The long-term effects of homeopathic treatment of chronic headaches: 1 year follow up

Little is known about the long-term effects of homeopathic treatment. Follo wing a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of classical homeopathy in ch ronic headaches, we conducted a complete follow-up study of all trial parti cipants. All patients enrolled in the double-blind study were sent a 6-week headache diary, a follow-up questionnaire. Eighty-seven of the original 98 patients enrolled returned questionnaires, 81 returned diaries. There was no additional change from the end of the trial to the 1-year follow up. The improvement seen at the end of the 12-week trial was stable after 1 year. No differential effects according to treatment after the trial could be see n. Patients with no treatment following the trial had the most improvement after 1 year. Approximately 30% of patients in homeopathic treatment will b enefit after 1 year of treatment. There is no indication of a specific, or of a delayed effect of homeopathy.