A portal for homeopathic students, teachers & professionals



whole web in this site

 
  Home    |   Submit Articles   |  About Us   |    Latest   |    Links   |    Guest Book   |    Contact
 
     
 
 
     
 
 
     
 
 
     
     
   Similima
   

About Us
Our team
Our motto
Perspectives
Donate
Advertise
Disclaimer
Copy right
Privacy Policy
Guidelines to authors 
Profile of Dr.Mansoor Ali

Submit Articles

 

   

     
 
   
   Send your Feedback
  HOMEO WORLD
Latest News in Homoeopathy & Medicine
Compiled by Dr. K.R.Mansoor Ali
Email :info@similima.com 
 

 

 

New PG Homeopathy Courses in Kerala - AYUSH approval awaited
During 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 the colleges admitted 48 students in 2 batches (24 in each college) in the 2 courses -Practice of Medicine & Homoeopathic Pharmacy. Sanction of the State Govt. for starting 2 courses were issued vide G.O (MS) No 35/2005/H&FWD dated 14-2-2005. When the Principal and Controlling officer of the Govt. Homoeopathic Medical colleges sought recognition from AYUSH dept., Govt. of India, for the said courses, it was turned down on the ground that permission to the new courses cannot be granted by AYUSH, as per HCC amendment act 2002. Hence ex-post-facto recognition was not granted and admissions were not given for the 2 courses thereafter.The students then moved a writ petition in the High Court of Kerala for which orders were issued on 6-12-2006 which stated that if infrastructural and instructional facilities were present, retrospective recognition could be granted in order to protect the interest of the students. The Hon’ble Supreme Court of India redirected the Writ appeal moved by the Govt. of India to the High Court of Kerala. High Court of Kerala on its judgment dated 9-3-2010 disposed the case asking the appellants to grant ex-post-facto recognition.

Due to the issues mentioned above the students in Kerala are denied their chances for post graduation in these two subjects which is highly necessary for their academic and career opportunities as they are new subjects of specialisation.

Central council of Homoeopathy has already granted ex post facto sanction to the above courses and had upgraded the respective departments to post graduate level after inspection. AYUSH has already conveyed that it has no objection in starting new courses in these colleges if necessary procedures are done in time. The Govt. of Kerala has already remitted a course fee of Rs 8 lakhs [two lakhs each for two subjects for the two colleges mentioned] and the Principal & Controlling Officer has re-submitted the application for recognition of these courses to AYUSH as per the direction of the Honourable High Court of Kerala.
In these circumstances, students requested Department of AYUSH Govt. of India to grant the required recognition so that students from the current rank list, prepared on the basis of entrance examination 2010 conducted by the commissioner of entrance examinations, Govt. of Kerala, may be given sanction for admission, to the two subjects mentioned, this academic year itself.

“Homoeopathy can prevent Japanese Encephalitis” - Reserach
Special Correspondent
The Hindu NEW DELHI, July 11, 2010

Homoeopathic medicine Belladonna is effective in preventing Japanese Encephalitis (JE), a recent study conducted by the Kolkata-based School of Tropical Medicine has shown. Belladonna is derived from a plant A. belladonna which is also source of the drug atropine.

Conducted in collaboration with the Central Council for Research in Homoeopathy (CCRH) under the Department of AYUSH, researchers claim to have found a probable role for Belladonna in preventing JE virus infection. The in-vitro study is aimed at assessing the prophylactic action of Belladonna in homoeopathic potencies on Chorioallantoic Membrane (CAM) of chick embryo infected with the JE virus. The results of the study showed a significant decrease in the pocks (discrete foci of cell proliferation and necrosis) count when the JE virus infection on CAM was challenged with homoeopathic medicine Belladonna in different potencies.

The results of the study are published in the latest issue of the American Journal of Infectious Diseases. The outcome of the study was presented by Principal Investigator Bhaswati Bandopadhyay, Assistant Professor of Virology at the Clinical Virology Symposium, in April last year at Florida.

Japanese Encephalitis presents a significant risk to humans and animals, particularly in South East Asia (including India) where around 50,000 cases and 10,000 deaths occur per year, particularly affecting children below 10 years. The statistics reveal that about 50 per cent of the patients who develop JE suffer from permanent neurological defects and 30 per cent of them die due to the disease.

