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eCAM Advance Access originally published online on October 25, 2007
eCAM 2009 6(4):465-471; doi:10.1093/ecam/nem143
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© 2007 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/2.0/uk/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Evaluating Complementary Therapies for Canine Osteoarthritis—Part II: A Homeopathic Combination Preparation (Zeel®)

Anna Hielm-Björkman1, Riitta-Mari Tulamo1, Hanna Salonen2 and Marja Raekallio1

1Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Equine and Small Animal Medicine, PO Box 57, FI-00014 University of Helsinki, Finland and 2Soukka Small Animal Clinic, Merivalkama, 1 02320, Espoo, Finland

A homeopathic combination preparation (HCP) for canine osteoarthritic pain was evaluated in a randomized, double-controlled and double-blinded clinical trial. Forty-four dogs with osteoarthritis (OA) that were randomly allocated into one of three groups completed the study. All dogs were fed test products or placebo for 8 weeks. The dogs were evaluated at the clinic four times, with 4-week intervals. Six different variables were assessed: veterinary-assessed mobility, two force plate variables, an owner-evaluated chronic pain index and pain and locomotion visual analogue scales (VASs). Intake of extra non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs was also evaluated. A Chi-squared test and a Mann–Whitney test were used to determine significant improvement between groups. When changed into dichotomous responses of ‘improved’ or ‘not improved’ three out of the six variables showed a significant difference (P = 0.016, P = 0.008, P = 0.039) in improved dogs per group, between the HCP group and the placebo group. The odds ratios were over one for the same variables. As extent of improvement in the variables from start to end of treatment, the HCP product was significantly more improved in four (P = 0.015, P = 0.028, P = 0.049, P = 0.020) of the six variables, compared with the placebo. Our results indicated that the HCP Zeel® was beneficial in alleviating chronic orthopedic pain in dogs although it was not as effective as carprofen.

Keywords: alternative medicine – complementary medicine – dog – homotoxicology – placebo

For reprints and all correspondence: Anna Hielm-Björkman, DVM, CVA, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Equine and Small Animal Medicine, PO Box 57, FI-00014 University of Helsinki, Finland. Tel: +358-400885255; Fax: +358-9-19157298; E-mail: anna.hielm-bjorkman{at}helsinki.fi

Received July 6, 2006; accepted July 12, 2007


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