Renata Lemonica’s research while affiliated with São Paulo State University and other places

Homeopathy has shown promise in fighting epidemics, leading to potential applications in the COVID-19 clinical cases. To assess the impact of add-on individualized homeopathic medicinal products (IHMP) in improving clinical outcomes and time to medical discharge in COVID-19 patients. A prospective, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel-group exploratory clinical trial was conducted in a São Paulo state municipality, Brazil, between February and July 2021. 82 (unvaccinated) patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and manageable mild to moderate COVID-19 symptoms were randomly assigned to placebo or IHMP groups. Utilizing unique global COVID-19 symptom scores, a symptom assessment was performed. Statistical analysis involved 68 patients (36 IHMP; 32 placebo). No significant initial disparity existed in total COVID-19 symptom scores between the groups. The IHMP group exhibited a significantly shorter mean time from initial appointment to medical discharge compared to placebo (p < 0.05: IHMP 74.5 hours (+/- 57.47, 95% CI: 55.73-93.27); placebo 137.42 hours (+/- 87.85, 95% CI: 106.98-167.86)). Employing the chi-square trend test at selected time points (74.5 and 137.42 hours, corresponding to mean discharge times), COVID-19 scores demonstrated sustained IHMP-associated reductions (p < 0.05). COVID-19 symptom scores and time to medical discharge were significantly reduced by treatment with IHMP compared to placebo, suggesting a potential role for IHMP in managing mild to moderate COVID-19 symptoms at home.

Background Homeopathy has been experiencing a period of expansion in Brazil due to its practical relevance in the face of new global and national health demands, culminating in the launch in 2006 of the National Policy for Integrative and Complementary Practices (NPICP) by the Ministry of Health of Brazil, which standardized and regularized the position of homeopathy within the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS). Aims To understand the impact of the guidelines proposed by the NPICP on homeopathy services in the SUS, specifically in the south-east region of Brazil, according to the perceptions of their managers. Methods This is a descriptive, exploratory research study with a qualitative approach, conducted in homeopathy services in the south-east region of Brazil, through semi-structured interviews and with data processed using content analysis. Results The data show the importance of the NPICP in regulating and offering homeopathy in the services studied. However, the NPICP's objective of promoting and fully developing integrative and complementary practices has not been achieved because it has failed to translate strategies into actions. Conclusions Though important to the development of homeopathy services in any given location, policies stated in the NPICP were revealed to have limited impact on the implementation and development of new services. Without further legislation, training programs and appropriate budget allocation, new services will be unable to thrive and their users unable to benefit from a more comprehensive approach to healthcare.

The current COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) epidemic has proved challenging due to its high impact on physical and mental health. According to Hahnemann, the founder of homeopathy, in an epidemic the most severe symptoms of the clinical condition presented by the population in question should be the basis for selecting the medication that is as similar as possible to them, and which should be administered to individuals who have been exposed to the disease but have not yet developed it. This medicine is called the genus epidemicus. This study aims to demonstrate the reasoning used to propose the homeopathic medicine Antimonium tartaricum (Ant-t) as a genus epidemicus in the COVID-19 epidemic. It was decided to develop the reasoning based on the respiratory symptoms described in the epidemiological bulletins presented by the Health Surveillance Secretariat of the Ministry of Health of Brazil, as these symptoms are the most serious of the disease. After repertorization, it was confirmed in the Materia Medica that Ant-t has a high degree of similarity with these respiratory symptoms, including the most serious situations, of COVID-19. Homeopathic Ant-t is thus a possible prophylactic genus epidemicus in the COVID-19 epidemic; further studies are needed to test this conclusion.