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Witt CM, Lüdtke R, Mengler N, Willich SN. How healthy are chronically ill patients after eight years of homeopathic treatment?–Results from a long term observational study. BMC Public Health. 2008 Dec 17;8:413. PMID: 19091085

Researchers at Berlin’s Charité University Medical Center continue their long-term study of nearly 4,000 adults and children with chronic illness treated by homeopathic practitioners.

Patients in the study presented with a variety of conditions, including migraine, tension type headache, sleep disorders, depression, anxiety disorders, multiple eczemas, psoriasis, allergic dermatitis, allergic rhinitis, allergies, dysmenorrhea, multiple infections, hypertension, low back pain, and asthma. 

Their data "consistently show substantial health improvements in patients under homeopathic treatment, which persisted through the whole observation period. Improvements were more pronounced in younger patients, females, and those with greater disease severity at baseline."

However, the authors could not attribute the outcomes exclusively to homeopathy:

"As patients were allowed to use conventional therapies and other complementary therapies during the study period, the observed improvements cannot be attributed to homeopathic treatment alone. The aim of this study, however, was not to test the effectiveness of homeopathic drug treatment, but rather provide an unbiased representation of contemporary homeopathic health care and its outcome in routine care."

First do no harm.

The authors believe their study is significant in that it may be the first large study with a high follow-up rate to evaluate health outcomes under homeopathic treatment for such a long observation period.

CAMWatch: Posts about free-access, peer-reviewed articles on aspects of complementary medicine theory, practice and policy (about the blogger). This blog is not a source for medical advice.

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