Research on homeopathic treatment of infertile men
Posted: Thu Apr 29, 2004 1:16 am
Friends,
I have been out of town and have not read all of the emails about
infertility, but I thought some people might be interested in knowing about
a chapter from my EBOOK that I wrote about a recent study on the homeopathic
treatment of infertility in men.
Excerpt from Homeopathic Family Medicine, an ebook by Dana Ullman, MPH
(copyright 2004)
This ebook maintains a comprehensive and up-to-date review of clinical
research in homeopathy, along with practical clinical information about
which medicines are most commonly used to treat 100+ acute and chronic
ailments. For further information about this ebook or for a free sample of
several chapters, go to the website of Homeopathic Educational Services
(http://www.homeopathic.com). You are welcome to purchase a one-time
download of this comprehensive ebook (an Adobe Acrobat file) or subscribe to
it for 2-years.
What Homeopathy has to offer Men Suffering from INFERTILITY
Dana Ullman, MPH
BOTTOMLINE: Fertility in men a complex process, and the treatment of
infertility requires treatment by a professional homeopath. Although no
studies have yet been conducted on women, one pilot study of subfertile men
found good results from professional homeopathic treatment.
A prospective unblinded pilot study was conducted on 45
subfertile men who were treated with individually chosen homeopathic
medicines based on the psychophysical symptom syndrome each experienced.
The main outcome measures were improved sperm density, improved percentage
of sperm with good propulsive motility, density of sperm with good motility.
Other outcome measures included sperm vitality, morphology, and the ratio of
sperm with global motility.
This study was conducted at the Outpatient Clinic for
Complementary Medicine at the University Women’s Hospital of Heidelberg
(Germany). The men admitted into the study has to have two or more years of
unwanted childlessness, two pathological sperm counts not influenced by
therapy, at least 3 months without andrological therapy, and patient
consent.
The men average age was 35.5 years (range 28-47). The couples suffered from
unwanted childlessness for an average of 4.5 years (range: 2-11 years).
Thirty of the men reported some type of genital disease: 20 suffered from
varicocele, 5 from undescended testes, 15 from urogenital inflammation, 1
from coital impotence, and 5 sustain a previous genital trauma.
The individualized homeopathic treatment included a detailed interview in
which the patient was queried about his unique symptoms. The homeopath
ranked in a hierarchy those symptoms that were in the emotional and mental
realm and those that affected his entire body, as distinct from those that
were local symptoms. The symptoms were ordered by intensity and prominence.
All men were prescribed a single homeopathic medicine in the LM 18 potency,
and each man shook the bottle before taking three drops once daily. The
patients were asked to keep a diary of any symptoms, and they were asked to
avoid any other therapy, except in emergencies. The men were asked to
abstain from caffeine, but if this was not possible, they were asked to
avoid taking it within 1-2 hours of taking the homeopathic medicine.
The patients attended the clinic every six weeks for review. If the
medicine was still indicated, the drug was re-prescribed at a one-step
higher potency. If not, a different homeopathic medicine was prescribed.
Homeopathic treatment lasted on average 10.3 months (range: 6-21.5). Seven
patients dropped out after 2-5 months. A total of 26 homeopathic medicines
were prescribed, the most common ones were (in order of the number of
prescriptions): Natrum muriaticum, Lycopodium, Calcarea carbonicum,
Pulsatilla, Phosphous, Silicea, and Thuja.
Results
Various primary and secondary measures showed significant
improvement after 6, 9, and 12 months of homeopathic treatment.
n Sperm density improved by a median of 26.4 after 3 months, by 12.6%
after 6 months, and 37.1 after 12 months (P=0.011).
n The ratio of sperm with good propulsive motility was initially
pathologically low in all patients, but after 3, 6, and 9 months of therapy,
it improved by 20% (P=0.0037) and after 12 months, it improved by 43%
(P=0.0009).
n The density of sperm with good propulsive motility increased above
the baseline of 1.8 million. After 3 months, there was improvement by 27.6%
(P=0.02), 6 months by 40% (P=0.003), 9 months by 55.2% (P-0.01), and 12
months by 81.5% (P=0.02).
n An improvement in global sperm motility improved during the first
three intervals, especially at 6 months (P=0.045), but after 12 months, the
median improvement decreased and was no longer significant.
n A total of 8 pregnancies occurred in 7 couples, with one having
twins. Five pregnancies produced a healthy child or twins, while three
ended in spontaneous abortion and two miscarriages (to the same couple).
These numbers represent a baby-take-home rate of 11.1%.
n There were various improvements in the men’s general health,
especially those suffering from abdominal disorders (P=0.0004) after 6
months and (P=0.052) after 9 months. In general, the men observed greater
improvement in various local symptoms than in their psychological state or
more general symptoms. This experience runs counter to homeopathic theory
that predicts greater improvement in general health prior to local symptoms.
n Ironically, 5 of 7 drop-out patients experienced significant
improvement after 3 months, including a 55% increase in sperm density, 63%
increase in progressive motility, and 196% increase in the density of sperm
with good motility.
