http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110530/ ... id=FBK_NPG A legacy of scepticism
Edzard Ernst, the world's first professor of alternative medicine, is stepping down.
Daniel Cressey
Published online 30 May 2011 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news.2011.322
In 1993, Edzard Ernst became the first person to hold a chair in complementary medicine. As he prepares for his retirement as head of the Complementary Medicine unit at the Peninsula College of Medicine & Dentistry, part of the universities of Plymouth and Exeter, UK, he tells Nature about his frustrations and successes in trying to force this field on the fringes of medicine into line with science.
Q: What did you hope to achieve in setting up the complementary-medicine unit at Peninsula College?
I always felt very strongly that I would focus on subjects that are important in the United Kingdom. Therefore we focus on homeopathy, herbal medicine, acupuncture and spinal manipulation. I was also convinced that scientists need to be critical and sceptical, and that if you apply science to any field you don't want to prove that your ideas are correct, you want to test whether they are correct.
That seems like a tiny difference to most people, but in my field it's a very big difference. I think we're the only ones [in our field] who have understood that. Everyone else in alternative-medicine research uses 'science' to prove that their notions are correct and I think that is a very bad starting point.
Let's say that someone has been an acupuncturist, then decides to research the technique. That person, in my experience, [generally] wants to prove the value of acupuncture. This is a misuse of science, perhaps even an abuse of science.
Q: Have you found that any alternative medicines are useful?
I found that homeopathy is pretty useless. I would have liked the evidence to go the other way because I trained as a homeopath. It would have been quite nice to win a Nobel prize by showing that 'no molecule' can have an effect, but the evidence is clearly against it.
In other areas, the evidence is much more positive. Acupuncture we have shown is useful to reduce pain for certain conditions, and that is generally accepted now.
There are lots of herbal medicines that are backed by very good evidence. The prime example has to be St John's Wort for depression. There we have around 50 clinical trials and the totality of this evidence clearly shows that it is at least as effective as mainstream treatments for mild to moderate depression.
"Now, more than ever, the illusions of division threaten our very existence. We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another as if we were one single tribe.” -King T'Challa, Black Panther
The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it. ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is. ~Winston Churchill