“The study is a befitting reply to the critics and sceptics of homoeopathy who have been denouncing the therapy,” Director-General of CCRH, C. Nayak, said.
Link : http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article510105.ece
 
Alternative medicine gaining ground in UAE
Asma Ali Zain and Ahmed Shaaban
DUBAI - While alternative medicine is not everyone’s first choice for daily health care, it may soon become a popular option. In the UAE, demand for alternative medicine is bound to increase due to the affluent market structure, say local experts.

“In the US and Europe, 70 per cent of the patients ask for alternative medicine at least once a year,” he says, adding that alternative medicine treats the root cause as compared to conventional medicine. “Herbs are expensive while a licence for practitioners is hard to get,” he says.

A survey conducted by the Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC) in 2006 found out that 28 per cent of people in the UAE used one form or the other of alternative therapy during the preceding 12 months while 48 per cent had availed of these therapies at some point in their lifetime.

The same study concluded that 55 per cent of the public preferred implementation of formal regulations for Complementary and Alternative Medicine Council set up at the healthcare city to increase public confidence and wider use. Herbal medicine, Chinese acupuncture, muscular massage treatment and medical ozone oxygen treatments were among the alternative medicine therapies streamlined by the UAE Ministry of Health in 2005 along with traditional, herbal, homeopathic, osteopathy, chiropractic and naturopathic medicines.

Healthcare City is also providing the option of medical cover for people turning to alternative medicine. “We are in talks with insurance companies and some have agreed to cover alternative drugs,” explains Dr Mukesh Batra who recently opened the first homeopathic clinic at the healthcare city. He explains that the global homeopathy market stands at Dh10 billion. “The annual growth rate of the market stands at 25 per cent and this includes the UAE as well,” he added. The market is definitely growing says Dr Saifi. “People in the country are financially well off.”

Over 4,000 General Sales Products, 250 homeopathic medicines and 300 herbal medicines have been registered with the health ministry so far. Alternative medicine has also become a reliable option for people seeking treatment free from side effects. From anything between Ayurvedic methods to Chinese acupuncture and mind-body techniques, the UAE offers a wide range of treatment options.

Vascular Diseases therapist and Hijama (cupping) expert at GMC hospital in Ajman Dr Amr Farouk classifies it into five categories — alternative therapies, mind-body techniques, body-based therapies, biologically based therapies and energy therapies.

“A number of alternative medical systems exist, including Hijama, traditional Chinese medicine, Ayurveda, and unconventional Western practices of natural healing,” says Dr Amr.
Source : http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayarticleNew.asp?section=health&xfile=data/health/2009/July/health_July40.xml 

Oman Insurance to offer cover for all 12 complementary and alternative medicine treatments at Dubai Healthcare City
Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC), a member of Tecom investments, today announced Oman Insurance Company (OIC) will be the first to cover all 12 streams of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) treatments licensed by its regulatory body - the Center for Healthcare Planning and Quality (CPQ).

Homeopathy, Ayurveda, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Unani Medicine, Osteopathy, Therapeutic Massage, Naturopathy, Chiropractic, Tai-Chi, Pilates, Yoga and Guided Imagery are included in the complementary and alternative treatments offered in the cluster. These can be obtained at DHCC clinics listed within OIC's Alternative Medicines Network.

Dr. Ayesha Abdullah, Senior Vice-President, Dubai Healthcare City, said: "Integrated medicine, which combines complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) as well as conventional medicine, is gaining popularity among medical practitioners and healthcare providers. With the outstanding global growth of this trend, we have realised it is imperative on our part to provide CAM services and educate the community about these medical streams that have been receiving wider acceptance."

CPQ along with ABC Coding Solutions has developed more than 421 new codes with descriptions to further regulate and measure the outcomes of CAM procedures within DHCC. The codes assist health insurance agencies to recognize effective CAM services, facilitate clinical audits and validation, performance management and improvements, as well as research.

Dr. Ayesha added, "Oman Insurance is the first to offer coverage for all 12 CAM services, which further demonstrates DHCC's commitment to expand the scope of healthcare services. This is also part of our ambitious drive to raise regional healthcare excellence. We are proud of the remarkable success we have registered hitherto, and look forward to more partnerships for offering high quality patient care and meet the community needs."

Abdul Muttalib Mustafa Al Jaidi, CEO, Oman Insurance Company, said, "As a market leader, innovations and development of new products that benefit our customers is one of our responsibilities to the market. We have developed a special health insurance product insuring complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) services provided by clinics in Dubai Healthcare City."

