André Thurneysen’s research while affiliated with University of Bern and other places

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Publications (17)


Counterstatement to a FACT Perspective article: ‘A critique of the Swiss report Homeopathy in Healthcare’
  • Article

June 2013

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74 Reads

Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies

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Gudrun Bornhöft

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Stefanie Maxion‐Bergemann

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[...]

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Familiarity, objectivity – and misconduct: Counterstatement to Shaw DM. The Swiss Report on homoeopathy: a case study of research misconduct. Swiss Med Wkly. 2012;142:w13594
  • Article
  • Full-text available

January 2013

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70 Reads

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3 Citations

Swiss medical weekly: official journal of the Swiss Society of Infectious Diseases, the Swiss Society of Internal Medicine, the Swiss Society of Pneumology

Download

Table 1 : The preparation and measurement process.
Copper sulfate (CuSO4) homeopathic preparations and controls: The averaged UV transmissions from 190 to 290 nm of the two separate preparations (series 1 and 2) are displayed in percentage. The controls are on the left, the homeopathic preparations on the right side. For the Series 1 with age 61 days and Series 2 the difference between homeopathic preparations and controls was significant.
The UV transmissions of the quartz (SiO2) and sulfur (S) homeopathic preparations and their respective controls.
Homeopathic Preparations of Quartz, Sulfur and Copper Sulfate Assessed by UV-Spectroscopy

April 2011

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1,212 Reads

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47 Citations

Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Homeopathic preparations are used in homeopathy and anthroposophic medicine. Although there is evidence of effectiveness in several clinical studies, including double-blinded randomized controlled trials, their nature and mode of action could not be explained with current scientific approaches yet. Several physical methods have already been applied to investigate homeopathic preparations but it is yet unclear which methods are best suited to identify characteristic physicochemical properties of homeopathic preparations. The aim of this study was to investigate homeopathic preparations with UV-spectroscopy. In a blinded, randomized, controlled experiment homeopathic preparations of copper sulfate (CuSO(4); 11c-30c), quartz (SiO(2); 10c-30c, i.e., centesimal dilution steps) and sulfur (S; 11×-30×, i.e., decimal dilution steps) and controls (one-time succussed diluent) were investigated using UV-spectroscopy and tested for contamination by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The UV transmission for homeopathic preparations of CuSO(4) preparations was significantly lower than in controls. The transmission seemed to be also lower for both SiO(2) and S, but not significant. The mean effect size (95% confidence interval) was similar for the homeopathic preparations: CuSO(4) (pooled data) 0.0544% (0.0260-0.0827%), SiO(2) 0.0323% (-0.0064% to 0.0710%) and S 0.0281% (-0.0520% to 0.1082%). UV transmission values of homeopathic preparations had a significantly higher variability compared to controls. In none of the samples the concentration of any element analyzed by ICP-MS exceeded 100 ppb. Lower transmission of UV light may indicate that homeopathic preparations are less structured or more dynamic than their succussed pure solvent.


Clinical Studies on the Effectiveness of Homeopathy for URTI/A (Upper Respiratory Tract Infections and Allergic Reactions)

January 2011

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118 Reads

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10 Citations

This HTA uses systematic surveys, clinical studies and single case reports to research the effectiveness of homeopathic methods of treatment. It needs clinical studies on relevant indications for which sufficient RCTs, non-randomized prospective controlled and uncontrolled trials are available, as well as high-quality case studies.



Isopathic treatment effects of Arsenicum Album 45x on wheat seedling growth—further reproduction trials

