This proves that homeopathy has a beneficial action beyond the placebo effect
Starting point :
Researchers have identified clinical studies (randomised controlled trials) carried out by different research teams across the world and pertaining to homeopathy. The common point of these studies was comparing the effectiveness of an individualised homeopathic treatment with that of a placebo in different medical specialities (for example in neurology, dermatology, virology, etc.).
Analysis :
Step 1
After a selection step, the evaluation focused on 22 clinical trials that satisfied demanding quality criteria.
Step 2
The researchers then carried out a statistical analysis of all the data from these 22 trials: this is called a meta-analysis.
Result :
This meta-analysis, one of the most comprehensive and recent ones on this subject, showed that by analysing the highest quality controlled randomised trials, homeopathic medicines prescribed during an individualised treatment have a 1.5 to 2 times greater probability of having a beneficial effect than the placebo1.
- This is a Meta-analysis, which constitutes a high level of scientific evidence2.
- The same team produced a programme of 4 meta-analyses (2014, 2017, 2018, 2019) comparing individualised or non-individualised homeopathic treatments with respect to a placebo or a treatment other than the placebo3,4,5.
- This programme, taken as a whole, lays the foundations for a body of evidence demonstrating the clinical effectiveness of homeopathy, beyond the placebo effect.
- These results need to be confirmed by new high-quality clinical trials.
1. Mathie RT, Lloyd SM, Legg LA, et al. Randomised placebo-controlled trials of individualised homeopathic treatment: systematic review and meta-analysis. Syst Rev. 2014;3:142.
2. https://www.has-sante.fr/upload/docs/application/pdf/2013-06/etat_des_lieux_niveau_preuve_gradation.pdf
3. Mathie RT, Ramparsad N, Legg LA, et al. Randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials of non-individualised homeopathic treatment: systematic review and meta-analysis. Syst Rev. 2017;6(1):63.
4. Mathie RT, Ulbrich-Zürni S, Viksveen P, et al. Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomised, Other-than-Placebo Controlled, Trials of Individualised Homeopathic Treatment. Homeopathy. 2018;107(4):229-243.
5. Mathie RT, Fok YYY, Viksveen P, To AKL, Davidson JRT. Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomised, Other-than-Placebo Controlled, Trials of Non-Individualised Homeopathic Treatment. Homeopathy. 2019;108(2):88-101.
