The Times - Victory for campaigners - or more of the same nonsense?

I debated whether I wanted to write this blog. Initially I felt strongly that was what i wanted to do, to look at the drivel (my opinion of course) printed and examine each point, sharing what I believe to be facts, grounded - yes, in science. Or was it a case of 'yesterday's news, today's chip papers'? I know they usually come in those irritating polystyrene boxes now but you get the concept. Anyway, the fact you're here, as I am means I swung back to my original position. I hope I can do it credit but there is such nonsense shared that it does make me want to chat about my experience, but not just what I've seen, what's taken place in laboratory settings, clinical settings and more.

Italics is The Times, plain type is me.

Victory for campaigners as homeopaths quit healthcare watchdog 
Rhys Blakely, Science Correspondent
Monday August 16 2021, 12.01am, The Times

Homeopathy is based on the notion that water retains a “memory” of ingredients that have been dissolved in it.

That could be one theory of it all. And indeed, should you be interested, the memory of water theory, backed by Nobel Prize winners such as Luc Montagnier (Nobel Prize for Medicine for discovery of HIV), is one theory. There are others. Nanoparticles as a concept is coming through as a topic of great interest in the scientific community. Probably until someone mentions homeopathy, then they run screaming... Should you be interested in more, take a look at the Homeopathy Research Institute site, in particular their talks from conferences. Interested in water? The Water Conference has many speakers from many fields of academia. It's not one to watch as you chop the veg for dinner - or at least not for me - I tried it, but have to really concentrate! An A level in Biology, Chemistry and Physics and Scientific degree in no way prepared me for the depth here!

The largest organisation for homeopaths has withdrawn from the register of healthcare providers accredited by Professional Standards Agency.
The Society of Homeopaths (SOH), which has 1,000 members, had been accredited by the PSA, the government’s healthcare watchdog, since 2014.
It decided to withdraw from the register after the rules of the accreditation scheme were changed to include a new public interest test. This weighs up whether the evidence for the benefits of any treatments outweigh any risks.

The society insisted that it was withdrawing because the PSA fees had become too expensive.

He said, she said. Who knows. But interesting for me to see about the benefits of treatment outweighing any risks. The chart produced by British Journal of Medicine’s handbook, Clinical Evidence – as orthodox a medical publication as you can hope to find on the planet, shines a light on medicine overall in terms of risks and benefits. Most haven't seen this before - funny that.
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Large scale studies have shown benefits of homeopathy - and often at a lesser cost, and needing less pharmaceutical interventions. Could this be a reason it's not so popular? The EPI3 studies are worth a look at should you be interested to see further. 1, 2, 3.

Homeopathy is based on the notion that water retains a “memory” of ingredients that have been dissolved in it. Advocates, including the Prince of Wales, believe that the water can treat a variety of ailments.

Well, not so much the water as the pharmaceutically prepared medications. Prepared in a particular way, which I don't want to make sound too much like Harry Potter - but if you just pop something in water, no, it's not homeopathic. No one is claiming it is.

It has been shown that the successions of the material are relevant. Not everyone will want to explore this further, but for the science geeks out there (btw I salute you!), it may be of interest to see discover Dr Maria Olga Kokornaczyk, whose paper "Impact of succussion on pharmaceutical preparations analyzed by means of patterns from evaporated droplets" was the second most downloaded Chemistry paper in Nature journal's Scientific Reports through 2020. If you want a look it's here. Can I just say again. Nature. Not the piddly diddly journal of woo. I imagine dear writer, the author of this Times article, perhaps hadn't read that one.

And here, if you're intrigued - a wee video:

A scientific study, led by a Swiss research group, showed homeopathic arsenic to be more effective for treating poisoned duckweed than water alone. Full Text: “Effects of Homeopathic Arsenicum Album, Nosode, and Gibberellic Acid Preparations on the Growth Rate of Arsenic-Impaired Duckweed (Lemna gibba L.)” Tim Jäger, Claudia Scherr, Meinhard Simon, Peter Heusser and Stephan Baumgartner http://bit.ly/homeopathy-works

Nobel Prize winner Professor Luc Montagnier - who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine, for his discovery of HIV, discusses the water theory here.

Many other scientists, serious researchers and more are investigating this. We can keep ridiculing it - it's quite easy, and some may find it fun - but really - I think you'd be amazed if you started to look deeper at this substance we almost all take for granted.
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The Good Thinking Society, a campaign group that promotes rational scepticism, claimed a victory after the withdrawal, arguing that there is no evidence that such remedies work.

Oh. Where to even begin. If you've not watched the videos above, have a watch now.

I guess I could waste my entire life arguing with certain people. And how they even came up with that name. Something like 'denying people access to something that works and isn't quite fully understood yet' society, could be perhaps more accurate.

The "Good Thinking Society are not without agenda, they are like this with every single alternative therapy. They want the pure drug approach. In my opinion, the drug approach is great. Until it isn't. Until you run out of options, or as in our case, the options cause harm - and you run out of options. How many come off medications due to finding alternatives? Quite a lot - when they know about them. We met a chap in the river the other day who, with dietary changes and cold water swimming, had come off 5 of his 7 medications. And was so happy about it. There are many options out there, gradually being taken away from individuals. For no positive reason.

