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eCAM Advance Access originally published online on July 31, 2006
eCAM 2006 3(4):397-409; doi:10.1093/ecam/nel046
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© 2006 The Author(s).
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/) which permits unrestricted non-commerical use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Immunology and Homeopathy. 4. Clinical Studies—Part 2

Paolo Bellavite1, Riccardo Ortolani2, Francesco Pontarollo1, Valeria Piasere1, Giovanni Benato2 and Anita Conforti3

1 Department of Scienze Morfologico-Biomediche Piazza L.A. Scuro, 37134 Verona, Italy, 2 Association for Integrative Medicine ‘Giovanni Scolaro’ Piazza L.A. Scuro, 37134 Verona, Italy, and 3 Department of Medicina e Sanità Pubblica, University of Verona Piazza L.A. Scuro, 37134 Verona, Italy

The clinical studies on the effectiveness of homeopathy in respiratory allergy (18 randomized trials and 9 observational studies) are described. The literature of common immunologic disorders including also upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) and otorhinolaryngology (reported in part 1), is evaluated and discussed. Most of initial evidence-based research was addressed to the question of whether homeopathic high dilutions are placebos or possess specific effects, but this question has been often equivocal and is still a matter of debate. The evidence demonstrates that in some conditions homeopathy shows significant promise, e.g. Galphimia glauca (low dilutions/potencies) in allergic oculorhinitis, classical individualized homeopathy in otitis and possibly in asthma and allergic complaints, and a few low-potency homeopathic complexes in sinusitis and rhinoconjunctivitis. A general weakness of evidence derives from lack of independent confirmation of reported trials and from presence of conflicting results, as in case of homeopathic immunotherapy and of classical homeopathy for URTI. The suitable methods to evaluate homeopathy effectiveness, without altering the setting of cure, are also analyzed.

Keywords: allergy – asthma – evidence-based homeopathy – homeopathic immunotherapy – homeopathic medications – homeopathy – immunology – isopathy – rhinoconjunctivitis

For reprints and all correspondence: Paolo Bellavite, University of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy. Tel: +39-045-8202978; Fax: +39-045-8202978; E-mail: paolo.bellavite{at}univr.it


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