Homeopathy 2020; 109(04): 267-270
DOI: 10.1055/s-0040-1714741
Commentary

Individualized Homeopathy for Depression in Climacteric Women: Comments on the Retraction by PLoS ONE

1   Consulta Externa Homeopatía, Hospital Juárez de México, Secretaría de Salud, Ave. Instituto Politécnico Nacional 5160, Col. Magdalena de las Salinas, Alcaldía Gustavo A. Madero, Mexico City, Mexico
,
Lidia Llanes-González
2   Unidad de Salud Mental, Hospital Juárez de México, Secretaría de Salud, Ave. Instituto Politécnico Nacional 5160, Col. Magdalena de las Salinas, Alcaldía Gustavo A. Madero, Mexico City, Mexico
,
Leopoldo Aguilar-Faisal
3   Sección de Posgrado e Investigación, Escuela Superior de Medicina, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Ave. Plan de San Luis y Salvador Díaz Mirón, Casco de Santo Tomás, Alcaldía Miguel Hidalgo, Mexico City, Mexico
,
Juan Asbun-Bojalil
3   Sección de Posgrado e Investigación, Escuela Superior de Medicina, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Ave. Plan de San Luis y Salvador Díaz Mirón, Casco de Santo Tomás, Alcaldía Miguel Hidalgo, Mexico City, Mexico
› Author Affiliations

Abstract

In April 2020 PLoS ONE retracted an original clinical research article, published in 2015, in which we demonstrated that individualized homeopathic treatment improves depression symptoms in climacteric women. The original assessment of this study was carried out by an expert in psychiatry (depression research) with close to 35 years' experience in the field of mental health. During post-publication discussions, no serious breaches of scientific procedure or misconduct were even insinuated. Our team answered all “points of concern”, raised by the current PLoS ONE editors, in extensive detail. All these were potential limitations of our study, which would usually be addressed by one of several appropriate post-publication actions, ranging from discussion of the concern within a systematic review, through to correcting the study itself by adding a correction notice. Therefore, in the interests of transparency and accuracy, a summary of the most relevant points is provided, so that a fair-minded reader can objectively form a clear opinion.



Publication History

Received: 23 June 2020

Accepted: 01 July 2020

Article published online:
10 August 2020

© 2020. Thieme. All rights reserved.