Al Jaidi added, "We are happy to announce that all 12 CAM services are being insured by us, a major milestone that integrates both western medicine and CAM. In fact, this is the future of medicine, and opens up a whole new world of choices for our esteemed customers in the UAE. It's our privilege to collaborate with Dubai Healthcare City and the UAE Center for Healthcare Planning and Quality who have put in place stringent regulations for the protection of patients."

Headquartered in the UAE with 10 branches in all the emirates, Oman Insurance Company (OIC) is one of the premier insurance service providers that also has a presence in Oman and Qatar. Its high quality products reflect a true customer-focused approach in providing top-notch insurance coverage. DHCC is currently working with more insurance companies to raise the awareness of CAM and to introduce new schemes for CAM treatment in DHCC clinics.

Established in 2004, CPQ ensures high-quality patient care throughout DHCC, while offering tools and measures to healthcare providers to drive continuous improvement.
 
New Book Reveals Why Your Dental Fillings, Earrings, Wristwatch and Jewelry May be the Hidden Cause Behind Chronic Pain and Muscle Weakness
by Mike Adams, NaturalNews Editor
(NaturalNews) A few years ago, before I wrote for NaturalNews, I met a woman who told me that she experienced an "overnight cure" for joint pain by having her dental fillings removed and replaced with porcelain. At the time, I thought the idea was crazy, but I always remembered her story.

Fast forward ten years... A book arrives in the mail from a British chiropractor named Simon King. The book, titled Live Without Pain is based on the premise that jewelry, dentures, rings, watches, dental fillings, crowns and other metal items can function as a root cause of unexplained pain, and removing them results in seemingly miraculous cures for pain in many people.

The book also teaches readers about proprioception, which basically concerns your body's feedback loop and how it perceives the position of your physical parts in three-dimensional space. It also affects how your musculature adapts to new sensory inputs, which affects strength, weakness, stiffness and flexibility.

If that sounds too technical, don't worry: It really just means that your body has a built-in neurological computer that calculates body awareness for you, feeding it into your conscious mind so that you know how to move through the physical world.
How metal can disrupt your muscles and cause pain.

What does this have to do with jewelry and body pain? Your nervous system is electrical in nature, and the presence of metals can disrupt or distort the normal flow of electrical signals in your body.

A piece of jewelry or a dental crown in the wrong place can, in effect, "break the circuit" of your nervous system, resulting in an imbalance that eventually leads to the perception of intense pain.

This theory isn't accepted by conventional medicine, of course. But those folks still haven't accepted the theory that Vitamin D prevents cancer, either. Modern medicine remains hopelessly outdated when it comes to pioneering research on mind-body connections and the complexities of the nervous system.

But many chiropractors are right on the cutting edge of this research. They're the ones seeing the immediate effects of nervous system rebalancing, after all, and rather than simply masking symptoms like doctors do, chiropractors have the far greater challenge of working to resolve those systems from the inside out. That's why chiropractors are leading the way in understanding the complexity and healing potential of the human nervous system, and that's why I found this book, Live Without Pain, so intriguing.

It's 172 pages long and rich with case studies of patients experiencing seemingly miraculous cures from pain after removing various metals and implants from their body. It offers solutions for:
• Hip pain, back pain and knee pain
• Muscle weakness and fatigue
• Muscle and joint stiffness
• Headaches and neck aches
• Poor sports performance
• Low energy and lack of stamina... and a lot more.
Source :  http://www.truthpublishing.com/Live_Without_Pain_p/print-cat21535.htm
 
Dr Parinaz Humeranwala's Expert System
Years of observation, immense knowledge and intense hard work forms one intriguing expert system ‘The Tempraz’, an expert system which will never fail you. Tempraz Expert System, an outstanding technological solution helps you to understand a temperament and find the correct similimum for the same.


It was for the first time ever, that a lady Homoeopath, Dr. Parinaz Humranwala, of India, reached a successful milestone by launching this expert system on 20th June 2010 at Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai. She was blessed by presence of


• Dr. K. N. Kasad, M.B.B.S, M.F. (Hom.), a veteran teacher and a living legend in homeopathy
• Dr. B. E. Patel, an expert teacher and ex principal C.M.P. Homeopathic Medical College, Mumbai
• Dr. Nityanand Tiwari, Assistant Director, I.C.R.
• Dr. Kumar Dhawale M.D. (Psy.), M.F. (Hom.), Director and trustee, Dr. M.L.D. trust
• Dr. Prafull Vijayakar, President I.I.H.P. Mumbai
• Dr. Prafull Barvalia, Director, Spandan Holistic Child Care Center
• Dr. Vishpala Parthasarathy, Editor N.J.H.
and many other famous Homoeopaths, who highly appreciated the utility of this software in practice.
 
