Frei, H., Everts, R., von Ammon, K., et al. (2005) ‘Homeopathic treatment of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a randomized, double blind, placebo controlled crossover trial’, European Journal of Pediatrics, vol. 164, pp. 758–767.
Links: [abstract, pubmed]::[abstract, springerlink]::[fulltext, ResearchGate, OA]
Responses: [Adler, 2005]
Adler, R.H., Herschkowitz, N. and Minder, C.E. (2005) Letter to the editor, European Journal of Pediatrics, vol. 166, no. 5, p. 509.
A response to Frei (2005).
Links: [pubmed]::[full text, Boris, OA]
Adler, M. (1999) ‘Efficacy and safety of a fixed-combination homeopathic therapy for sinusitis’, Advanced Therapeutics, vol. 16, no. 2, pp.103–111.
RVM says: An open label, practice based survey, no blinding, no placebo control, yet bizarrely referred to as “evidence” by homeopaths… Just another customer satisfaction survey masquerading as science.
Links: [abstract, pub med]
Aabel, S,. Laerum, E., Dølvik, S. and Djupesland, P. (2000) ‘Is homeopathic ‘immunotherapy’ effective? A double-blind, placebo-controlled trial with the isopathic remedy Betula 30c for patients with birch pollen allergy’, British Homeopathic Journal, vol. 89, pp. 161–168.
RVM says: Apart from a couple of days there was no statistically significant difference between trial groups although for 10 days out of the 4 week test period the authors felt there was a “clinically interesting” (whatever that means) difference. No mention of randomisation in the abstract or of how blinding was achieved. The staggering conclusion: “treatment with Betula 30c during the pollen season deserves further attention“. Well, it might if you’re desperate to sell homeopathy to people who trust you and you’re happy to turn a blind eye to the fact it simply doesn’t work.
Links: [abstract, pub med]
Responses: [comment, apgaylard]
Parmen, V. (2014) ‘Electroacupuncture Analgesia in a Rabbit Ovariohysterectomy’, Journal of Acupuncture and Meridian Studies, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 15-24.
To be frank, this is one of the most cruel papers on any subject I have come across. I was so utterly shocked by it I couldn’t believe what I was reading and hoped I had misunderstood what the experimenters had done here in the name of acupuncture research. So I asked Martin Whitehead, of the Campaign for Rational Veterinary Medicine to take a look for me. It turns out I hadn’t misunderstood, the authors of this paper had actually operated on rabbits, surgically opening their abdomens and removing their uterus and ovaries while they were fully conscious and tied down to a metal frame, without the benefit of any form of anaesthetic or pain relief, while at the same time administering electric shocks to them and claiming this was “acupuncture anaesthesia” (a discredited technique which is illegal in many countries). As a colleague said when I mentioned this paper to her, “how is that not torture?”
Comment from Dr Martin Whitehead:
This paper makes me feel queasy. That it had ethical approval from the university make me feel even more queasy.
It is clear that the acupuncture group rabbits were given no anaesthesia or analgesia (other than any resulting from the acupuncture and unknown-intensity electric currents passing through the rabbit).
The neuroleptanalgesia group were given ketamine (no analgesic action) and xylazine (which does have some analgesic action) but no other analgesia.
From Table 1 it appears that the rabbits were tied down in the metal device shown in Fig. 1 and receiving the electroacupuncture for at least 42-55 mins. Even if there was no surgery, not a nice thing to do to a rabbit – assuming they are conscious throughout, which certainly seems to have been the case.
In section 2.3. it says “the intensity of the electric current stimulation was slowly increased from zero until the animals showed signs of discomfort and twitching. After that, the intensity was slowly increased to 4, 6, and finally to 8 V for the abdominal site; for dorsal stimulation, the intensity was slowly increased to 2.2 V and then to 2.7 V.” That sounds grim.
Only voltages are stated, with no idea what current was being used (e.g., for comparison with a TENS machine), so it is not possible to tell what sort of effect this current would have on nerves or muscles.
From Fig. 3, the heart rate was lower in the electroacupuncture group, except at the time of actual surgery when it was much higher, which is not a promising sign. The respiratory rate was far higher in the electroacupuncture group before and during surgery, also not a promising sign. Those findings could be interpreted as indicating that the electroacupuncture rabbits were feeling more pain than the neuroleptanalgesia rabbits.
The one scrap of comfort I get is the very last sentence of the Results section – there was no “screaming related to stress or pain”. I hope that means there was no screaming at all.
So, the next time someone says, with regard to Complementary and Alternative Veterinary Medicine, “where’s the harm”, you might like to point them to this paper. How delusional and a priori convinced of the merits of acupuncture, must the authors be to think this was, in any way, a humane procedure?
Links: [full text (OA)]
Rational Veterinary Medicine 