84 research outputs found
Hypericum perforatum to improve post-operative Pain Outcome after monosegmental Spinal microdiscectomy (HYPOS): a study protocol for a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial
No full textAbstract Background Spinal disc herniation is a frequently occurring degenerative disease of the spine. Many patients undergoing surgery suffer from radicular pain, known as memory pain, beginning from the third post-operative day. This results in the prescription of high-dose opioid medications. In homeopathy, Hypericum perforatum is known as a remedy for unbearable, shooting or jabbing pain especially when neural damage is involved. Reduction of pain after application of H. perforatum has been observed in previous studies. This study is aimed to investigate whether homeopathic H. perforatum in a potentisation of C200 leads to the reduction of post-operative pain and a decrease of pain medication compared to placebo. Methods/design This is a monocentric, double-blind, randomised placebo-controlled trial conducted at the Department of Neurosurgery at the Community Hospital Herdecke, Germany. One hundred study participants are being recruited from inpatients undergoing elective, monosegmental, lumbar microdiscectomy surgery. Patients are randomly allocated to receive homeopathic treatment or placebo in addition to usual pain management after surgery. The primary clinical outcome is pain reduction after 3 days of inpatient care as measured by pain reduction of subjective pain on a 100-mm Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) at the third post-operative day. Statistical analysis will be carried out by means of a covariance model with adjustment for baseline values and patient expectation for all randomised patients. Discussion This study is the first trial of classical homeopathy that will evaluate the efficacy of homeopathic H. perforatum after monosegmental spinal microdiscectomy. We intend to clarify the potential of homoeopathic H. perforatum to reduce surgery-associated pain. Trial registration German Clinical Trials Register, ID: DRKS00007913. Registered on 17 October 2014. EudraCT – Nr: 2013–001383-31. Data sets from the German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS, Deutsches Register Klinischer Studien) are updated every 4 weeks automatically to the International Clinical Trials Registry Platform of World Health Organisation: http://apps.who.int/trialsearch/. Responsibilities Sponsor: Witten/Herdecke University Alfred-Herrhausen-Straße 50 58,448 Witten Deputy of the sponsor: Dr. Wolfgang Eglmeier (Head of Centre for Clinical Trials Witten/Herdecke) Alfred-Herrhausen-Straße 50 58,448 Witten E-mail: [email protected] Principal investigator: Prof. Dr. med. Wolfram Scharbrodt Community Hospital Herdecke Department for Neurosurgery Gerhard-Kienle-Weg 4 58,313 Herdecke [email protected] Project coordination: Christa Raak Faculty for Health (Department for Integrative and Anthroposophic Medicine) University Witten/Herdecke gGmbh Gerhard-Kienle-Weg 4 58,313 Herdecke [email protected] Project manager/data analysis/biometry: Prof. Dr. Thomas Ostermann Faculty for Health (Department for Psychology and Psychotherapy) University Witten/Herdecke gGmbh Alfred-Herrhausen-Straße 50 58,448 Witten [email protected]
Die ‘godsbegrip van die Afrikaner’ met verwysing na Die kreef raak gewoond daaraan van André P. Brink
No full textDie kreef raak gewoont daaraan is an important novel, in which a variety of themes are under consideration. One of these themes is the Afrikaners’ belief in God. Thomas, the main character, says that the Afrikaners' belief in God is the foundation of their entire way of thinking. They believe in a God of justice and retaliation and therefore find it easy to suppress people. It is, however clear that quite a few arguments against the premises of the main character and the implied author can be propounded
Fachbibliotheken und Literaturdatenbanken als Quellen der Evidenz in der Integrativen Medizin
No full textZusammenfassungTrotz einer wachsenden Zahl wissenschaftlicher Publikationen im Bereich der Integrativen Onkologie ist es immer noch schwierig, einen Überblick über die publizierte Evidenz zu erhalten. Fachbibliotheken und Literaturdatenbanken können dabei als Quellen zur Evidenzbasierung herangezogen werden. Dieser Artikel zeigt nach einer Einleitung in das Thema die Möglichkeiten auf, die CAMbase und Arthedata bieten, zwei online verfügbare Literaturdatenbanken für Therapeuten, Ärzte und Wissenschaftler. Sie sind kostenlos und ohne Registrierung nutzbar.</jats:p
Development of a whole plant bioassay to test effects of potentized calcium carbonate in pillule formulation.