HON is conducting a study on Internet use for health/medical purposes
From July 1-31, HON is inviting individuals and medical professionals to take part in its Summer 2010 survey, which focuses on how the Internet is being used for health and medical purposes. It includes questions on how one typically searches the Internet for disease information, how one places importance on various health website characteristics, and how one typically behaves when faced with situations involving the Internet and health information.


The survey at: http://www.hon.ch/Survey2010/ 

Rajasthan to get world's first homoeopathy varsity
Special Correspondent
JAIPUR: The Rajasthan Assembly on Thursday passed the Homoeopathy University, Jaipur Bill 2010, to facilitate the setting up of the world's first homoeopathy university. The ruling Congress party MLAs and those of the Opposition BJP hailed the development as a “welcome step” towards promoting a medical system which has least side effects and is affordable by all.

The objective of the university is to undertake study and research in homoeopathy and offer a five and a half year bachelors degree in homoeopathic medicine and surgery, B.Sc. nursing, three-year post graduate courses, PhD courses, M.Sc. in Life Sciences, and to run various diploma and certificate courses.The Bill, passed unanimously by the House after a discussion on the penultimate day of the current session, will replace an ordinance promulgated in October 2009 by the State Government, permitting the Dr.Madan Pratap Khunteta Homoeopathic Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre Society to start a self-financing university in the private sector on a 33.78 acres area in village Sayapura in Sanganer tehsil of Jaipur district.

 

The sponsors have deposited Rs.2 crore with the Government to be utilized as endowment fund.Minister for Higher Education Jitendra Singh, who introduced the Bill, said a committee appointed by the State Government testified sufficiency of the infrastructure for the university.The Minister said the sponsors, a registered society of 40 years standing, has been imparting education in homoeopathy on Station Road, Jaipur.Dr. Jitendra Singh pointed out that the admissions to the Homeopathy University would be purely on the basis of merit and there is provision in the Bill for a quota for students from SC,ST, Other Backward Classes,women and handicapped persons as per the policy of the State Government.

BJP leaders Gulab Chand Kataria and Rajendra Singh Rathore, who supported the Bill, said there was a need to monitor the universities in Rajasthan, including the State-run varsities, which were in a bad shape.
Source : This news was published in HINDU of April 2.


Microsoft Tools for Teachers and Students
Microsoft offers free tools to help engage students in a variety of subject areas—from art to music to science and beyond. Teachers can use these interactive tools to encourage self-directed learning or to create fun, dynamic group projects.
The tools are simple to download from the Web. For the most part, they don’t require special training, so you can start using them quickly and help your students do the same.


It’s a Web-surfing, clicking, interactive world. How does a teacher engage today’s students? Introduce them to these captivating free tools.
AutoCollage: Have students gather images from the Web or snap their own photos on a subject. Then, they can create a unique piece of art using this free collage-making tool.
WorldWide Telescope: This free tool brings together imagery from the world’s best ground and space-based telescopes. Students can explore the night sky by panning and zooming to distant planets and galaxies.
Microsoft Photosynth: Students can explore famous places in the world with cinematic quality using this virtual, visual three-dimensional tour.
Songsmith: Bring out the musical creativity in your students. Choose a style—from pop to jazz or R&B. Have a student sing into a PC microphone, and Songsmith will generate musical accompaniment to match his or her voice.
Windows Live Movie Maker: Make your classroom lessons even more memorable with a movie. Windows Live Movie Maker is the fast, easy way to turn photos and video clips into great-looking movies and slide shows you can share in class or on the Web.
Photo Story 3 for Windows XP: Bring a subject to life with music and pictures. This free, downloadable program has tools to enhance, crop, and rotate your digital photos. Students and teachers can easily create a slide show with just a few clicks.
Bing Search and Bing Maps: The visual aspect of Bing makes searching the Internet a more captivating and rewarding experience for students. Bing Maps offer breathtaking, bird’s eye views of the world that can enhance any project

