This puzzling phenomenon was discovered in the 1950s when, in order to check the effectiveness of new drugs, they began to be tested against a decoy. The idea was simple: we put patients in two comparable groups, then we gave some the product to be tested, the others an inactive substance of the same appearance. It was found that the bogus remedy resulted in an average of 35% improvement! And not just for mild illnesses. It has been seen to cure severe cardiac decompensations and improve pain in cancer patients by more than half. Recent work has shown that, under the action of a placebo, the brain commands the organism to mobilize itself, by producing remedies itself: amphetamines, hormones, pain-relieving substances, anti-inflammatory drugs and even dopamine for them. parkinsonian.
Could homeopathy only have a placebo effect?
For 200 years, critics of thehomeopathy deny its effectiveness which they attribute to this effect alone. On the one hand, even if that would be the case, his intervention would still be precious. If granules work as well as sleeping pills or beta blockers, without their side effects, why without them? What guides prescribers, like patients, above all, are the results (arnica is now used in competition by the French football team, because it is not doping and acts very quickly).
Homeopaths, however, revolt against this reductive vision. To those who claim that “It only works because you believe in it”, they remind us that we used aspirin for a century before understanding its action. So, even if we still do not know exactly how the body receives the homeopathic message, this does not prove that it does not exist.
The power of conviction of the doctors and the quality of the doctor-patient relationship entering for many in the placebo effect, the skeptics stress that the longer consultations with the homeopath and his better listening would amplify the impact. To which Dr. Bernard Chemouny retorts: “The placebo effects are generally identical in the relationship that exists between a doctor and his patient, whatever the therapy used. In addition, in allopathy, the tablets play on different colors to amplify their action. For example, green capsules have been shown to be more effective than red or yellow capsules against anxiety disorders. “
Have scientific studies validated its effectiveness?
We have long criticized thehomeopathy to be unable to provide proof of its action according to the rule in force for other drugs: the double-blind test against placebo (see previous page) *. It is obvious that the homeopathic approach has difficulty in submitting to the evaluation methods of classical medicine since in theory it adapts to each patient and does not systematically treat the same disease with the same medicine. However, it is carrying out more and more studies, some of which seem convincing. Thus, Dr Demonceaux led a trial on bronchiolitis, from December 2000 to June 2001, comparing the fate of children treated by conventional doctors on the one hand, and by homeopaths on the other. Six months later, 17% of young patients treated with allopathy had had at least two episodes of relapse, against 4.5% in homeopathy. Results have also been recorded in children with asthma, in acute diarrhea, fibromyalgia, in reducing engorgement of the breasts of young nursing mothers, as well as in the treatment of anxiety disorders, in which homeopathy also does although psychotropic drugs, without their side effects. In oncology, it has shown its ability to reduce nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy, as well as to protect the skin during radiotherapy sessions. The Boiron laboratory also carried out a study for the launch of Acthéane® against menopausal disorders. Results (published in October 2012 in “Drugs in R&D”): a 56.7% decrease in the number and intensity of hot flashes over three months, ie 21.5% better than the placebo.
And for those who still doubt, an experiment has shown that thehomeopathy was effective … on turkeys. Stressed, they bumped into the transport truck and presented a meat full of bruises on the shelves. But organic breeders have found the solution: mix Gelsemium and Arnica in their food.
* Double blind: the patient but also the doctor do not know which is the placebo.
