Homeopathy for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder or hyperkinetic disorder

Heirs, Morag; Dean, Michael

doi:10.1002/14651858.cd005648.pub2

Cited by 38 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…The last four protocols (75-78) examined non-pharmacological treatments for ADHD in children (acupuncture, parent training interventions, polyunsaturated fatty acids and social skills training), but were excluded because the protocols were not yet available in full review format. Therefore, three reviews (with a total of ten trials and 594 participants) met the inclusion criteria for this overview (55)(56)(57). Each included review examined a different intervention: family therapy (FT), homeopathy (Hom) and meditation therapy (MT).…”

Section: Results Of the Searchmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In recent years, nonpharmacological treatments for ADHD have been increasing in popularity as communities become aware of the potential dangers of stimulant use in children (51): between 50-68% of children with ADHD have tried one or more non-pharmacological therapies (52;53), and parents of children with ADHD tend to prefer non-pharmacological therapies for their children (54). Therefore, this overview examines evidence on the efficacy and safety of three nonpharmacological treatments for the management of ADHD in children: family therapy, homeopathy, and meditation therapy (55)(56)(57). These treatments have been compared to drug therapies, non-drug therapies and control conditions, and they have been studied using a variety of parent questionnaires, teacher questionnaires and child-completed psychological tests.…”

Section: Why It Is Important To Do This Overviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Cochrane Library and Non‐Pharmacological Treatments for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Children and Adolescents: An Overview of Reviews

Foisy

Williams

2011

Evid.‐Based Child Health

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Background: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a chronic behavioural disorder that affects 5-8% of children. It is characterized by age-inappropriate levels of inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity that cause functional impairment in multiple settings. The most common treatment of ADHD involves prescription of stimulant medications, which often cause undesirable side effects and pose unknown long-term health risks. Therefore, alternative treatment options for ADHD are becoming increasingly popular and need to be further investigated.Objectives: This overview of reviews aims to synthesize evidence from the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR) on the efficacy and safety of non-pharmacologic treatments to improve symptoms of ADHD in children and adolescents. Methods:Issue 12, 2010 of the CDSR was searched using the terms "attention deficit hyperactivity disorder", "hyperkinetic disorder" and "ADHD" restricted to the title, abstract or keywords, and all systematic reviews examining non-pharmacologic treatments for ADHD in children and adolescents were identified. Data were extracted, complied into tables and synthesized using qualitative and quantitative methods.Main Results: Three systematic reviews (containing ten trials and 594 participants) were identified for inclusion in this overview. Children assigned to Hatha yoga versus a non-specific physical activity control condition showed significantly less symptoms of inattention when measured using both parent ratings (MD: −0.73; 95% CI: −1.25, −0.21) and child-completed tests (MD: −4.01; 95% CI: −6.23, −1.79). There was no significant benefit of homeopathy compared to homeopathy placebo in decreasing symptoms of ADHD. There was also no significant difference between family therapy and standard treatment for parent and teacher ratings of inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity; however, when overall symptoms were judged by a blinded third party observer in the classroom setting, standard treatment was significantly more effective (MD: 0.11; 95% CI: 0.05, 0.17). There was no significant difference between meditation therapy compared to both drug therapy and standard treatment without drugs for decreasing symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity, distractibility or overall symptoms. Authors' Conclusions:The three Cochrane reviews suffered from a lack of high-quality, adequately powered randomized controlled trials using standardized tools to measure clinically important outcomes over adequate periods of time. Therefore, the trials included in this overview are not sufficient to provide evidence of no positive benefit of treatment, nor are they sufficient to recommend the use Hatha yoga, family therapy, meditation therapy or homeopathy for the treatment of ADHD in children and adolescents. Editors

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Section: Results Of the Searchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Why It Is Important To Do This Overviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Cochrane Library and Non‐Pharmacological Treatments for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Children and Adolescents: An Overview of Reviews

Foisy

Williams

2011

Evid.‐Based Child Health

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“…Recommended study design features in this field include allowing choice and change of the homeopathic remedy intervention throughout the course of the treatment period; performing pilot analyses to obtain accurate estimates of effect size achievable by specific practitioners; and testing long treatment periods to enable observation of remedy changes over the course of treatment [10,11,12,13,14]. …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A systematic review of trials investigating homeopathic treatment for ADHD published in the Cochrane database was inconclusive, likely due to the heterogeneity of the trials included in the analysis [13]. Of the 4 studies that were considered rigorous enough for further analysis in this review, 3 investigated individualized treatments and 1 [15] investigated the effects of a fixed combination homeopathic remedy to treat all participants diagnosed with ADHD.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

et al. 2014

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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.

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“…We have published a Cochrane Library review of homeopathy for ADHD and HKD [1]. The review identified four randomized or quasi-randomized placebo-controlled trials [2-5] that used behavioural rating scales, three of which also used subscales of the Conners test [6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Homeopathy for mental fatigue: lessons from a randomized, triple blind, placebo-controlled cross-over clinical trial

Dean

Karsandas

Bland

et al. 2012

BMC Complement Altern Med

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BackgroundDifficulty in controlling attention can lead to mental fatigue in the healthy population. We identified one trial reporting a benefit in patients’ attention using a homeopathic formula preparation. One component of the preparation was potassium phosphate, widely available off the shelf as Kali phos 6x for cognitive problems. The aim of this exploratory trial was to assess the effectiveness of Kali phos 6x for attention problems associated with mental fatigue.MethodsWe recruited student and staff volunteers (University of York) with self-reported mental fatigue, excluding any using homeopathy or prescribed stimulants, or with a diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome. In a triple blind, cross-over, placebo-controlled clinical trial, 86 volunteers were randomized to receive Kali phos 6x or identical placebo 10 minutes before taking a psychological test of attention (Stroop Colour-Word Test). One week later they were crossed over and took the other preparation before repeating the test.ResultsWe found no evidence of a treatment effect in a comparison of Kali phos 6x with placebo (Kali phos minus placebo = −1.1 (95% CI −3.0 to 0.9, P = 0.3) Stroop score units, Cohen effect size = −0.17) even when allowing for a weak period effect with accuracy scores in the second period being higher than those in the first (P = 0.05). We observed a ceiling effect in the Stroop test which undermined our ability to interpret this result.ConclusionsKali phos 6x was not found to be effective in reducing mental fatigue. A ceiling effect in our primary outcome measure meant that we could not rule out a type II error. Thorough piloting of an adequate outcome measure could have led to an unequivocal result.Current Controlled TrialsISRCTN16521161

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Homeopathy for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder or hyperkinetic disorder

Cited by 38 publications

References 39 publications

The Cochrane Library and Non‐Pharmacological Treatments for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Children and Adolescents: An Overview of Reviews

The Cochrane Library and Non‐Pharmacological Treatments for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Children and Adolescents: An Overview of Reviews

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

Homeopathy for mental fatigue: lessons from a randomized, triple blind, placebo-controlled cross-over clinical trial

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