October 2009

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360 Reads

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52 Citations

Homeopathy

Two experimental studies on wheat preintoxicated with Arsenic trioxide yielded a significant shoot growth increase after an isopathic application of Ars-alb 45x. One independent reproduction trial however, yielded an effect inversion: wheat shoot growth was significantly decreased after application of Ars-alb 45x. In this study we investigated the role of three potential confounding factors on the experimental outcome: geographical location of the experiments, influence of the main experimenter, and seed sensitivity to Arsenic poisoning. Laboratory-internal reproducibility was assessed by meta-analysis. Wheat poisoned with Arsenic trioxide was cultivated in vitro in either Ars-alb 45x, water 45x, or unpotentised water. Treatments were blinded and randomised. Shoot length was measured after 7 days. The stability of the experimental set-up was assessed by systematic negative control (SNC) experiments. The SNC experiments did not yield significant differences between the three groups treated with unpotentised water. Thus the experimental set-up seemed to be stable. We did not observe any shoot growth increase after a treatment with Ars-alb 45x in any of the newly performed experiments. In contrast, the meta-analysis of all 17 experiments performed (including earlier experiments already published) yielded a statistically significant shoot growth decrease (-3.2%, p=0.017) with isopathic Ars-alb 45x treatment. This effect was quantitatively similar across all five series of experiments. Ultramolecular Ars-alb 45x led to statistically significant specific effects in arsenic poisoned wheat when investigated by two independent working groups. Effect size and effect direction differ, however. The investigated factors (geographical location, experimenter, seed sensitivity to Arsenic poisoning) did not seem to be responsible for the effect inversion. Laboratory external reproducibility of basic research into homeopathic potentisation remains a difficult issue.


Fig. 1 Relaxation times T 1 (seconds; left ) and T 2 (seconds; right ) at 600 MHz for homeopathic preparations of quartz ( a , d ), sulfur ( b , e ), and copper sulfate ( c , f ) and corresponding controls (independent samples of analogously agitated potentization medium) as a function of time after capillary sealing (hours). Measurement error is on average 1 ‰ for T 1 and 2 ‰ for T 2 (smaller than the icons used). For each sample, three independent capillaries were measured. All capillaries of subset no. 1 were measured first, then those of subset no. 2, and finally subset no. 3. One capillary of a control sample was measured several times ( “ remeasured control ” ) 
Fig. 2 Mean relaxation times T 1 (seconds; left ) and T 2 (seconds; right ) at 600 MHz for homeopathic preparations of quartz ( a , d ), sulfur ( b , e ), and copper sulfate ( c , f ) and corresponding controls (independent samples of analogously agitated potentization medium) as a function of the three capillary subsets and of the entire data set (mean±standard error) 
Fig. 3 Relaxation time T 1 (seconds) at 500 MHz (ETH Zurich) 
High-field 1H T1 and T2 NMR relaxation time measurements of H2O in homeopathic preparations of quartz, sulfur, and copper sulfate

July 2009

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1,196 Reads

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25 Citations

The Science of Nature

Quantitative meta-analyses of randomized clinical trials investigating the specific therapeutic efficacy of homeopathic remedies yielded statistically significant differences compared to placebo. Since the remedies used contained mostly only very low concentrations of pharmacologically active compounds, these effects cannot be accounted for within the framework of current pharmacology. Theories to explain clinical effects of homeopathic remedies are partially based upon changes in diluent structure. To investigate the latter, we measured for the first time high-field (600/500 MHz) 1HT(1) and T(2) nuclear magnetic resonance relaxation times of H2O in homeopathic preparations with concurrent contamination control by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Homeopathic preparations of quartz (10c-30c, n = 21, corresponding to iterative dilutions of 100(-10)-100(-30)), sulfur (13x-30x, n = 18, 10(-13)-10(-30)), and copper sulfate (11c-30c, n = 20, 100(-11)-100(-30)) were compared to n = 10 independent controls each (analogously agitated dilution medium) in randomized and blinded experiments. In none of the samples, the concentration of any element analyzed by ICP-MS exceeded 10 ppb. In the first measurement series (600 MHz), there was a significant increase in T(1) for all samples as a function of time, and there were no significant differences between homeopathic potencies and controls. In the second measurement series (500 MHz) 1 year after preparation, we observed statistically significant increased T(1) relaxation times for homeopathic sulfur preparations compared to controls. Fifteen out of 18 correlations between sample triplicates were higher for controls than for homeopathic preparations. No conclusive explanation for these phenomena can be given at present. Possible hypotheses involve differential leaching from the measurement vessel walls or a change in water molecule dynamics, i.e., in rotational correlation time and/or diffusion. Homeopathic preparations thus may exhibit specific physicochemical properties that need to be determined in detail in future investigations.


