CHENNAI: Nobel award winner Venkatraman Ramakrishnan on Thursday questioned the scientific validity of homeopathy as a medical treatment in curing diseases and ailments. He was delivering a lecture in the city on Thursday.Venkatraman referred to the system as something similar to a placebo effect - a medically ineffectual treatment administered for a disease or medical condition and the patient experiences a perceived or actual improvement in his condition.“The treatment is based on a system of beliefs that have no basis of understanding in chemistry,” he said.Talking about the placebo effect, Venkatraman elicited several examples of studies done globally showing that patients who were given impotent drugs or sugar capsules under the pretence of it being the best remedy for their ailment reacted positively to the treatment.“The placebo effect can actually be used in positive ways by doctors and practitioners by instilling confidence in their patients even while treating them with potent drugs,” he said.Taking the discussion forward to modern medicine, Venkatraman said that many pharma companies were releasing new drugs into the market without completely testing its benefits.“They identify new compounds after spending many millions of dollars in research.Hence there is a tendency to cheat by publishing only the positive effects of the drugs or by winding up the study when the initial results show a positive change,” Venkatraman Ramakrishnan said.
Comments
0 comment