.
Bing Translator: This helpful tool easily converts what you have written into nearly any language you need. Cut and paste the text into the area indicated, and click Translate.
Step-by-step guide for working with photos and search (Microsoft Office Word document, 4 MB)
Free tools datasheet (Microsoft Office Word document, 463 KB)
Creative ways to engage students (Portable Document Format file, 3.5 MB)
Microsoft offers free ways to help with sharing and collaborating, so teachers can feel more connected and in sync with students, parents, and peers.
Mouse Mischief: Integrate multiple choice, polling and true/false questions into your lessons with this free add-in for PowerPoint 2007 and PowerPoint 2010 that lets students use mice to answer.
Windows Live SkyDrive: Gain access to 25 gigabytes (GB) of free, online storage. Use it for a student or teacher workgroup to upload and share documents in one central place, rather than trying to track them in e-mails. Store your photos and files, and access them with a password.
Source : http://www.microsoft.com/education/default.mspx 
 
Homoeopath held for 'raping' his 7-yr-old patient
MUMBAI: The police arrested a 28-year-old homeopath, Virendra Doni, for allegedly raping a seven-year-old patient inside his clinic at Santa Cruz East on Friday. A police officer from Vakola police station said they have booked him for rape and that investigations are currently on.

The victim, who had been suffering from cough since a few days, was taken to the clinic by her grandfather on Friday morning. Police officials said that after examining the girl, Doni prescribed some medicines and asked her grandfather to buy them from a shop in the vicinity.

Senior police inspector Anil Kharade of Vakola police station said, “Doni committed the crime when the grandfather went to purchase the medicine.”

After his return, the grandfather sensed that something was amiss. The victim said the doctor had “misbehaved” with her. The grandfather convinced her to narrate the incident. He discussed the matter with his relatives and filed a complaint. A senior police official said this was very serious case and that the girl was not in condition to give them all the details. She told the police that the doctor had molested her and then tried to rape her.

The police officer didn’t want to take a chance, so they booked Doni in a rape case and sent the girl for medical examination to ascertain the facts. A senior police officer said, “We booked the doctor in the rape case so that we can take him into police custody and interrogate him.”

A local resident Santosh Pandey told TOI, “Earlier too, some girls had complained to their family members about his inappropriate behaviour.”
Source :
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/City/Mumbai/Homoeopath-held-for-raping-his-7-yr-old-patient/articleshow/6093053.cms
 
Laser pointers 'pose danger to eyes'
Page last updated at 23:26 GMT, Wednesday, 9 June 2010 00:26 UK
E-mail this to a friend The laser damaged the teenager's retina, as shown in this photo Hand-held laser pointers can cause serious eye damage if used inappropriately, doctors have warned.

Medics from the Royal Liverpool Hospital and Manchester Eye Hospital spoke out after treating a teenager who had shone a laser into his eyes. He suffered burns and retinal damage, the British Medical Journal reported.

The Health Protection Agency said it had received reports of retinal damage and recommended that only pointers with limited power should be sold. The teenager in question had bought a green, diode laser pointer over the internet and, while playing with it, shone the laser beam into his eyes. Tests showed that the youngster had central scotomas, or dark spots, in his vision.

He was treated by Dr Kimia Ziahosseini and colleagues from the two hospitals.
Continue reading the main story Although his vision has now returned to normal, he is at risk of developing problems later on in life as a result of the damage to his retina Dr Kimia Ziahosseini After the incident, they found that the teenager's clearness of vision was poor. Tests revealed burns to the surface of the eye and disturbances to the retina, the light sensitive tissue at the back of the eye.

Two months later, his vision had improved but some retinal damage remained.
"Although his vision has now returned to normal, he is at risk of developing problems later on in life as a result of the damage to his retina," said Dr Ziahosseini.

"If misused and shone into a person's eyes, even for just a few seconds, the damage can be devastating," she said.
Source : WWW.bbc.com
 
Protest against the BMA attacks on homeopathy
Homeopathy: Medicine for the 21st Century (H:MC21) will be supporting homeopaths and patients protesting outside the British Medical Association (BMA) conference in Brighton on Tuesday 29 June. We will also be supporting those BMA members who use homeopathy, whose representatives will be arguing their case inside the conference. As an organisation H:MC21 draws its support from the whole spectrum of practioners and users of homeopathy, both within and outside the NHS, and in the UK as well as other countries.


We are profoundly disturbed that some members of the BMA are using specious and ill-founded arguments in order to mislead their colleagues. Despite the clear evidence that they are not competent to assess homeopathy, they are seeking to compel their colleagues not to use the training, clinical experience and expertise they have for the benefit of patients. They have even gone so far as to demand that “homeopathy should be first in line for NHS cuts in this economic crisis”, threatening the jobs of those colleagues.

