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Can Homeopathy Bring Additional Benefits to Thalassemic Patients on Hydroxyurea

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Andy Battaglia:
This is an interesting study that examined the effect of homeopathic remedies in combination with hydroxyurea to increase hemoglobin levels. The study showed there was a cumulative effect of using them together to raise Hb and that there was an overall positive effect on health. Using different fetal hemoglobin inducers together does seem to lead to a higher Hb than using any of them separately, so it may be wise to devise a strategy of several drugs and/or supplements and remedies for a maximum effect. Just as using both IP6 and green tea extract together add more to chelation than either one by itself, adding wheatgrass, resveratrol, folic acid, homeopathic remedies,  etc. to each other or along with drugs like hydroxyurea, an added benefit may be found. I find this line of research to be very interesting and feel that there is probably a wealth of information about natural substances that can aid with thalassemia treatment, but we are only now beginning to discover some of them. One point of interest in this study is that it decreased spleen size in many patients by using these remedies with hydroxyurea.

http://ecam.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/nem161v1


--- Quote ---Several homeopathic remedies, namely, Pulsatilla Nigricans (30th potency), Ceanothus Americanus (both mother tincture and 6th potency) and Ferrum Metallicum (30th potency) selected as per similia principles were administered to 38 thalassemic patients receiving Hydroxyurea (HU) therapy for a varying period of time. Levels of serum ferritin (SF), fetal hemoglobin (HbF), hemoglobin (Hb), platelet count (PC), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), white blood cell (WBC) count, bilirubin content, alanine amino transferase (ALT), aspartate amino transferase (AST) and serum total protein content of patients were determined before and 3 months after administration of the homeopathic remedies in combination with HU to evaluate additional benefits, if any, derived by the homeopathic remedies, by comparing the data with those of 38 subjects receiving only HU therapy. Preliminary results indicated that there was a significant decrease in the SF and increase in HbF levels in the combined, treated subjects. Although the changes in other parameters were not so significant, there was a significant decrease in size of spleen in most patients with spleenomegaly and improvement in general health conditions along with an increased gap between transfusions in most patients receiving the combined homeopathic treatment. The homeopathic remedies being inexpensive and without any known side-effects seem to have great potentials in bringing additional benefits to thalassemic patients; particularly in the developing world where blood transfusions suffer from inadequate screening and fall short of the stringent safety standards followed in the developed countries. Further independent studies are encouraged...In most cases dependent on blood transfusion, there was an increase in the period of their transfusion demand (ranging between 25 and 75%) in the combined treatment group. In two cases, patients used to have fever, before and after transfusion, but after administration of homeopathic remedies on similia principle for 3 months, the incidence of fever disappeared.
In the 30 patients having enlarged spleen of varying lengths (total 125 cm) before administration of homeopathic remedy, there was a distinct reduction in length (total 45 cm); as many as 11 of them showed no palpable enlarged spleen after homeopathic treatment. The general health and spirits of the patients appeared to have improved after this combined treatment in the majority of the cases studied...In the present investigation, out of a total of 38 patients, 6 belonging to thalassemia major type (ß-thalassemia) and 32 to HbE/ß type, the greater majority showed positive response to combined homeopathic therapy. There was a significant increase in induction of HbF in them, which is very encouraging...In the present study, a noticeable increase in HbF was also noted in patients receiving HU alone, but there was further increase of HbF level in patients receiving the combined homeopathic treatment, thereby showing additional beneficial effect of homeopathy...How the homeopathic remedies could bring forth such positive changes remains unclear. But the present results would also lend support to the contention (38–40) that the potentized homeopathic remedies possibly acted through regulation of specific and relevant gene expression responsible for the apparently enhanced synthesis of the HbF and decrease of ferritin level. While in the advanced countries the treatment and management strategies have made significant progress in the reduction of thalassemia to a great extent, such treatment strategies are beyond reach of the poor patients inhabiting developing countries.
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maha:
Hi Andy
I had read this on the net sometime back when DR Mathur prescribed ferrum metallicum. I did not want to give anything that had ferrum in it. How is it possible that a medicine has iron in it and still the serum ferritin comes down?
maha

§ãJ¡Ð ساجد:
Homeopathy claims to work with the rule of "Fight Fire with Fire" They actually add small amount of disease causing reasons for the body to stimulate and react to counter it. Another reason for them to support their methods is the medical practice of Vaccination

However, I doubt their method for a couple of reason. First; if the body doesn't have a natural way of fighting a particular disease like Iron overload; then adding more iron thinking that body will get rid of it more efficiently is practically stupid (sorry for being rude) knowing the body has way too much already!

The second is simply a logical reason that you can't cure a genetic disorder with a medicine that will probably never reach the millions of genes and rectify the specific mutated one via oral route.

Apart from this I think that there is a possibility that homeopathy has found HbF inducing agents that can help increasing the gap in Thal. Intermedias and some Thal. Majors.

maha:
Hi Sajid
Just like some docs make the mistake of prescribing iron supplements to thal patients when they are not familiar with thalassemia, homeo practitioners prescribe ferrum AR`s and ferrum phosphate which is nothing other than homeo iron supplements. Even after 8 months of Rodex when Hassan had showed no improvement he mixed something saying it would help in stabilising his hb. I don`t give any mixtures unless I am told what it contains. He said it was ferrum met and natrum mur.I still have it with me untouched. You would be surprised to know that many thals take fer met and they feel an increase in their transfusion intervals. But all these research is done by homeo practitioners so you cannot guarantee their authenticity. As for Dr Mathur he knows about Iron overload and has given Hassan something that could supplement chelation which he says is purely herbal. Like Rodex even that doesn`t work.
regards
maha

jay:
It is Duty and Responsibility of Indian Doctors to dismiss the work mentioned in the link and provide more valuable, stronger arguments and evidence against it and fix the cracks in the process and system. If they don't do it then it is obligation to the world doctors community.
It is utter shameful that the quackery had able to plant a troll in NCBI. I protest: take down that nonsense NCBI !
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2816384/

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