Top

Published in:

Open Access 01-04-2015 | Homeopathy and Integrative Medicine

Homeopathy and integrative medicine: keeping an open mind

Author: Paolo Bellavite

Published in: Journal of Medicine and the Person | Issue 1/2015

Abstract

Some physicians have incorporated some forms of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) or related medicinal products in their clinical practices, suggesting that an unconventional treatment approach might be seen as an integration rather than as an alternative to standard medical practice. Among the various CAMs, homeopathy enjoys growing popularity with the lay population, but it is not acknowledged by academia or included in medical guidelines. The major problem is to establish the effectiveness of this clinical approach using the strict criteria of evidence-based medicine. This issue of the Journal of Medicine and the Person collects contributions from some of the most prestigious centers and research groups working in the field of homeopathy and integrative medicine. These contributions are not specialized information but are of general interest, focusing on this discipline as one of the emerging fields of personalized medical treatment.

Available only for authorised users

Cowan RP (2014) CAM in the real world: you may practice evidence-based medicine, but your patients don’t. Headache 54:1097–1102CrossRefPubMed

Balducci L, Aapro M, Dision R (2014) Complicated and complex: the management of older cancer patients, a frame of reference to approach clinical complexity. J Med Pers 12:129–136CrossRef

Olshen A, Tang M, Cortes J et al (2014) Dynamics of chronic myeloid leukemia response to dasatinib, nilotinib, and high-dose imatinib. Haematologica 99:1701–1709CrossRefPubMedCentralPubMed

Carrel A (1945) Le ròle futur de la médécine. In: Carrel A, Lumiere A (eds) Médecine officielle et médecines hérétiques. Plon “Presences”, Paris, p 3

Khera N (2014) Reporting and grading financial toxicity. J Clin Oncol 32:3337–3338CrossRefPubMed

Verhoef M, Koithan M, Bell IR et al (2012) Whole complementary and alternative medical systems and complexity: creating collaborative relationships. Forsch Komplementmed 19(Suppl 1):3–6CrossRefPubMed

Bellavite P, Conforti A, Lechi A et al (2000) Le medicine complementari. Definizioni, applicazioni, evidenze scientifiche disponibili. Utet-periodici, Milano

Bellavite P, Ortolani R, Pontarollo F et al (2007) Immunology and Homeopathy. 5. The Rationale of the ‘Simile’. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 4:149–163CrossRefPubMedCentralPubMed

Viganò G, Nannei P, Bellavite P (2015) Homeopathy: from tradition to science? J Med Pers 13. doi:10.1007/s12682-014-0197-y

10.

Bonamin LV, Waisse S (2015) Biology and sign theory: homeopathy emerging as a biosemiotic system. J Med Pers 13. doi:10.1007/s12682-014-0191-4

11.

Pomposelli R, Piasere V, Andreoni C et al (2009) Observational study of homeopathic and conventional therapies in patients with diabetic polyneuropathy. Homeopathy 98:17–25CrossRefPubMed

12.

Koithan M, Embrey M, Bell IR (2015) Qualitative evaluation of successful homeopathic treatment of individuals with chronic diseases: descriptive phenomenology of patients’ experiences. J Med Pers 13. doi:10.1007/s12682-014-0185-2

13.

Swayne J (2015) The concept of healing and integrative care. J Med Pers 13. doi:10.1007/s12682-014-0201-6

14.

Rossi E, Baccetti S, Picchi M et al (2015) Integration of homeopathy and complementary medicine in the public health system in Italy: national regulation and regional experiences. J Med Pers 13. doi:10.1007/s12682-014-0187-0

15.

Quirk T, Sherr J (2015) Experiences with an integrative approach to treating HIV/AIDS in East Africa. J Med Pers 13. doi:10.1007/s12682-014-0193-2

16.

Ben-Arye E, Samuels N (2015) Homeopathy on the crossroads of traditional and integrative medicine in the Middle-East. J Med Pers 13. doi:10.1007/s12682-014-0196-z

17.

Bell IR, Caspi O, Schwartz GE et al (2002) Integrative medicine and systemic outcomes research: issues in the emergence of a new model for primary health care. Arch Intern Med 162:133–140CrossRefPubMed

18.

Cassileth BR, Deng G (2004) Complementary and alternative therapies for cancer. Oncologist 9:80–89CrossRefPubMed

19.

Li ST, Chi P (2011) Evolution of the management of colorectal cancer using integrative medicine. Chin J Integr Med 17:73–79CrossRefPubMed

20.

Ben-Arye E, Schiff E, Zollman C et al (2013) Integrating complementary medicine in supportive cancer care models across four continents. Med Oncol 30:511CrossRefPubMed

21.

Teut M, Schnabel K, Baur R et al (2013) Effects and feasibility of an Integrative Medicine program for geriatric patients-a cluster-randomized pilot study. Clin Interv Aging 8:953–961CrossRefPubMedCentralPubMed

22.

Vinson R, Yeh G, Davis RB, Logan D (2014) Correlates of complementary and alternative medicine use in a pediatric tertiary pain center. Acad Pediatr 14:491–496CrossRefPubMed

23.

Henje BE, Duncan LG, Ho TC et al (2014) The development of an RDoC-based treatment program for adolescent depression: “training for awareness, resilience, and action” (TARA). Front Hum Neurosci 8:630

24.

Amoils S, Amoils S, Lester T et al (2014) The positive impact of integrative medicine in the treatment of recalcitrant chronic daily headache: a series of case reports. Glob Adv Health Med 3:45–54CrossRefPubMedCentralPubMed

25.

Lasic D, Bevanda M, Bosnjak N et al (2014) Metabolic syndrome and inflammation markers in patients with schizophrenia and recurrent depressive disorder. Psychiatr Danub 26:214–219PubMed

26.

Boehm K, Raak C, Cramer H et al (2014) Homeopathy in the treatment of fibromyalgia–a comprehensive literature-review and meta-analysis. Complement Ther Med 22:731–742CrossRefPubMed

27.

McClafferty H, Brown OW (2014) Physician health and wellness. Pediatrics 134:830–835CrossRefPubMed

28.

Boyd LJ (1936) A study of the simile in medicine. Boericke and Tafel, Philadelphia

Title: Homeopathy and integrative medicine: keeping an open mind
Author: Paolo Bellavite
Publication date: 01-04-2015
Publisher: Springer Milan
Published in: Journal of Medicine and the Person / Issue 1/2015
Print ISSN: 2035-9411
Electronic ISSN: 2036-3877
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12682-014-0198-x

At a glance: The STEP trials

Springer Medicine

Homeopathy and integrative medicine: keeping an open mind

Abstract

At a glance: The STEP trials

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 1/2015

Biology and sign theory: homeopathy emerging as a biosemiotic system

Qualitative evaluation of successful homeopathic treatment of individuals with chronic diseases: descriptive phenomenology of patients’ experiences

Homeopathy: from tradition to science?

The concept of healing and integrative care

Homeopathy on the crossroads of traditional and integrative medicine in the Middle-East

Experiences with an integrative approach to treating HIV/AIDS in East Africa