William Alderson is Chair of H:MC21 and author of Halloween Science,[1] a detailed study of a prominent book attacking homeopathy. He comments: “This is not an issue of science or evidence or cost. Every one of these attacks on homeopathy involves betraying scientific principles, distorting the evidence and misrepresenting financial interests, and I have looked at the arguments closely. To claim that all this effort is intended to save the NHS a mere 0.001% of its budget makes no sense, until you look at the cost of pharmaceutical drugs and the evidence for their effectiveness.


“The NHS spends at least £2 billion each year on treating the adverse effects of prescribed drugs. This is hardly surprising when only 11% of 2,500 orthodox ‘commonly used treatments’ have been proven ‘beneficial’, and only 24% have been proven ‘likely to be beneficial’, whilst 51% are of ‘unknown effectiveness’.[2] Against the background of such expensive failure, the attacks on homeopathy look suspiciously like a recognition of its safety, cheapness and success.”


Below is an open letter to the Secretary of State for Health which urges him “to re-affirm the NHS commitment to homeopathy at this time”; “to insist that NHS spending on homeopathy should better reflect the scale of its use by the UK electorate”; and “to initiate serious research into the potential for homeopathy to save the NHS money, and the reasons why this potential is being ignored”.
 
A NOBEL laureate who discovered the link between HIV and AIDS has suggested there could be a firm scientific foundation for homeopathy.
French virologist Luc Montagnier stunned his colleagues at a prestigious international conference when he presented a new method for detecting viral infections that bore close parallels to the basic tenets of homeopathy.

Although fellow Nobel prize winners -- who view homeopathy as quackery -- were left openly shaking their heads, Montagnier's comments were rapidly embraced by homeopaths eager for greater credibility.

Montagnier told the conference last week that solutions containing the DNA of pathogenic bacteria and viruses, including HIV, "could emit low frequency radio waves" that induced surrounding water molecules to become arranged into "nanostructures". These water molecules, he said, could also emit radio waves. He suggested water could retain such properties even after the original solutions were massively diluted, to the point where the original DNA had effectively vanished. In this way, he suggested, water could retain the "memory" of substances with which it had been in contact -- and doctors could use the emissions to detect disease.

To a lay person this may sound tenuous. For a scientist it is highly provocative in its similarity to the principles said to underpin homeopathy. Homeopathic medicines work on the principle that a toxic substance taken in minute amounts will cure the same symptoms that it would cause if it were taken in large amounts. Scientists completely reject this, claiming there is no evidence to show that water can retain or transmit information and that homeopathic treatments have never been proven in full clinical trials.

Montagnier's claims come at a particularly sensitive time, with the British Medical Association last week calling for the National Health Service to stop spending pound stg. 4 million ($7.2m) a year on homeopathy. The growing concern of doctors is linked to homeopathy's rising popularity. Users of homeopathy include the Queen and David Beckham.Montagnier was awarded the Nobel prize in 2008 for research carried out in the 1980s that confirmed the link between HIV and AIDS. The breakthrough opened the way to new treatments that have extended the lives of millions of people.

Last week, he was speaking at the Lindau Nobel laureate meeting in Germany where 60 Nobel prize winners had gathered, along with 700 other scientists, to discuss the latest breakthroughs in medicine, chemistry and physics. Cristal Sumner, of the British Homeopathic Association, said Montagnier's work gave homeopathy "a true scientific ethos".

The Sunday Times :http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/health-science/nobel-laureate-gives-homeopathy-a-boost/story-e6frg8y6-1225887772305
 
Dana Ullman's newest article on "Energy Medicine"
.My newest article at the HuffingtonPost is a critical one that helps some people better understand and explain homeopathy.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dana-ullman/energy-medicine-futuristi...

This website, huffingtonpost.com, has become one of the most popular sites for news and culture, and I have been honored that this site has not only published many of my articles, but they have promoted them in a vigorous fashion.

My articles at this site always stir up a hornet's nest from the "medical fundamentalists." I hope that YOU will add your voice to the discussion there. And if you appreciate my writings and have the interest (and ability) to show some support for them, please contact me personally...
 
BMA junior doctors demonstrate lack of knowledge
The Faculty of Homeopathy have condemned the motion put forward by junior doctors calling for a halt to NHS funding of homeopathy. The motion was put forward at a recent British Medical Association (BMA) conference. The Faculty also expressed concern about the unfounded criticisms levelled at doctors who practice homeopathy by junior doctors at the conference.