Positive Predictors to Therapeutic Success
The following factors were observed to be predictors of
therapeutic success with homeopathic medicines:
n Men with longer (4 years or more) unwanted childlessness.
n There were improvements in the density of sperm with good motility in
men who didn’t smoke at 3 and 6 months, but these changes were not
significant in men who smoked.
n Men who drank little or alcohol (<30 gram alcohol/day; n=20)
experienced an increase in sperm density with good propulsive motility of
72.2% (P=0.04) after 3 months and 51.8% (P=0.04) after 6 months, but the
increase for men who drank more alcohol was only 14.2% after 6 months and
was not significant.
n The density of sperm with good propulsive motility improved by 50%
after 3 months in the high-caffeine group (n=20, P=0.04), and was only
increased by 13.4% in the low-caffeine group. However, after 6 months the
low-caffeine group of men’s sperm density improved by 70.2% (P=0.04), while
the high-caffeine group increased 37.3% (P=0.04).
n The men with few amalgam fillings (n=18) experienced greater
improvement in sperm density with good propulsive motility at 72.2% after 3
months (P=0.022) and 97% after 6 months (P=0.017), as compared to the
amalgam-rich group (n=27) with 11.4 and 19%.
n Men who were exposed to noxious factors in the workplace (n=11)
experienced a less rapid increase and a smaller overall improvement.
n Men who self-described themselves as more stressed (n=21) experienced
greater improvement in density of sperm with good propulsive motility than
those men in the “no-stress” group (n=24).
The positive results from this study suggest the need to conduct a more
rigorous placebo-controlled trial.
REFERENCE:
Gerhard and E. Wallis, Individualized homeopathic therapy for male
infertility, Homeopathy (2002)91,133-144.
Dana Ullman, MPH, has authored 8 books on homeopathy, has co-published 35
books with North Atlantic Books, and has organized the annual conference for
the NCH for 16 years.
Dana Ullman, MPH
Homeopathic Educational Services
2124 Kittredge St.
Berkeley, CA. 94704
(510)649-0294
(800)359-9051 (orders in the US only)
(510)649-1955 (fax)
dullman@igc.org OR mail@homeopathic.com
http://www.homeopathic.com
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
I have been out of town and have not read all of the emails about
infertility, but I thought some people might be interested in knowing about
a chapter from my EBOOK that I wrote about a recent study on the homeopathic
treatment of infertility in men.
Excerpt from Homeopathic Family Medicine, an ebook by Dana Ullman, MPH
(copyright 2004)
This ebook maintains a comprehensive and up-to-date review of clinical
research in homeopathy, along with practical clinical information about
which medicines are most commonly used to treat 100+ acute and chronic
ailments. For further information about this ebook or for a free sample of
several chapters, go to the website of Homeopathic Educational Services
(http://www.homeopathic.com). You are welcome to purchase a one-time
download of this comprehensive ebook (an Adobe Acrobat file) or subscribe to
it for 2-years.
What Homeopathy has to offer Men Suffering from INFERTILITY
Dana Ullman, MPH
BOTTOMLINE: Fertility in men a complex process, and the treatment of
infertility requires treatment by a professional homeopath. Although no
studies have yet been conducted on women, one pilot study of subfertile men
found good results from professional homeopathic treatment.
A prospective unblinded pilot study was conducted on 45
subfertile men who were treated with individually chosen homeopathic
medicines based on the psychophysical symptom syndrome each experienced.
The main outcome measures were improved sperm density, improved percentage
of sperm with good propulsive motility, density of sperm with good motility.
Other outcome measures included sperm vitality, morphology, and the ratio of
sperm with global motility.
This study was conducted at the Outpatient Clinic for
Complementary Medicine at the University Women’s Hospital of Heidelberg
(Germany). The men admitted into the study has to have two or more years of
unwanted childlessness, two pathological sperm counts not influenced by
therapy, at least 3 months without andrological therapy, and patient
consent.
The men average age was 35.5 years (range 28-47). The couples suffered from
unwanted childlessness for an average of 4.5 years (range: 2-11 years).
Thirty of the men reported some type of genital disease: 20 suffered from
varicocele, 5 from undescended testes, 15 from urogenital inflammation, 1
from coital impotence, and 5 sustain a previous genital trauma.
The individualized homeopathic treatment included a detailed interview in
which the patient was queried about his unique symptoms. The homeopath
ranked in a hierarchy those symptoms that were in the emotional and mental
realm and those that affected his entire body, as distinct from those that
were local symptoms. The symptoms were ordered by intensity and prominence.