Figure 1: Flowchart of sampling procedures.
Figure 2: Side effects across treatment groups.
Patient satisfaction and side effects in primary care: An observational study comparing homeopathy and conventional medicine

October 2008

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377 Reads

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53 Citations

BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine

This study is part of a nationwide evaluation of complementary medicine in Switzerland (Programme Evaluation of Complementary Medicine PEK) and was funded by the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health. The main objective of this study is to investigate patient satisfaction and perception of side effects in homeopathy compared with conventional care in a primary care setting. We examined data from two cross-sectional studies conducted in 2002–2003. The first study was a physician questionnaire assessing structural characteristics of practices. The second study was conducted on four given days during a 12-month period in 2002/2003 using a physician and patient questionnaire at consultation and a patient questionnaire mailed to the patient one month later (including Europep questionnaire). The participating physicians were all trained and licensed in conventional medicine. An additional qualification was required for medical doctors providing homeopathy (membership in the Swiss association of homeopathic physicians SVHA). A total of 6778 adult patients received the questionnaire and 3126 responded (46.1%). Statistically significant differences were found with respect to health status (higher percentage of chronic and severe conditions in the homeopathic group), perception of side effects (higher percentage of reported side effects in the conventional group) and patient satisfaction (higher percentage of satisfied patients in the homeopathic group). Overall patient satisfaction was significantly higher in homeopathic than in conventional care. Homeopathic treatments were perceived as a low-risk therapy with two to three times fewer side effects than conventional care


Reproducibility of dwarf pea shoot growth stimulation by homeopathic potencies of gibberellic acid

August 2008

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340 Reads

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56 Citations

Complementary Therapies in Medicine

Investigation of the conditions for reproducibility of dwarf pea shoot growth stimulation through homeopathic potencies of gibberellic acid. 4 batches of pea seed (Pisum sativum L. cv. Früher Zwerg; harvests from 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000) were tested regarding their reaction to gibberellic acid 17x and 18x (compared to unsuccussed and succussed water (1x) as controls) in 8 independent randomized and blinded experiments. Pea seed was immersed for 24h in watery solutions of homeopathic potencies or controls, and cultivated under controlled laboratory conditions. Pea shoot length was measured after 14 days. Two systematic negative control experiments assessed the stability of the experimental set-up. The systematic negative control experiments yielded no significant effects and confirmed the stability of the experimental set-up. 2 out of 4 seed batches reacted to the homeopathic treatment (p<0.05). Seed batch 1997 showed a reproducible reaction to gibberellic acid 17x (shoot length stimulation of +11.2%, p=0.007), and seed batch 1998 showed a significant varying response (increase/decrease). Seed batch 1997 differed from the other 3 batches by an increased glucose and fructose content, and reduced 1000kernel weight. Meta-analysis with data of earlier experiments is in accordance with the results of the present experimental series. We identified 'seed quality' as a possible trigger factor for successful reproducibility in homeopathic basic research. Premature harvesting as a possible key factor for responsiveness of dwarf peas to homeopathic potencies of gibberellic acid is our current working hypothesis to be tested in future experiments.


Table 1 : Demographic data
Patient flow-chart. * All patients who received at least one dose of investigational medication and having at least one follow-up contact.
Response rates after 7, 14 and 28 days of treatment. Response rates (% of patients with complete recovery or major improvement) at 7, 14 and 28 days after treatment in children and adults. Full-set analysis with last observation carried forward (LOCF) at day 14 and 28. Children n = 659 (homeopathy, 407; conventional, 252) and adults n = 907 (homeopathy, 445; conventional, 462).
Onset of improvement within the first week. Onset of improvement within the first week of treatment (cumulative percentages of patients that experienced their first improvement). Children n = 659 (homeopathy, 407; conventional, 252) and adults n = 907 (homeopathy, 445; conventional, 462). Full-set analysis values with * p = 0.0448 for children and * p = 0.0001 for adults, using the Chi-square test on data points of the whole curve.
Main outcome measure – corrections for baseline. Main outcome measure: response to treatment (complete recovery or major improvement) of full-set analysis data at day 14, unadjusted odds ratio's and adjusted odds ratio's for baseline differences with 95% confidence intervals. Between brackets: the number of responders in the homeopathy group and conventional group, respectively. Odds ratio above 1 indicates a better outcome upon homeopathic treatment.
Homeopathic and conventional treatment for acute respiratory and ear complaints: A comparative study on outcome in the primary care setting