‘As a doctor in practice for over 30 years, not only do I depend on homeopathy as an important tool in daily practice, but more than that, I feel it enables me to be the kind of doctor I always aspired to be.', stated Dr Bob Leckridge, Locum Consultant in Homeopathy at Glasgow Homeopathic Hospital, a BMA member and past president of the Faculty of Homeopathy.

‘There is a growing body of evidence for homeopathy and it is an important part of the National Health Service helping tens of thousands of patients annually, a majority of whom have not been helped sufficiently with conventional treatments. Outcome studies repeatedly demonstrate that patients feel healthier after homeopathic treatment. If a patient is healthier they may reduce their need to use expensive NHS services and require less costly conventional drugs. Homeopathy offers an affordable solution for both patients and the NHS and to suggest cutting such a service would seem economically and socially unsound.’

Cristal Sumner, Chief Executive of the British Homeopathic Association said, ‘To state that people should pay for homeopathic care, means only those who have money really have a choice. Patients that have chronic health issues more often than not do not have funds to pay for private care as they are too ill to work. As UK taxpayer each of us pays for our health care and we should have the choice to access healthcare that works for us. It is unbelievable that a group of inexperienced doctors think they have the right to make decisions for us all.’
Source : http://www.facultyofhomeopathy.org/media/news/bma_junior_doctors_demonstrate_lack_of_knowledge.html
 
Supporters of homeopathy outraged at medical union's attacks
29 June 2010
British supporters of homeopathy, including GPs, medical experts, MPs and patients, are disappointed by motions carried against homeopathy at today’s conference of the British Medical Association in Brighton.

Many supporters of homeopathy gathered in front of the Brighton Centre with banners and placards to let doctors know that they value NHS homeopathy which has improved their health and they should consider patients when voting today.

The motions specifically demand that NHS funding for homeopathic remedies and homeopathic hospitals is banned and that there should be no homeopathic training posts available in NHS hospitals.

Dr Sara Eames, President of the Faculty of Homeopathy, the organisation which represents doctors that practice homeopathy stated, ‘I am shocked and disappointed that my profession’s trade union should pass these motions without consulting doctors who practice homeopathy or allowing them to participate in the debate. There is a growing evidence base for homeopathy with far more positive than negative trials, increasing laboratory evidence and most importantly of all the large numbers of patients who have been helped by homeopathy when all other treatments have failed. What will happen to these patients now? Is patient choice to become the domain of the wealthy?’

Homeopathy, which has been available on the NHS since the formation of the health service in 1948, is an extremely small part of the NHS budget, with homeopathic medicines making up 0.001% of the NHS drugs budget. Hundreds of doctors throughout the UK practice homeopathy, providing approximately 60,000 patients with homeopathic care through the NHS. Without access to NHS homeopathy these patients would be referred to more expensive specialists and be prescribed more costly conventional medicine. Television presenter and former tennis star Annabel Croft said: "I'm shocked to hear that treatments that benefit tens of thousands of people across the UK are under threat as Homeopathy has been proven to work for a wide range of ailments. The option to choose a more holistic approach to medicine should not be taken away from millions of potential patients who could benefit."

“While this country grapples with serious challenges in funding the NHS amounting to billions of pounds, the BMA is choosing to launch an unfair attack on a field of treatment that helps thousands of people in a very cost-effective way”, said Cristal Sumner, Chief Executive of the British Homeopathic Association. “It saddens me that the BMA with no consultation and only 10 minutes debating time decided to pass motions that could have a hugely detrimental effect on the millions of patients and thousands of doctors that use homeopathy. I hope the government has more sense and concern for patients than to endorse these recommendations.’
For more information: http://www.facultyofhomeopathy.org/media/news/bma_motion.html
 
Homeopathy could cure swine flu, say experts
Researchers from the Department of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH), on Friday suggested that homeopathy could prevent and cure swine flu.

The AYUSH department, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India stated in a meeting that the homeopathic substance arsenicum album derived from the metallic-element arsenic could not only prevent swine flu but also treat it.

The meeting was convened by the AYUSH department and chaired by Dr. Diwan Harish Chand vice-president of governing body Central Council for Research in Homoeopathy (CCRH).  The Times of India (TOI) quoted a Union Health Ministry official as saying, “The experts suggested that the substance arsenicum album could be taken as preventive medicine against flu-like illnesses including swine flu.”
 