But still, kicking away the soap box, there are more worthwhile ways to spend my time. There is evidence on top of evidence that homeopathic remedies work. Lab, clinical and real world experience. There may not be a defining 'how' it works. I won't argue with that. My feeling is we'll be there in another 5-10 years, perhaps sooner, but that it works, I have no question. I do love the mentions of it that say, we can't understand how it works so clearly it can't. 

I honestly can't tell you how my car works, much as I love it with its big sunroof. Or remember how the light appears after I flick the switch on the wall. And I'm always amazed to hear we've only just discovered the mechanism of how anaesthesia works. But we've been using it for years I hear you cry. Yes.

The PSA registration rules changed after Good Thinking brought a judicial review in 2019 of the authority’s decision to accredit the SOH. Good Thinking had argued that practitioners who offer unproven therapies should not be accredited. It had also highlighted how some SOH members had offered Cease therapy — a supposed cure for autism that relies on the debunked idea that it can be caused by vaccinations.

Cure for is something no one is talking about. Improvement of the person's health, whatever they are experiencing, is an aim for the homeopath. Who knows what cure is? Our horse, who'd been on steroid injections and anti-inflammatories for several years, was deteriorating in health due to the meds and we were told removal of her eye could be a next logical step. Seeking instead homeopathic treatment, her eye disease never returned again. We were told she was in remission by the conventional vets (those who wished to take out her eye as it was the only way to be relieved of her eye disease). That remission lasted the rest of her life. Cure? Who cares. She got better and remained that way.

Cease stands for Complete Elimination of Autistic Spectrum Expression. Often targeted at children, the therapy includes homeopathic treatments, extremely high doses of vitamin C and dietary restrictions.
In March last year the PSA imposed conditions in effect banning SOH members from practising Cease therapy and making any claims regarding vaccination. Its accreditation was suspended in January.

CEASE has been a challenge to many - and probably the name isn't great - albeit my belief is that it was never a promise, more an aim. "Targeted at children" is an interesting phrase, mostly children who were struggling with symptoms of autism whose parents wanted to help could be more explanatory. CEASE also was way bigger than just vaccination - which really was a tiny aspect, but has been blown up by those wanting to negatively associate homeopathy and homeopaths with this area. I think it's always more interesting to go back to base and see what something is about from the horse's mouth, instead of those with interests to decimate something. Their website has several blogs from parents - not practitioners - who explain their experiences using CEASE.

Michael Marshall, project director of Good Thinking, said: “When we first brought our legal challenge in 2019, we argued that the PSA’s logo is used by therapists as a sign that they are competent, trustworthy and safe, but that the logo and the accreditation scheme only carries any meaning if the PSA takes seriously their duty to protect the public from harmful practices.”

If I'm entirely honest here, I'm not sure that I would ever seek out a PSA therapist - or at least not strive to do so - most of my patients find me through word of mouth - their friend or family member has been helped and they wish to see if homeopathy can help them. The logo doesn't fill me with confidence for any practitioner, mainstream or alternative. I want a practitioner who has studied, who understands health and dis-ease and can work with me. A logo doesn't make a difference to that. And not one that can be so distorted by negative thinking.

He said he hoped the new rules would prevent “practitioners of unproven or disproven therapies from receiving the tacit endorsement of the government’s healthcare regulator”.

Can I refer you back to the conventional medical 'pie chart' here? But also - the 'government's healthcare regulator', when searching what does PSA stand for, it doesn't come into the 258 acronyms listed on the free dictionary of acronyms. There is however, the Penguin Secret Agency (a gaming clan).  

Which isn't to say the PSA doesn't exist, but if I surveyed my friends, I doubt any, aside from those involved in homeopathy would ever have heard of them. So to make a huge fuss over what a small agency has done is particularly interesting.

An SOH spokeswoman said the society and its members had put “tremendous efforts” into addressing the PSA’s concerns.

“Following the suspension of our accreditation in January 2021, we said we would take time to consider both the authority’s report and our own position,” she said. “This has since been superseded by the authority’s review of its own accreditation scheme and fee structure in the light of the proposed withdrawal of its government funding
 
There's no point in saying that I'd never have chosen to have joined the PSA - which I didn't, but at this stage that's like shutting the door after the horse has bolted I guess. Hindsight is great. But I do think it's important we look at what are we trying to achieve going forwards. In future, not to be paying money to a government organisation who doesn't understand us. Doesn't understand what we offer and what we do. And can be so readily influenced by those who actively wish to discredit us. With all due respect to the Society of Homeopaths, who I believe acted with all good intent, and what they felt to be the right thing, I think we have to get into bed with more authentic characters in future. Or sleep alone.


1 Homeopathic medical practice for anxiety and depression in primary care: the EPI3 cohort study 

2 Utilization of psychotropic drugs by patients consulting for sleeping disorders in homeopathic and conventional primary care settings: the EPI3 cohort study 

3 Management of upper respiratory tract infections by different medical practices, including homeopathy, and consumption of antibiotics in primary care: the EPI3 cohort study in France 2007-2008

 
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