No full textOBJECTIVES
From a pharmaceutical point of view, we see a need to develop stable preclinical test systems to identify and investigate effects of potentized remedies as used in Anthroposophic Medicine and Homeopathy. We evaluated a plant bioassay regarding its capacity to distinguish homeopathic remedies from placebo, applied as sucrose pillules.
METHODS
Pea seed (Pisum sativum L) was soaked for 24 hours in water with dissolved homeopathic or placebo pillules, or in water only. Shoot length was measured 14 days after planting and treatment groups were compared by analysis of variance (ANOVA). The stability of the system was validated by systematic negative control experiments.
RESULTS
The system is suitable to test a common application form - sucrose pillules - of a potentized preparation without influence of the pharmaceutical carrier substance. A screening of 13 potentized preparations revealed Calcium carbonicum to affect pea shoot growth (p < 0.05). Three independent series of main experiments were performed with potentized Calcium carbonicum to assess reproducibility. Meta-analysis of all data revealed significant effects of Calcium carbonicum 12c and 30c on pea shoot growth (p < 0.05), which were however dependent on the date of experiment and/or the experimental series.
CONCLUSIONS
Potentized Calcium carbonicum, applied as sucrose pillules, influenced pea shoot growth in the assay investigated. However, due to the small effect size and due to the modulation of the effects by still unknown external factors, further optimization of this bioassay is necessary to be used in pharmaceutical quality control or in investigating the biological or pharmaceutical mode of action of potentized preparations
A New Approach to Water Management in Direct Tidal Swamps with Acid Sulphate Soils
No full textThis report concerning the development of a new water management system in direct tidal swamps with acid sulphate soils with the Pulau Petal area in South Kalimantan as an example. The most important characteristic of acid sulphate soils is that the soil contains the mineral pyrite that oxidizes when the soil is aerated and produces sulphuric acid. To prevent the soil from acidification it must be kept waterlogged and if this fails or acid or toxic elements are already present they must be leached out, which requires large amounts of water. The state of the art of lowland development in Indonesia and the formation, ripening and classification of acid sulphate soils are discussed briefly.In relation to this alternative reclamation strategies are laid out. The Pulau Petak area is an island formed by the rivers Barito, Pulau Petak and Kapuas and the Java sea and is a lowland area with acid sulphate soils. Existing research programs in this area are used to picture the general situation. Data on tidal movements in the area are scarce and had to be calculated. Transmissivities are extremely high varying from 90 to 600 m^/day. After these general chapters the study focuses on the particular boundary conditions of the area with direct tidal influence i.e. gravity irrigation is possible at least during springtide and drainage is always possible.This lead to the objective to design a new water management system that provides the irrigation and drainage facilities for one local rice variety per year with the restrictions that drainage water must not be reused for irrigation as it can be acid and interflow of acid ground water must be intercepted. The new water management system will have a completely separated irrigation and drainage system where a one-way-flow is induced by installing an inlet sluice at the entrance of the secondary irrigation canal that closes when the flow direction reverses and an outlet sluice which allows only water to flow out is installed in the secondary drainage canal. The water level in the irrigation canal will be kept as high as possible and the water level in the drainage canal will be as low as possible. The strategy on tertiary level during the cropping (wet) season is to supply water for the plant and if possible to leach the soil. If a shortage of irrigation water to fulfil the needs for both these practices occurs the water level in the tertiary drain is set up to reduce the leaching component. In the dry season the water level in the tertiary drain is set in order to keep the soil water logged and irrigation is only applied when the water table tends to drop below the soil surface. There is an intermediate period of a month that proceeds the cropping season where the objective is to maximize the leaching flow within the boundary condition that the soil stays water logged. From a control point of view the above can be translated in an open irrigation system to minimize the headless and upstream control water level regulators in the tertiary drain that can maintain two setpoints. For this purpose a Vlugter gate was modified in such a way that a switch can be made in the setpoint that is maintained by increasing or decreasing the counterweight. The design of this gate and the size of the counter weight that should be added to switch from the low to the high setpoint are given. Finally a feasibility study of the project was executed where the internal rate of return was used as indicator of feasibility . With a project lifetime of 40 years and a construction time of two years the internal rate of return appeared to be 15 %. The construction costs per net arable hectare have a present value of $1771. Conclusion is that it appears to be a feasible project and should therefor be carried out. In similar areas the system could be used to reclaim new lands. Further study into the quality of the irrigation water in the dry season is recommended in order to investigate the potential for growing two crops per year,and an analysis of the effects of the counter weight adjustments on the gate behaviour of the modified Vlugter gate is advisable.WatermanagementCivil Engineering and Geoscience