At the meeting, doctors recommended adults to take four pills of Arsenicum Album-30 every day on an empty stomach for three days as prophylactic medicine (drug that guard against diseases) against flu-like illnesses.

Two pills of the drug were prescribed for children to be taken in the same manner each day.
The doctors further stated that the dosage should be repeated after a month in prevalence of flu-like conditions.
Moreover, the expert group present at the meeting advised people on adopting hygienic measures put forth by the ministry of health and family welfare for disease prevention.

Other benefits of homeopathy
The homeopathy experts stated that in the past also, various flu epidemics such as the Spanish flu and bird flu have been effectively averted and cured by homeopathic remedies like gelsemium, bryonia, influenzinum, and oscillococcinum.

Daily News and Analysis (DNA) quoted a homeopathy practitioner, Dr Rajesh Patel as saying, “Homeopathy can not only prevent but also cure H1N1.” “As they have no side-effects, homeopathic medicines can be administered to people falling under the high risk category, including infants, pregnant women, and the elderly,” Patel added.

Homoeopath Padma Govindan stated, “Homeopathic medicines do not target the causative organisms directly, but bolster the body’s immune system instead.” Arsenicum album (Arsen. alb.) is a frequently used homeopathic substance derived from arsenic and is one of the fifteen most important remedies in homeopathy.

It is used by homeopaths to cure various symptoms such as digestive disorders (especially food poisoning), insomnia, allergies, anxiety, depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Source : http://www.themedguru.com/20100711/newsfeature/homeopathy-could-cure-swine-flu-say-experts-86137080.html
 
Dr James Le Fanu on homeopathy: wrong, but instructively so
 Martin Robbins: If this is a witch hunt, help me find my torch

He has three main planks to his argument, and they are all very familiar to homeopathy-watchers. That’s not to say that they’re not valid, of course, so I thought I’d examine them. First, he says: “The claim that there is ‘no evidence’ of homoeopathy’s efficacy would seem to be contradicted by the many thousands of people worldwide who have benefited from its remedies. Is one to suppose they are all foolish and self-deluded?”

Those of you who did philosophy at university will recognise this as an example of “argumentum ad populum”. It’s a logical fallacy which appeals to the idea that if many people believe in something, it must be true. It’s superficially appealing, but we can all see why it is of limited use in assessing medical treatments. A relatively short time ago, a significant percentage of people believed smoking was healthy. Further back, people believed epilepsy was caused by demonic possession, and that malaria was caused by bad air. No-one believed in the germ theory of disease until Pasteur’s famous demonstration in the 1860s. Popular opinion is at best a weak guide to medical fact.

Next, he brings our attention to an individual in that group of thousands: “They include the former Labour cabinet minister Peter Hain, whose young son suffered severely from both eczema and asthma, for which potent modern medicines provided only modest relief. A visit to a homoeopath brought a dramatic improvement. ‘His health changed completely,’ says Mr Hain.”

Again, this doesn’t actually tell us very much. As Dr Le Fanu has pointed out in his preceding sentence, there are many thousands – actually millions – of people worldwide who use homeopathy. It would be far more surprising if you couldn’t find a few examples of people suddenly getting better after taking it, especially when you bear in mind things like the placebo effect, or regression to the mean. This is why anecdote is not particularly helpful either. After all, if someone else took homeopathy and didn’t get better, would that be evidence that it doesn’t work?

Finally, saying that there is “more to this than is readily apparent”, Dr Le Fanu tells us that “The campaign itself smacks of Dawkinsite arrogance, which supposes ’science’ alone has all the answers and portrays its critics as necessarily irrational and superstitious.” Now, without wanting to get caught up defending my personal hero Richard Dawkins, I do want to say that no-one – least of all Dawkins – believes science has all the answers. As the comedian Dara O Briain says, if science had all the answers, it’d stop. What science is about is asking the questions.

But it is an odd fact about homeopathy that its defenders engage in these sort of smokescreen arguments. If homeopathy works, it should be possible to show that by doing research. Instead, anecdotes and insinuations of conspiracy are thrown around. It doesn’t matter what the NHS drugs budget is, or what Peter Hain thinks – these are all irrelevant to the debate about homeopathy. It either works or it doesn’t. The evidence suggests, rather forcefully, that it doesn’t.
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tomchivers/100044706/a-response-to-dr-james-le-fanu-on-homeopathy/


 

Next Page

 

 
 
 
   
 Copyright © Dr.Mansoor Ali
 Best viewed in 800/600 resolution and 24/32 bit colour.