Global InformationArsenicum album information
In homeopathy, arsenicum album (Arsenic. alb.) is a solution prepared by diluting aqueous arsenic trioxide generally until there is little amounts of Arsenic remaining in individual doses. It is used by homeopaths to treat a range of symptoms that include digestive disorders and, as an application of the Law of Similars, has been suggested by homeopathy as a treatment for arsenic poisoning.[1] Since the arsenic oxide in a homeopathic preparation is normally non-existent, it is considered generally safe, although cases of arsenic poisoning from poorly prepared homeopathic treatments sold in India have been reported.[2] When properly prepared, however, the extreme dilutions, typically to at least 1 in 1024, or 12C in homeopathic notation, mean that a pill would not contain even a molecule of the original arsenic used.[3] While Anisur Khuda-Bukhsh's unblinded studies have claimed an effect on reducing arsenic toxicity, they do not recommend its large-scale use,[4][5] and studies of homeopathic remedies have been shown to generally have problems that prevent them from being considered unambiguous evidence.[6][7][8] There is no known mechanism for how arsenicum album could remove arsenic from a body, and there is insufficient evidence for it to be considered effective medicine (for any condition) by the scientific community.
- ^ Lockie, Andrew & Geddes, Nicola (1995). Homeopathy: The Principles and Practice of Treatment. Dorling Kindersley Publishing. pp. 52–53. ISBN 978-0-7894-0148-9.
- ^ Chakraborti, D; Mukherjee, SC; Saha, KC; Chowdhury, UK; et al. (2003). "Arsenic Toxicity from Homeopathic Treatment". Clinical Toxicology. 41 (7): 963–967. doi:10.1081/CLT-120026518. PMID 14705842. S2CID 25453468.
- ^ Ernst E (2005). "Is homeopathy a clinically valuable approach?". Trends Pharmacol. Sci. 26 (11): 547–8. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.385.5505. doi:10.1016/j.tips.2005.09.003. PMID 16165225.
- ^ Khuda-Bukhsh, Anisur Rahman; Pathak, Surajit; Guha, Bibhas; Karmakar, Susanta Roy; Das, Jayanta Kumar; Banerjee, Pathikrit; Biswas, Surjyo Jyoti; Mukherjee, Partha; et al. (2005). "Can Homeopathic Arsenic Remedy Combat Arsenic Poisoning in Humans Exposed to Groundwater Arsenic Contamination?: A Preliminary Report on First Human Trial". Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 2 (4): 537–48. doi:10.1093/ecam/neh124. PMC 1297497. PMID 16322812.
- ^ Mallick, P; Chakrabarti Mallick, J; Guha, B; Khuda-Bukhsh, AR (2003). "Ameliorating effect of microdoses of a potentized homeopathic drug, Arsenicum Album, on arsenic-induced toxicity in mice". BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 3: 7. doi:10.1186/1472-6882-3-7. PMC 521186. PMID 14570596.
- ^ "The evidence of bias weakens the findings of our original meta-analysis. Since we completed our literature search in 1995, a considerable number of new homeopathy trials have been published. The fact that a number of the new high-quality trials (e.g. [14,15]) have negative results, and a recent update of our review for the most “original” subtype of homeopathy (classical or individualized homeopathy), seem to confirm the finding that more rigorous trials have less-promising results. It seems, therefore, likely that our meta-analysis at least overestimated the effects of homeopathic treatments." Linde Klaus (1999). "Impact of Study Quality on Outcome in Placebo-Controlled Trials of Homeopathy". Journal of Clinical Epidemiology. 52 (7): 631–636. doi:10.1016/S0895-4356(99)00048-7. PMID 10391656..
- ^ Ernst E (2002). "A systematic review of systematic reviews of homeopathy". Br J Clin Pharmacol. 54 (6): 577–82. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2125.2002.01699.x. PMC 1874503. PMID 12492603.
- ^ Report 12 of the Council on Scientific Affairs (A–97), American Medical Association, archived from the original on 2009-06-14, retrieved 2007-07-25
Linde K, Jonas WB, Melchart D, Willich S (2001). "The methodological quality of randomized controlled trials of homeopathy, herbal medicines and acupuncture". International Journal of Epidemiology. 30 (3): 526–531. doi:10.1093/ije/30.3.526. PMID 11416076.
Altunç U, Pittler MH, Ernst E (2007). "Homeopathy for childhood and adolescence ailments: systematic review of randomized clinical trials". Mayo Clin. Proc. 82 (1): 69–75. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.456.5352. doi:10.4065/82.1.69. PMID 17285788.