The Faculty of Homeopathy

 
  • References

  • 1 PLOS ONE Editors. Retraction: individualized homeopathic treatment and fluoxetine for moderate to severe depression in peri- and postmenopausal women (HOMDEP-MENOP Study): a randomized, double-dummy, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. PLoS One 2020; 15: e0232415
  • 2 Macías-Cortés EdC, Llanes-González L, Aguilar-Faisal L, Asbun-Bojalil J. Individualized homeopathic treatment and fluoxetine for moderate to severe depression in peri- and postmenopausal women (HOMDEP-MENOP study): a randomized, double-dummy, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. PLoS One 2015; 10: e0118440
  • 3 Committee on Publication Ethics. Retraction guidelines; 2019. Available at: https://publicationethics.org/files/retraction-guidelines.pdf . Accessed June 16, 2020
  • 4 PLoS ONE. Corrections and retractions; 2020. Available at: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/s/corrections-and-retractions . Accessed June 16, 2020
  • 5 Mathie RT, Lloyd SM, Legg LA. et al. Randomised placebo-controlled trials of individualised homeopathic treatment: systematic review and meta-analysis. Syst Rev 2014; 3: 142
  • 6 Schulz KF, Altman DG, Moher D. CONSORT Group. CONSORT 2010 statement: updated guidelines for reporting parallel group randomised trials. PLoS Med 2010; 7: e1000251
  • 7 Chan AW, Tetzlaff JM, Gøtzsche PC. et al. SPIRIT 2013 explanation and elaboration: guidance for protocols of clinical trials. BMJ 2013; 346: e7586
  • 8 Dean ME, Coulter MK, Fisher P, Jobst KA, Walach H. Reporting data on homeopathic treatments (RedHot): a supplement to CONSORT. J Altern Complement Med 2007; 13: 19-23
  • 9 Magni LR, Purgato M, Gastaldon C. et al. Fluoxetine versus other types of pharmacotherapy for depression. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2013; CD004185
  • 10 Camerlink I, Ellinger L, Bakker EJ, Lantinga EA. Homeopathy as replacement to antibiotics in the case of Escherichia coli diarrhoea in neonatal piglets. Homeopathy 2010; 99: 57-62
  • 11 Dei A. Experimental evidence supports new perspectives in homeopathy. Homeopathy 2020 109. 256-260
  • 12 Endler PC, Scherer-Pongratz W, Lothaller H, Stephen S. Wheat and ultra high diluted gibberellic acid—further experiments and re-analysis of data. Homeopathy 2015; 104: 257-262
  • 13 Jäger T, Würtenberger S, Baumgartner S. Effects of homeopathic preparations of Mercurius corrosivus on the growth rate of severely mercury-stressed duckweed Lemna gibba L. Homeopathy 2019; 108: 128-138
  • 14 Khuda-Bukhsh AR, Sikdar S. Condurango 30C induces epigenetic modification of lung cancer-specific tumour suppressor genes via demethylation. Forsch Komplement Med 2015; 22: 172-179
  • 15 Lingg G, Endler PC, Frass M, Lothaller H. Treatment of highland frogs from the two-legged stage with homeopathically prepared thyroxin (10-11–10-21). Scientific World J 2008; 8: 446-450
  • 16 Lutz B, Heer I, Katzensteiner R. et al. Development of a whole plant bioassay to test effects of potentized calcium carbonate in pillule formulation. Complement Ther Med 2018; 40: 13-21
  • 17 Nagai MY, Dalboni LC, Cardoso TN. et al. Effects of homeopathic phosphorus on Encephalitozoon cuniculi-infected macrophages in-vitro. Homeopathy 2019; 108: 188-200
  • 18 Olioso D, Marzotto M, Moratti E, Brizzi M, Bellavite P. Effects of Gelsemium sempervirens L. on pathway-focused gene expression profiling in neuronal cells. J Ethnopharmacol 2014; 153: 535-539
  • 19 Tournier A, Klein SD, Würtenberger S, Wolf U, Baumgartner S. Physicochemical investigations of homeopathic preparations: a systematic review and bibliometric analysis—Part 2. J Altern Complement Med 2019; 25: 890-901
  • 20 Ücker A, Baumgartner S, Sokol A, Huber R, Doesburg P, Jäger T. Systematic review of plant-based homeopathic basic research: an update. Homeopathy 2018; 107: 115-129
  • 21 Witt CM, Bluth M, Albrecht H, Weisshuhn TE, Baumgartner S, Willich SN. The in vitro evidence for an effect of high homeopathic potencies—a systematic review of the literature. Complement Ther Med 2007; 15: 128-138
  • 22 Klein SD, Würtenberger S, Wolf U, Baumgartner S, Tournier A. Physicochemical investigations of homeopathic preparations: a systematic review and bibliometric analysis—Part 1. J Altern Complement Med 2018; 24: 409-421
  • 23 Wiesenauer M, Gaus W. Double-blind trial comparing the effectiveness of the homeopathic preparation Galphimia potentiation D6, Galphimia dilution 10−6 and placebo on pollinosis. Arzneimittelforschung 1985; 35: 1745-1747
  • 24 Betti L, Trebbi G, Kokornaczyk MO. et al. Number of succussion strokes affects effectiveness of ultra-high-diluted arsenic on in vitro wheat germination and polycrystalline structures obtained by droplet evaporation method. Homeopathy 2017; 106: 47-54
  • 25 Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social. Guía de Práctica Clínica Diagnóstico y Tratamiento de la Perimenopausia y postmenopausia México; 2013. Available at: http://www.cenetec.salud.gob.mx/descargas/gpc/CatalogoMaestro/019_GPC_ClimatyMenop/SS_019_08_EyR.pdf . Accessed June 16, 2020
  • 26 Macías-Cortés ED, Llanes-González L, Aguilar-Faisal L, Asbun-Bojalil J. Is metabolic dysregulation associated with antidepressant response in depressed women in climacteric treated with individualized homeopathic medicines or fluoxetine? The HOMDEP-MENOP study. Homeopathy 2017; 106: 3-10
  • 27 Macías-Cortés EDC, Llanes-González L, Aguilar-Faisal L, Asbun-Bojalil J. Response to individualized homeopathic treatment for depression in climacteric women with history of domestic violence, marital dissatisfaction or sexual abuse: results from the HOMDEP-MENOP study. Homeopathy 2018; 107: 202-208