CONCLUSION THAT COULD BE DRAWN FROM THIS STUDY IS-  ‘DRUGS POTENTIZED ABOVE 12C CANNOT PRODUCE ANY PHYSIOLOGICAL CHANGES IN HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS IF APPLIED WITHOUT INDICATIONS’. GOT IT?

If you are doing researches without any idea about these fundamental truths involved in homeopathy, such studies will end up only as gross wastage of our national exchequer. A BIG ZERO!!

 

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