The Journal of the Royal Society, Essay Example

In the article,Is homeopathy possible, the author challenges the conclusion that homeopathy cannot work and suggests that there are evidence-based scientific knowledge that describes the validity of homeopathy.  The author indicates that homeopathy receives increased skepticism due the dilution of its remedies compared to modern or conventional methods of science and medicine.  For instance, scientists argue that atoms and molecules are the building blocks of organic matter and therefore, homeopathy is not method for beneficial use.  The research conducted in order to justify the efficacy of homeopathy is further discussed in the article.

The author describes the principles of homeopathy as based on the symptoms and signs that are exhibited by the patient. In most cases, the abnormality of the symptoms results in the suggested homeopathic remedy.  In addition, another principle is based on the patient healing themselves.  In order to test whether or not these types of procedures or methods for homeopathy are effective, double-blind randomized controlled studies are conducted as the main research method.  In this method, the homeopathic remedies prescribed to the individuals are tested.  These people are usually volunteers and therefore issues with the sample size, gender, age and sex arise.  Good effective studies need a large sample size with similar sizes, genders, ages, and sex in order to conduct a comparative analysis.

The author also analyzes the memory of water hypothesis, as a comparison on how homeopathic remedies are valid.  The molecular standpoint that ties in with the homeopathic view is that the interchanging hydrogen bonds that occur between water molecules, in which the homeopathic remedies produce. The author suggests that the homeopathic remedies result in a long-range molecular cohesion of water molecules and that this can be compared to a pharmacological aspect.

The purpose of the article was to help reduce skepticism of homeopathic remedies from the controversy provided from traditional scientific methods.  The author helped link the basic principles of homeopathic treatment to molecular basis.  Further development of research studies should be conducted in order to test these theories.

References

Milgrom, L. (2006). The Journal of the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health. London: Sep  126(5)211-219.