Survival of cancer patients treated with mistletoe extract (Iscador): a systematic literature review
No full textAbstract Background In Europe, extracts from Viscum album (VA-E), the European white-berry mistletoe, are widely used to treat patients with cancer. Methods We searched several databases such as Cochrane, EMBASE, NCCAM, NLM, DIMDI, CAMbase, and Medline. Inclusion criteria were controlled clinical studies on parameters associated with survival in cancer patients treated with Iscador. Outcome data were extracted as they were given in the publication, and expressed as hazard ratios (HR), their logarithm, and the respective standard errors using standard formulas. Results We found 49 publications on the clinical effects of Iscador usage on survival of cancer patients which met our criteria. Among them, 41 studies and strata provided enough data to extract hazard ratios (HR) and their standard errors (Iscador versus no extra treatment). The majority of studies reported positive effects in favour of the Iscador application. Heterogeneity of study results was moderate (I2 = 38.3%, p Conclusions Pooled analysis of clinical studies suggests that adjuvant treatment of cancer patients with the mistletoe extract Iscador is associated with a better survival. Despite obvious limitations, and strong hints for a publication bias which limits the evidence found in this meta-analysis, one can not ignore the fact that studies with positive effects of VA-E on survival of cancer patients are accumulating. Future studies evaluating the effects of Iscador should focus on a transparent design and description of endpoints in order to provide greater insight into a treatment often being depreciated as ineffective, but highly valued by cancer patients.</p
The Use of Extensible Markup Language (XML) to Analyse Medical Full Text Repositories – An Example from Homeopathy
No full textQuality of life and related dimensions in cancer patients treated with mistletoe extract (Iscador): a meta-analysis,” Evidence Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, vol
No full textObjectives. The aim of this meta-analysis was to determine the effectiveness of the fermented plant extract Iscador, produced from the white-berry European mistletoe, in the treatment of patients with cancer with respect to quality-of-life-(QoL-) associated measures. Methods. We searched databases such as PubMed/Medline, Excerpta Medica Database (EMBASE), CAMbase, and other for controlled clinical studies on parameters associated with QoL. Outcome data were extracted and converted into standardized mean differences and their standard errors. Results. Thirteen prospective and controlled studies which met the inclusion/exclusion criteria reported positive effects in favor of the Iscador application. A random-effect meta-analysis estimated the overall treatment effect at standardized mean difference = 0.56 (CI: 0.41 to 0.71, P < .0001). However, the methodological quality of the studies was poor. Conclusions. The analyzed studies give some evidence that Iscador treatment might have beneficial short-time effects on QoL-associated dimensions and psychosomatic self-regulation
Quality of Life and Related Dimensions in Cancer Patients Treated with Mistletoe Extract<i>(Iscador)</i>: A Meta-Analysis
No full textObjectives. The aim of this meta-analysis was to determine the effectiveness of the fermented plant extractIscador, produced from the white-berry European mistletoe, in the treatment of patients with cancer with respect to quality-of-life- (QoL-) associated measures.Methods. We searched databases such as PubMed/Medline, Excerpta Medica Database (EMBASE), CAMbase, and other for controlled clinical studies on parameters associated with QoL. Outcome data were extracted and converted into standardized mean differences and their standard errors.Results. Thirteen prospective and controlled studies which met the inclusion/exclusion criteria reported positive effects in favor of theIscadorapplication. A random-effect meta-analysis estimated the overall treatment effect at standardized mean difference=0.56(CI: 0.41 to 0.71,P<.0001). However, the methodological quality of the studies was poor.Conclusions. The analyzed studies give some evidence thatIscadortreatment might have beneficial short-time effects on QoL-associated dimensions and psychosomatic self-regulation.</jats:p
Adaptive Coping Strategies and Attitudes Toward Health and Healing in German Homeopathy and Acupuncture Users
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