March 2007

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362 Reads

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89 Citations

BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine

The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of homeopathy compared to conventional treatment in acute respiratory and ear complaints in a primary care setting. The study was designed as an international, multi-centre, comparative cohort study of non-randomised design. Patients, presenting themselves with at least one chief complaint: acute (< or = 7 days) runny nose, sore throat, ear pain, sinus pain or cough, were recruited at 57 primary care practices in Austria (8), Germany (8), the Netherlands (7), Russia (6), Spain (6), Ukraine (4), United Kingdom (10) and the USA (8) and given either homeopathic or conventional treatment. Therapy outcome was measured by using the response rate, defined as the proportion of patients experiencing 'complete recovery' or 'major improvement' in each treatment group. The primary outcome criterion was the response rate after 14 days of therapy. Data of 1,577 patients were evaluated in the full analysis set of which 857 received homeopathic (H) and 720 conventional (C) treatment. The majority of patients in both groups reported their outcome after 14 days of treatment as complete recovery or major improvement (H: 86.9%; C: 86.0%; p = 0.0003 for non-inferiority testing). In the per-protocol set (H: 576 and C: 540 patients) similar results were obtained (H: 87.7%; C: 86.9%; p = 0.0019). Further subgroup analysis of the full analysis set showed no differences of response rates after 14 days in children (H: 88.5%; C: 84.5%) and adults (H: 85.6%; C: 86.6%). The unadjusted odds ratio (OR) of the primary outcome criterion was 1.40 (0.89-2.22) in children and 0.92 (0.63-1.34) in adults. Adjustments for demographic differences at baseline did not significantly alter the OR. The response rates after 7 and 28 days also showed no significant differences between both treatment groups. However, onset of improvement within the first 7 days after treatment was significantly faster upon homeopathic treatment both in children (p = 0.0488) and adults (p = 0.0001). Adverse drug reactions occurred more frequently in adults of the conventional group than in the homeopathic group (C: 7.6%; H: 3.1%, p = 0.0032), whereas in children the occurrence of adverse drug reactions was not significantly different (H: 2.0%; C: 2.4%, p = 0.7838). In primary care, homeopathic treatment for acute respiratory and ear complaints was not inferior to conventional treatment.


Citations (12)


... It is claimed that the resistance to recurrent infections can be increased with individualized homeopathic therapy (iHOM) [8] and iHOM has proven clinical effectiveness in treating recurrent upper respiratory tract infections [9,10]. In this respect, it seems reasonable to test, whether this accounts as well for RUTIs. ...

Reference:

Individualized Homeopathic Treatment in Women with Recurrent Cystitis: A Retrospective Case Series
Clinical Studies on the Effectiveness of Homeopathy for URTI/A (Upper Respiratory Tract Infections and Allergic Reactions)
  • Citing Chapter
  • January 2011

... Unfortunately the texts drawn up by E. Ernst and W. Bartens are neither objective nor scientifically substantiated; instead, they present study findings on the therapeutic efficacy of homeopathy in a manner that is tendentious and factually inaccurate. This together with the fact that derogative remarks on homeopathy have become fashionable recently [6][7][8][9][10][11][12] has induced the members of the Dialogue Forum Pluralism in Medicine (DPM) as well as the institutions listed below and the physicians and scientists who have signed this reply to draw up a corrective statement with reference to international representative clinical studies, meta-analyses and HTAs on homeopathy [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25]. ...

Familiarity, objectivity – and misconduct: Counterstatement to Shaw DM. The Swiss Report on homoeopathy: a case study of research misconduct. Swiss Med Wkly. 2012;142:w13594

Swiss medical weekly: official journal of the Swiss Society of Infectious Diseases, the Swiss Society of Internal Medicine, the Swiss Society of Pneumology

... Homeopathy stimulates the vital force of plants through the balance triggered by the environment, working to reduce diseases and undesirable insects through a systemic approach and with no side effects (Baumgartner et al., 2000). The application of homeopathic preparations on plants validates the benefits of this technique in stimulating growth and behavior of plants in producing secondary defense compounds, the quantity and shape of fruits, the abundance of leaves, and the ability to control or reduce the incidence of most known insects and diseases (Ileana et al., 2017). ...

Homoeopathic dilutions: is there a potential for application in organic plant production?

