An Open-Label Pilot Study of Homeopathic Treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Children and Youth

Abstract

Background: An open-label pilot study of individualized homeopathy for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) was conducted to assess the potential for future studies with a focus on the feasibility of the recruitment plan and outcome measure schedules; identification of any group characteristics of participants who respond significantly to the therapy; and establishing the length of time required for an improvement in ADHD symptoms. Patients and Methods: Participants (aged 6-16) were recruited through community advertisement and outreach. Participants completed 1 screening and 9 individualized homeopathic follow-up consultations. ADHD symptoms were assessed using the Conners 3 - Parent Questionnaire administered at each consultation. The pre- and post-study difference in Conners Global Index - Parent (CGI-P) T-score was evaluated for each participant. Baseline data of those who showed a statistically significant improvement (responders) were compared to those who did not (non-responders). Results: 35 participants were enrolled over 11 months. 80% completed all 10 consultations in a median of 12.1 months. 63% had a statistically significant improvement in the primary outcome, first occurring after a mean of 4.5 visits. Overall scores for participants completing at least 2 data points decreased from a baseline median of 85.5 to 74.0 (p < 0.001, CI 95%). There were no significant baseline differences between responders and non-responders. No serious adverse events related to the therapy were reported. Conclusion: The change in the median CGI-P T-score from baseline to the end of this open-label pilot study was statistically significant. The research methods are feasible. Future studies are warranted. Trial registration: NCT01141634.

A comparative consecutive case series of 20 children with a diagnosis of ADHD receiving homeopathic treatment, compared with 10 children receiving usual care

“…7 However there is currently minimal high quality evidence regarding the clinical effectiveness of complementary and alternative therapies. 9 The peer reviewed evidence base for homeopathy for ADHD to date consists of: six placebo controlled randomised controlled trials (RCTs) testing the efficacy of homeopathic remedies (of which two tested nonindividualized remedies 10,11 and four tested individualized remedies 12e15 ); two observational studies of treatment by homeopaths 16,17 ; and one within subjects trial of treatment by homeopaths measuring ADHD symptoms in ASD. 18 The majority of RCTs of individualized remedies (3/4) showed statistically significant effects, as did the within subjects trial of treatment by homeopaths and the two observational studies; whilst neither RCT of non-individualized remedies showed any effects.…”

Publication and outcome reporting of homeopathy trials registered in ClinicalTrials.gov

“…Brazil and France, two from Austria and one each from Canada, Denmark, Belgium and Sierra Leone. rate From these 35 trials, we found 16 publications[11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26] (46%) in MEDLINE and Google Scholar: six were indexed in the trial entry, three indexed and published in MEDLINE and the other seven indexed in…”

Die Zukunft der Homöopathie

“…Auch in Tierexperimenten [10,11,12,13] und in Pflanzenstudien [14,15,16] treten Effekte in solcher Häufigkeit auf. Entgegen oft gehörten Äußerungen gibt es durchaus auch Modelle, die replizierte Effekte ergeben - etwa das Modell homöopathischer Behandlung von Kindern mit Aufmerksamkeitsdefizit-/Hyperaktivitätssyndrom [17,18], das gerade repliziert wird [19]. Immer wieder gibt es qualitativ hochwertige Pilotstudien, wie die unlängst publizierte von Gassmann et al [20], die zeigen, dass unerwartete Effekte auch unter höheren Potenzen und dokumentiert mit objektiven Methoden zu beobachten sind.…”