Additional effects of homeopathy on chronic periodontitis
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Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice
Volume 20, Issue 3, August 2014, Pages 141–146
Additional effects of homeopathy on chronic periodontitis: A 1-year follow-up randomized clinical trial
L.C. Mourão (a), D.M. Cataldo (b), H. Moutinho (b), R.G. Fischer (c), A. Canabarro (a,c)
(a) Department of Periodontology, School of Dentistry, Universidade Veiga de Almeida (UVA), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
(b) Instituto Hahnemanniano do Brasil (IHB), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
(c) Department of Periodontology, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Abstract
Background and objective: The aim of this study was test the hypothesis that homeopathy (H) enhances the effects of scaling and root planing (SRP) in patients with chronic periodontitis (CP).
Materials and Methods: 50 patients with CP were randomly allocated to one of two treatment groups: SRP (C-G) or SRP + H (H-G). Assessments were made at baseline and after 3 and 12 months of treatments. The local and systemic responses to the treatments were evaluated by clinical and serologic parameters, respectively.
Results: Both groups displayed significant improvements, however, using clinical attachment gain and reductions in HDL, LDL and Total Cholesterol, Triglycerides, Glucose and Uric acid, from baseline to 1 year, as criteria for treatment success, H-G performed significantly better than C-G.
Conclusion: The findings of this 1-year follow-up randomized clinical trial suggest that homeopathic medicines, as an adjunctive to SRP, can provide significant local and systemic improvements for CP patients.
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source:
http://www.ctcpjournal.com/article/S1744-3881%2814%2900015-2/abstractExcerpts (references deleted):
"Scaling and root planning (SRP) is the gold standard treatment for patients with chronic periodontitis. Nevertheless, in recent years, different therapeutic strategies have been proposed to improve the results of SRP..."
"Homeopathy (H) is a system based on the principle of 'like cures like'...H is effective against many pathologies, relatively inexpensive, has high patient satisfaction and a low incidence of side effects.
"In fact, some dentists have been using homeopathic medicines in everyday practice as an adjunct to conventional treatment for a range of chronic pathologies, including CP. However, studies assessing the efficacy of such treatments are not available yet.
"The use of homeopathy in our first 3-month follow-up study was intended to balance the physiological and metabolic function systemic of CP patients."
"All patients were submitted to conventional non-surgical periodontal treatment by a 'blind' and experienced periodontist (LSM) who did not know which patients were getting the active treatment or not."
"25 patients (H-G) were also submitted to the homeopathic protocol which had been validated in a previous study:
"1) Depurative medicine (helps cleanse waste products and toxins from our body): Berberis 6CH (Farmácia-Escola Prof. José Barros da Silva, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). Posology: two tablets twice daily for 45 days.
"2) Acute Drug (drugs that treat illness which has an abrupt onset and needs immediate attention): Mercurius solubilis/Belladona/Hepar sulphur – 6CH (Farmácia-Escola Prof. José Barros da Silva, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). Posology: two tablets three times a day for 15 days.
"3) Nosodes (homeopathic remedies prepared from a product of disease such as infected tissues or causal organisms): Pyrogenium – 200 CH (Farmácia-Escola Prof. José Barros da Silva, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). Posology: a single weekly dose, total of 2 weeks."
"After the conventional periodontal treatment alone or the treatment associated with homeopathy, there was a significant reduction for most clinical parameters in both groups, showing the importance of conventional periodontal treatment in improving periodontal health. However, a significant reduction of serologic outcomes was only observed in H-G, showing that H not only helps SRP to improve local parameters but also balances the physiological and metabolic function systemic of CP patients."
"According to some authors the level of anxiety and stress can lead to increased cholesterol, uric acid and triglycerides levels. As homeopathic medicines are useful for the management of symptoms like anxiety, depression and insomnia, they are associated to serum levels reduction of cholesterol, triglycerides, and low-density lipoprotein."
"Homeopathy is one of the most frequently used systems of alternative medicine especially indicated for the treatment of individuals 'as a whole', making it a natural choice for the treatment of chronic diseases. Several studies have reported positive results when H was used to treat diseased organisms. However, many different low dose preparations have been proven effective only in basic 'in vitro' research experiments. The medicines used in this study were based on the whole symptomatic of periodontal disease and were selected according to the similia principle. This homeopathic protocol was validated in a previous study.
"In this study, patients did not use any placebo medicine. Furthermore, they were not blinded about receiving or not the homeopathic therapy. Masking (blinding) of patients and examiners can eliminate measurement bias, although this is difficult to achieve when an identical placebo is not used as a comparison to the test intervention. Since the patients were unblinded, we cannot exclude the possibility that the clinician/examiner would have been informed intentionally or otherwise by the patients. Although the use of placebo both in clinical practice and in research is controversial, the use of placebo should be considered in future researches, in order to avoid the potential for risk of bias in interpreting the results."
"Homeopathy could be understood by quantum mechanism concepts. Quantum theory includes electromagnetic fields and waves that translate into vibrating 'quantum' fields which can take the form of quanta or particles. Homeopathy refers to this energy field as the vital force (VF). Based on the Law of Similars, H treatment aids the VF as it attempts to restore a holistic balance. The results observed in this study probably are explained by the synergistic effects of the homeopathic medicines used."
