Can homeopathy bring additional benefits to thalassemic patients on hydroxyurea therapy? Encouraging results of a preliminary study

Individualized Homeopathic and Organopathic Supportive Management of Sickle Cell Disorder: A Case Series of Six Patients from a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group in India

BACKGROUND

 Sickle cell disorder (SCD) is a hereditary blood disease characterized by an abnormality in the oxygen-carrying protein hemoglobin present in red blood cells. Genetic abnormality causes these cells to become sickle-shaped, with shorter lifespan. Vaso-occlusive crisis is a major symptom of SCD: it is a sudden and severe episode of pain, and occurs when sickle-shaped cells block blood flow. This blockage can lead to tissue damage, inflammation and pain.

OBJECTIVES

 This case series aims to observe the clinical outcomes from prescribing individualized homeopathic medicines along with organopathic supportive medicine in the management of SCD through the analysis of case studies of six patients from a particularly vulnerable tribal group (PVTG) in India that manifests genetic predisposition for the disease.

METHOD

 The patients were administered individualized homeopathic and organopathic supportive medicines, after a comprehensive door-to-door survey and subsequent screening, conducted between October 2020 and May 2023 in the Dindori and Mandla districts of the central Indian state, Madhya Pradesh. Clinical symptoms, laboratory parameters including hemoglobin, along with scores from a visual analogue scale (VAS) for pain and from the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQoL) Questionnaire, were determined.

RESULTS

 Individualized homeopathic and organopathic supportive management led to improvements in clinical symptoms for all six patients. Laboratory test results showed a statistically significant increase in hemoglobin level associated with treatment. The VAS for pain indicated decreased pain frequency and severity. WHOQoL scores also improved, indicating enhanced well-being for each patient. No adverse effects were reported during treatment.

CONCLUSION

 This study suggests that individualized homeopathic medicine and organopathic supportive management have a beneficial role in managing SCD and may be valuable in the context of PVTGs in India. To establish a more comprehensive understanding of its efficacy, further studies should involve larger cohorts to allow for a thorough evaluation, including comparative analyses with standard therapies.

¿Qué es la medicina alternativa, complementaria e integrativa?

El concepto de medicina alternativa fue creado por la medicina occidental para identificar prácticas médicas diferentes a la medicina convencional, tales como la medicina tradicional china y acupuntura, homeopatía, terapia neural, medicina osteopática y quiropráctica, medicina ayurveda y la medicina tradicional indígena, que también tienen fundamentos filosóficos, científicos y terapéuticos. Desafortunadamente, con el tiempo se estableció la creencia de que la medicina alternativa comprende todas las prácticas médicas que no son parte de la medicina convencional, lo que ha causado muchas inexactitudes y controversias. La medicina surgió como necesidad de auto preservación del ser humano y que considera a la salud como bienestar completo y a la enfermedad, como pérdida de esta condición. A lo largo de su evolución han emergido diversas racionalidades y algunas de ellas se han convertido en sistemas médicos. La medicina convencional se estructuró en Occidente, fundamentada en racionalidades médicas existentes para la época y enfocada en modificar la enfermedad, lo que resultó en marcadas diferencias conceptuales con sistemas de tratamiento ya existentes que se centraban en el individuo y en modificar los procesos de la enfermedad. Todos los sistemas médicos han generado un impacto en diversos campos sociales. Asimismo, han surgido tendencias y estrategias de integración de la medicina convencional con otros sistemas médicos comoLa electroacupuntura de Voll, la homotoxicología, el balance polar electromagnético, la antroposofía, la sintergética y la biofotónica. Actualmente se considera que el objetivo de la medicina es integrar y complementar conocimientos de diferentes racionalidades médicas dentro del concepto de una sola medicina. Teniendo en cuenta lo anterior, el objetivo del presente artículo es clarificar los conceptos de las diferentes formas de medicina, plantear algunas definiciones al respecto, y proponer una definición de medicina alternativa, complementaria e integrativa.

α:Non-α and Gγ:Aγ globin chain ratios in thalassemia intermedia patients treated with hydroxyurea

OBJECTIVES

To elucidate the possible ways by which hydroxyurea molecules affect globin chain (α or β-like) synthesis.

METHODS

A total of 23 thalassemia intermedia patients (13 male and 10 female) aged between 5 and 26 years were treated for five months with 15 mg/(kg·day) of hydroxyurea. Hemoglobins electrophoresis and globin chain electrophoresis was performed on each sample at different time points before and during the treatment.

RESULTS

Fetal hemoglobin increased significantly in most patients and average episodes of transfusion decreased. Both Gγ and Aγ-globin chains increased significantly and α-globin:Nonα-globin chain as well as Gγ-globin:Aγ globin chains ratios decreased.

CONCLUSIONS

Improvement in α:non-α ratio and consequent decrease of free α-globin chain might be the cause of beneficial effects of hydroxyurea therapy. Two patients who felt better didn't show significant increase in their fetal hemoglobin level, and this is in contradiction with the hypothesis claiming that the HbF level increase is the cause of such therapeutic effect. In spite of the unclear mechanism of action of this drug, hydroxyurea therapy had noticeable impacts on thalassemia intermedia and also sickle cell disease and even patients suffering from thalassemia major.

Rats Born to Mothers Treated with Dexamethasone 15 cH Present Changes in Modulation of Inflammatory Process

As little information about the effect of ultra high dilutions of glucocorticoid in reproduction is available in the literature, pregnant female Wistar rats (N = 12) were blindly subcutaneously treated during all gestational and lactation period with: dexamethasone 4 mg/kg diluted into dexamethasone 15 cH (mixed); or dexamethasone 4 mg/kg diluted in water; or dexamethasone 15 cH, or vehicle. Parental generation had body weight, food and water consumption monitored. The F1 generation was monitored regarding to newborn development. No birth occurred in both groups treated with dexamethasone 4 mg/kg. After 60 days from birth, 12 male F1 rats were randomly selected from each remaining group and inoculated subcutaneously with 1% carrageenan into the footpad, for evaluation of inflammatory performance. Edema and histopathology of the footpad were evaluated, using specific staining methods, immunohistochemistry and digital histomorphometry. Mothers treated with mixed dexamethasone presented reduced water consumption. F1 rats born to dexamethasone 15 cH treated females presented significant increase in mast cell degranulation, decrease in monocyte percentage, increase in CD18+ PMN cells, and early expression of ED2 protein, in relation to control. The results show that the exposure of parental generation to highly diluted dexamethasone interferes in inflammation modulation in the F1 generation.