All men were prescribed a single homeopathic medicine in the LM 18 potency,
and each man shook the bottle before taking three drops once daily. The
patients were asked to keep a diary of any symptoms, and they were asked to
avoid any other therapy, except in emergencies. The men were asked to
abstain from caffeine, but if this was not possible, they were asked to
avoid taking it within 1-2 hours of taking the homeopathic medicine.
The patients attended the clinic every six weeks for review. If the
medicine was still indicated, the drug was re-prescribed at a one-step
higher potency. If not, a different homeopathic medicine was prescribed.
Homeopathic treatment lasted on average 10.3 months (range: 6-21.5). Seven
patients dropped out after 2-5 months. A total of 26 homeopathic medicines
were prescribed, the most common ones were (in order of the number of
prescriptions): Natrum muriaticum, Lycopodium, Calcarea carbonicum,
Pulsatilla, Phosphous, Silicea, and Thuja.
Results
Various primary and secondary measures showed significant
improvement after 6, 9, and 12 months of homeopathic treatment.
n Sperm density improved by a median of 26.4 after 3 months, by 12.6%
after 6 months, and 37.1 after 12 months (P=0.011).
n The ratio of sperm with good propulsive motility was initially
pathologically low in all patients, but after 3, 6, and 9 months of therapy,
it improved by 20% (P=0.0037) and after 12 months, it improved by 43%
(P=0.0009).
n The density of sperm with good propulsive motility increased above
the baseline of 1.8 million. After 3 months, there was improvement by 27.6%
(P=0.02), 6 months by 40% (P=0.003), 9 months by 55.2% (P-0.01), and 12
months by 81.5% (P=0.02).
n An improvement in global sperm motility improved during the first
three intervals, especially at 6 months (P=0.045), but after 12 months, the
median improvement decreased and was no longer significant.
n A total of 8 pregnancies occurred in 7 couples, with one having
twins. Five pregnancies produced a healthy child or twins, while three
ended in spontaneous abortion and two miscarriages (to the same couple).
These numbers represent a baby-take-home rate of 11.1%.
n There were various improvements in the men’s general health,
especially those suffering from abdominal disorders (P=0.0004) after 6
months and (P=0.052) after 9 months. In general, the men observed greater
improvement in various local symptoms than in their psychological state or
more general symptoms. This experience runs counter to homeopathic theory
that predicts greater improvement in general health prior to local symptoms.
n Ironically, 5 of 7 drop-out patients experienced significant
improvement after 3 months, including a 55% increase in sperm density, 63%
increase in progressive motility, and 196% increase in the density of sperm
with good motility.
Positive Predictors to Therapeutic Success
The following factors were observed to be predictors of
therapeutic success with homeopathic medicines:
n Men with longer (4 years or more) unwanted childlessness.
n There were improvements in the density of sperm with good motility in
men who didn’t smoke at 3 and 6 months, but these changes were not
significant in men who smoked.
n Men who drank little or alcohol (<30 gram alcohol/day; n=20)
experienced an increase in sperm density with good propulsive motility of
72.2% (P=0.04) after 3 months and 51.8% (P=0.04) after 6 months, but the
increase for men who drank more alcohol was only 14.2% after 6 months and
was not significant.
n The density of sperm with good propulsive motility improved by 50%
after 3 months in the high-caffeine group (n=20, P=0.04), and was only
increased by 13.4% in the low-caffeine group. However, after 6 months the
low-caffeine group of men’s sperm density improved by 70.2% (P=0.04), while
the high-caffeine group increased 37.3% (P=0.04).
n The men with few amalgam fillings (n=18) experienced greater
improvement in sperm density with good propulsive motility at 72.2% after 3
months (P=0.022) and 97% after 6 months (P=0.017), as compared to the
amalgam-rich group (n=27) with 11.4 and 19%.
n Men who were exposed to noxious factors in the workplace (n=11)
experienced a less rapid increase and a smaller overall improvement.
n Men who self-described themselves as more stressed (n=21) experienced
greater improvement in density of sperm with good propulsive motility than
those men in the “no-stress” group (n=24).
The positive results from this study suggest the need to conduct a more
rigorous placebo-controlled trial.
REFERENCE:
Gerhard and E. Wallis, Individualized homeopathic therapy for male
infertility, Homeopathy (2002)91,133-144.
Dana Ullman, MPH, has authored 8 books on homeopathy, has co-published 35
books with North Atlantic Books, and has organized the annual conference for
the NCH for 16 years.
Dana Ullman, MPH
Homeopathic Educational Services
2124 Kittredge St.
Berkeley, CA. 94704
(510)649-0294
(800)359-9051 (orders in the US only)
(510)649-1955 (fax)
dullman@igc.org OR mail@homeopathic.com
http://www.homeopathic.com
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]