A wonderful research article was recently published in the journal 'Homeopathy' (Volume 99, Issue 1, January 2010, Pages 57-62 Special Issue: Biological models of homeopathy Part 2) showing homeopathic success in the treatment of piglets against E coli.
The study in question was a double blind random controlled trial (RCT) of 52 sows who were randonly treated with Coli 30K or placebo and who subsequently gave birth to 525 piglets.
The study showed that there was a reduction in the incidence of E.Coli diarrhoea. (Results showed that the placebo group had over six times more diarrhoea than the homeopathically treated group (P < 0.0001). The research also showed that the mean duration of diarrhoea was different for both groups, 1.86 days on average in the placebo group compared to 1.3 days in the Coli 30K group. This is important in farming terms as the difference of half a day can make large differences in the overall performance of piglets.
The owner of the farm where the experiment was carried out initially quite sceptical about homeopathy. However, after the experiment he decided to apply Coli 30K to all sows. Since then E.Coli diarrhoea has hardly occurred.
The authors state that "Advantages at farm level (of E.Coli 30K homeopathic remedy) are ease of application of the treatment by the farmer and cost reduction. These advantages and the positive results from this study make the homeopathic agent Coli 30K an attractive potential alternative in the prevention of E.Coli diarrhoea."
So, given the double blind RCT structure of the trial - the 'gold standard' of science, does this research indicate that homeopathy works, double blind RCTs don't work - or that ickle piggies tell great big porkies?
For more information, see Hpathy.
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