Homeopathic Research and Evidence Flashcards
6 cards from real Homeopathy practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 Homeopathic Research and Evidence flashcards as text
What is a 'proving' (drug proving) in homeopathy?
Answer: A systematic trial of a substance on healthy volunteers to document its symptom profile
A homeopathic proving (Arzneimittelprüfung) involves giving a substance to healthy volunteers and carefully recording all symptoms produced, building the remedy's materia medica profile.
What does RCT stand for in the context of homeopathic research?
Answer: Randomized Controlled Trial
RCT (Randomized Controlled Trial) is the gold standard research design used to evaluate homeopathic treatment, where participants are randomly assigned to homeopathy or placebo groups.
The 1997 meta-analysis by Linde et al. in The Lancet concluded that homeopathic effects were:
Answer: Greater than placebo but called for more rigorous trials
Linde et al.'s 1997 Lancet meta-analysis found homeopathic effects exceeded placebo but noted the best-quality studies showed weaker effects, calling for larger, rigorous trials.
What is the 'memory of water' hypothesis proposed to explain homeopathy?
Answer: Water retains structural information about dissolved substances even after extreme dilution
The 'memory of water' hypothesis suggests water can retain a structural or energetic 'memory' of substances once dissolved in it, proposed to explain how ultra-dilute remedies could act.
What is the main scientific criticism of homeopathy based on Avogadro's number?
Answer: Ultra-high dilutions contain no original molecules, making a chemical mechanism impossible
Beyond the 12C dilution, Avogadro's number indicates no original molecules remain, meaning ultra-dilute remedies lack any pharmacologically active substance by conventional chemistry.
What is a 'double-blind' trial and why is it important for homeopathic research?
Answer: Neither patients nor practitioners know who receives treatment vs. placebo, eliminating expectation bias
In a double-blind trial, neither the patient nor the treating practitioner knows who receives the active remedy or placebo, which controls for expectation and placebo effects in both parties.