... naturopathy, homeopathy) [3]. Research emphasis related to Homeopathy has tended to be dominated by mechanism of action initiatives [4][5][6][7], laboratory research [8][9][10][11][12] and some clinical research [13][14][15][16][17] but there is sparse empirical evidence that exists in relation to homeopathy education [18][19][20] or practice [21,22]. Little is known about the most basic features of the homeopathy profession, demographics of practitioners and patients, the spread and geographical location of licensed medical and unlicensed professional homeopaths, much less their attitudes and perspectives. ...

Reproducibility of dwarf pea shoot growth stimulation by homeopathic potencies of gibberellic acid
  • Citing Article
  • August 2008

Complementary Therapies in Medicine

... 22 Similar studies using high potencies of homeopathic arsenic performed in plants and microorganisms have shown similar effects. [26][27][28] Given that such homeopathic dilutions often exceed the limit of Avogadro's number, it is necessary to consider the possible existence of mechanisms other than purely biochemical ones to explain the observed protective effects described above. From a biological point of view, what expression (p 0.001) in relation to baseline. ...

Isopathic treatment effects of Arsenicum Album 45x on wheat seedling growth—further reproduction trials
  • Citing Article
  • October 2009

Homeopathy

... 5 Among the many physico-chemical techniques used for this purpose, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) has been recognised as one of the most promising and powerful tools, [6][7][8] demonstrating that liquid homeopathic medicines, even at the highest dilutions, differ from their controls; they can no longer be considered as pure solvents and different starting materials can be discriminated. [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19] In addition, NMR suggested for the first time the presence of nanometric superstructures, 19 which was further confirmed by evidence of the involvement of nanobubbles. 14,17 Then, Chikramane et al 20 showed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) the presence of nanoparticles (NPs) in commercial ultra-high dilutions of 30cH and 200cH metal-based homeopathic medicines. ...

High-field 1H T1 and T2 NMR relaxation time measurements of H2O in homeopathic preparations of quartz, sulfur, and copper sulfate

The Science of Nature

... Centesimal method (based on Korsakov dilution methodology), which is one percent dilution, was used to prepare ultra-high diluted compounds (UHDs) [29]. In detail, 1 mg of extracts powder diluted in 1 mL of alcoholic water (75 percent). ...

Homeopathic Preparations of Quartz, Sulfur and Copper Sulfate Assessed by UV-Spectroscopy

Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

... German naturalist physician and philosopher Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim, better known by his pen name Paracelsus, presided over this school of thought from 1493 to 1542 (Wiegant, 1994). The person created the theory of signatures, or "signa naturae," which holds that particular characteristics of plants or minerals, including their forms or colors, can be used to deduce a plant's or mineral's medical properties (Marian et al., 2008). For instance, plants with pointed leaves are believed to be effective for alleviating stabbing pains, while Euphrasia flowers, resembling irises, are thought to be beneficial for treating eye ailments. ...

Patient satisfaction and side effects in primary care: An observational study comparing homeopathy and conventional medicine

BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine

... [1] There are studies providing evidence to support the therapeutic effect of individualised homoeopathic medicine in ADHD children. [17][18][19][20] This patient, falling into an unconventional age group, sought consultation in a clinical setting. Remarkably, the patient showed significant improvement with continuous follow-up and no relapses. ...

Homeopathic treatment of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: A randomised, double blind, placebo controlled crossover trial

European Journal of Pediatrics

... Reports have suggested the positive role of high dilutions of homoeopathically potentised Arsenicum album in seedling/germination and growth in various plant species in non-stressed as well as stressed conditions. Brizzi et al. (2000) reported that use of 45X dilution of Arsenicum album was able to induce germination in healthy wheat seeds.Whereas, Binder et al.(2005) reported that Arsenicum Album 45X inhibited wheat shoot growth compared to control group (unpotentized water) instead of enhancing it. Lahnstein et al. (2009) reported 2 studies where significant increase in shoot growth after treatment with Arsenicum Album 45x in those plants which were prior toxicated with Arsenic Trioxide. ...

The Effects of a 45x Potency of Arsenicum album on Wheat Seedling Growth – a Reproduction Trial

Forschende Komplementärmedizin und Klassische Naturheilkunde / Research in Complementary and Classical Natural Medicine