new book by Michael Emmans Dean
Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2004 1:24 pm
I have just received a review copy of a new book.
It is called:
The Trials of Homeopathy: Origins, Structure and Development.
It is by Michael Emmans Dean
It is published in Germany by Edition Forschung. Essen: KVC-Verlag, 2004.
It is probably the best researched book on homeopathy and the
clinical trial EVER.
It is NOT easy reading.
Dean starts by discussing the context of medicine in Germany at the
time of Hahnemann and how Hahnemann was exactly a product of his
times and culture. He places Hahnemann into his cultural context.
He then discusses the trials Hahnemann and his followers conducted.
He then shows how the few trials which were used to discredit
homeopathy by the French Academy were poorly conducted in a way that
had bias in the investigators.
It were THESE few trial that served to inform the "medical community"
of the fallacy of homeopathy, and that fact kept homeopathy from
being investigated in depth after that.
It is this mis-information, brought forth from the 1840s that still
colours the feelings of the medical world concerning homeopathy.
Yet... there were MANY good clinical trials done-- some with
thousands of patients-- all of which have been buried in the
literature until now.
Dean shows not only the successes of these trials but the fact that
the homeopaths were the first to use placebo control.
He takes the clinical trials from 1832 right up to 1998. The listing
of the trials themselves is found in four PDF files that are appended
to the volume as a CD-ROM.
It is an amazing book.
It should do wonders for opening up homeopathy to further investigation.
Dean suggests that the way forward is NOT in double-blind, clinical
trials but, rather, in trials that compare homeopathy to conventional
treatment. It is THIS information that is ultimately useful.
Most interesting.
Thanks to Dean for pulling it all together.
JW
It is called:
The Trials of Homeopathy: Origins, Structure and Development.
It is by Michael Emmans Dean
It is published in Germany by Edition Forschung. Essen: KVC-Verlag, 2004.
It is probably the best researched book on homeopathy and the
clinical trial EVER.
It is NOT easy reading.
Dean starts by discussing the context of medicine in Germany at the
time of Hahnemann and how Hahnemann was exactly a product of his
times and culture. He places Hahnemann into his cultural context.
He then discusses the trials Hahnemann and his followers conducted.
He then shows how the few trials which were used to discredit
homeopathy by the French Academy were poorly conducted in a way that
had bias in the investigators.
It were THESE few trial that served to inform the "medical community"
of the fallacy of homeopathy, and that fact kept homeopathy from
being investigated in depth after that.
It is this mis-information, brought forth from the 1840s that still
colours the feelings of the medical world concerning homeopathy.
Yet... there were MANY good clinical trials done-- some with
thousands of patients-- all of which have been buried in the
literature until now.
Dean shows not only the successes of these trials but the fact that
the homeopaths were the first to use placebo control.
He takes the clinical trials from 1832 right up to 1998. The listing
of the trials themselves is found in four PDF files that are appended
to the volume as a CD-ROM.
It is an amazing book.
It should do wonders for opening up homeopathy to further investigation.
Dean suggests that the way forward is NOT in double-blind, clinical
trials but, rather, in trials that compare homeopathy to conventional
treatment. It is THIS information that is ultimately useful.
Most interesting.
Thanks to Dean for pulling it all together.
JW