Shah Rajesh
Department of Research, Life Force, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
Homeopathy. 2018 Nov;107(4):274-279. doi: 10.1055/s-0038-1668536. Epub 2018 Aug 25.
Analysis of data derived from homeopathic pathogenetic trials (HPTs, homeopathic drug provings) has been a challenge. Most parts of the homeopathic pharmacopeia were sourced from Hahnemann's Materia Medica Pura (1825-1833), TF Allen's Encyclopedia (1874) and Constantine Hering's Materia Medica (1879-1891), well before randomised controlled trials were in use. As a result, such studies and their outcomes harbour a large risk of inclusion of unreliable symptoms.
The main purpose of this article is to introduce Quantitative and Qualitative Pathogenetic Indices to improve the method of analysis of symptoms.
The data from HPTs for human immunodeficiency virus nosode, hepatitis C nosode, capsaicin alkaloids (capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin) and hydroquinone (HQ) were extracted and analysed in terms of novel Qualitative and Quantitative Pathogenetic Indices. Taken into the consideration were the qualitative aspect of a symptom (i.e. its intensity), and the quantitative aspect by calculating the number of symptoms per volunteer per day. The pathogenetic effects and data evaluation indices were calculated for each HPT. A comparison was made of symptoms of verum versus placebo provers in terms of their quantity and quality.
Four HPTs involving 81 volunteers (56 on verum and 25 on placebo) generated 555 symptoms or pathogenetic effects (excluding run-in phase symptoms), of which 448 (81%) were reported by volunteers who were in the verum arm, and 107 (19%) were reported by volunteers on placebo. The overall mean incidence of pathogenetic effects for the four HPTs was thus 8 per verum prover and 4.28 per placebo prover. The corresponding mean Quantitative Pathogenetic Index was 0.23 symptoms per volunteer per day for the verum arm and 0.12 symptoms per volunteer per day for the placebo arm. The overall mean incidence of pathogenetic effects in the run-in phase was less. The overall mean Qualitative Pathogenetic Index (number of symptoms, of a given intensity, per volunteer per day) for the verum arm was 0.09 versus 0.05 for the placebo arm.
The symptoms exhibited by volunteers in the verum arm were more numerous and more intense than those in the placebo arm. An innovative and logical method of reporting of symptoms and analysis has been introduced by the use of these pathogenetic indices, which can be used in future as measurement tools for analysis of data from HPTs.
对顺势疗法致病试验（HPTs，顺势疗法药物验证）所获数据进行分析一直是一项挑战。顺势疗法药典的大部分内容源自哈内曼的《纯净药物学》（1825 - 1833年）、TF·艾伦的《百科全书》（1874年）以及康斯坦丁·赫林的《药物学》（1879 - 1891年），这些都远早于随机对照试验的应用。因此，此类研究及其结果存在纳入不可靠症状的巨大风险。
本文的主要目的是引入定量和定性致病指数，以改进症状分析方法。
提取了人类免疫缺陷病毒药、丙型肝炎药、辣椒素生物碱（辣椒素和二氢辣椒素）以及对苯二酚（HQ）的顺势疗法致病试验数据，并根据新的定性和定量致病指数进行分析。考虑了症状的定性方面（即其强度）以及通过计算每位志愿者每天的症状数量得出的定量方面。计算了每个顺势疗法致病试验的致病效应和数据评估指数。比较了试验组与安慰剂组志愿者在症状数量和质量方面的差异。
四项顺势疗法致病试验涉及81名志愿者（56名试验组和25名安慰剂组），产生了555种症状或致病效应（不包括导入期症状），其中试验组志愿者报告了448种（81%），安慰剂组志愿者报告了107种（19%）。因此，四项顺势疗法致病试验的致病效应总体平均发生率为每位试验组受试者8种，每位安慰剂组受试者4.28种。试验组相应的平均定量致病指数为每位志愿者每天0.23种症状，安慰剂组为每位志愿者每天0.12种症状。导入期致病效应的总体平均发生率较低。试验组的总体平均定性致病指数（每位志愿者每天给定强度的症状数量）为0.09，而安慰剂组为0.05。
试验组志愿者表现出的症状比安慰剂组更多、更强烈。通过使用这些致病指数引入了一种创新且合理的症状报告和分析方法，未来可将其用作分析顺势疗法致病试验数据的测量工具。
