Homeopathy

A Review on the Current Status of Homeopathy in the Clinical Manage-ment of Cancer

Homeopathy is a widely practiced alternate system of medicine around the world that employs small doses of various medicines to promote auto-regulation and self-healing. It is among the most commonly used alternative approaches in cancer and other diseases and alternative therapeutic systems. It is widely used as palliative and as supportive therapy in cancer patients. Few cases have been reported on patients using homeopathy after surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy, generally for overcoming side effects. The dose of Homoeopathic medicines and their mechanism of action in cancer has also been documented, while clinical trials on the effects of Homoeopathy in cancer treatment are rare. It is found that the anticancer potential of homeopathic medicines is reported for different cancer types, which show their efficacy through apoptosis and immune system modulation. Homeopathic treatment is an add-on to conventional therapy, with almost no interaction with the conventional drugs due to the small dose, and is largely attributed to improving lives by providing symptomatic relief, increasing survival time and boosting patient immunity. This review explores the accountability of the homeopathic system of medicine by highlighting some of the most commonly used homeopathic drugs for different types of cancers.

Reverse allostasis in biological systems: Minimal conditions and implications

Biological control systems regulate the behavior of biological systems in a constantly changing environment. Homeostasis is the most widely studied outcome of biological control systems. Homeostatic systems maintain the system in its desired state despite variations in system parameters or the externally-determined input rates of their constituents, i.e. they have zero or near zero steady state error. On the other hand, allostatic systems are not resistant against environmental changes and the steady state level of their controlled variables responds positively to the changes in their input rates. Little is known, however, on the existence and frequency of reverse allostatic systems, where the steady state value of the controlled variable correlates negatively with the input rate of that variable. In the present study, we derive the minimal conditions for the existence and local stability of reverse allostatic systems, and demonstrate in examples of metabolic, pharmacological, pathophysiological and ecological systems that the reverse allostasis requirements are relatively non-stringent and may be satisfied in biological systems more commonly than usually thought. The possible existence of reverse allostatic systems in nature and their counter-intuitive implications in physiological systems, drug treatment, ecosystem management, and biological control are explored and testable predictions are made.

Defining complementary and alternative medicine in allergies and asthma: benefits and risks

In this review, the current literature discussing complementary/alternative medicine (CAM) interventions, the prevalence and pattern of use, examples of specific modalities and the risks of CAM for asthma and atopic disease are discussed. The specific risks of CAM interventions associated with the use of these modalities, omission of traditional therapeutic modalities, and the liability risk for physicians who either provide or counsel their patients regarding CAM interventions are also discussed.

Review of complementary and alternative medicine in treatment of ocular allergies

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Ocular allergy is a common complaint of allergy sufferers, many of whom may choose to use complementary and alternative medicine in the treatment of these symptoms. In this review major complementary and alternative medicine modalities including herbal therapies, acupuncture, homeopathy, alternative immunotherapy and behavior modification are assessed for evidence of their effectiveness in the treatment of ocular allergy symptoms.

RECENT FINDINGS

Certain herbs including Euphrasia officinalis, Petasites hybridus and Argemone mexicana have been evaluated in control studies in the treatment of ocular allergy. Honey is no more effective than placebo in the treatment of ocular allergy. Acupuncture used regularly has demonstrated some positive trends in ocular allergy sufferers. Homeopathy has shown conflicting results in the treatment of ocular allergy, while alternative forms of immunotherapy have been shown to develop immunologic tolerogenic effects in the control of the condition.

SUMMARY

Several forms of complementary and alternative medicine have been studied for their effectiveness in treatment of ocular allergy symptoms. Further research is needed to assess mechanisms of action and to establish practice guidelines for the use of these modalities