Anthroposophic medicine

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An anthroposophic medicines , even Anthroposophikum called, is a medicine that after the anthroposophic understanding of man and nature has been developed and applied to their principles. The production takes place according to a homeopathic preparation process described in the European Pharmacopoeia or other officially used pharmacopoeia of an EU country or according to a special anthroposophic preparation process. Characteristic of the anthroposophic therapies , the approach, health and medicine in addition to science also "spiritual" (d. H. Anthroposophic) to capture aspects. Plant, mineral and animal substances are used for the production of anthroposophic medicinal products, which are processed according to aspects derived from the therapy system and, in some cases, potentiated .

Anthroposophic medicines are primarily aimed at stimulating the organism's self-healing powers. They are often prescribed by anthroposophic doctors to accompany therapies in scientific medicine - in accordance with the approach of anthroposophic medicine, which regards itself as an extension of it, as integrative medicine or complementary medicine and not as alternative medicine . Many anthroposophic finished medicinal products can be marketed via a simplified approval procedure in accordance with EU law; Neither a specific effect nor an area of ​​application are specified for them, and proof of effect is not required.

history

Long before Rudolf Steiner carried out his suggestions in the 1920s, which were to form the basis of anthroposophic medicine (AM), special alternative medical remedies were used in anthroposophical circles , such as Ritter's remedies or Peiper's color therapies . After the First World War , the production of medicinal products became a separate field of activity of AM, which in part emerged from the attempts to produce paint for the Johannesbau originally planned in Munich in the pre-war years. The chemist Oskar Schmiedel (1887–1959) was a key figure in the genesis of the production of medicinal products. Due to financial difficulties, his laboratory came into the possession of the Johannesbau-Verein in Dornach. Schmiedel moved to Dornach, and the chemical laboratory was housed in a simple barrack near the Goetheanum building site. The shift in focus from paint production to the production of pharmaceutical products probably took place in October 1919, when new sources of finance had to be found for the further construction of the Goetheanum, which also included medicines.

The origin, production and application of anthroposophic medicines go back to Rudolf Steiner , who founded anthroposophic medicine at the beginning of the 20th century together with the doctor Ita Wegman . At that time, Rudolf Steiner developed the principles that are still valid today for the choice of raw materials and the various manufacturing processes. Rudolf Hauschka (1891–1969) is the second most important pioneer in anthroposophic pharmacy .

distribution

In 2012 anthroposophic medicine was practiced in over 60 countries. In 22 European countries there are around 15,000 doctors who prescribe anthroposophic medicine, e.g. B. in Austria, Denmark, France, Germany and Italy. According to the German Federal Association of the Pharmaceutical Industry (BPI), anthroposophic medicines achieved sales of 58.4 million euros in 2013.

There are over 1,700 different anthroposophic medicinal products on the EU market. There are different regulations within the EU as to whether anthroposophic medicinal products must be prescribed by a doctor. In Germany, for example, most of the preparations do not require a prescription and have therefore been paid for by the patients themselves since 2004.

The aim of the Society of Anthroposophic Pharmacists in Germany (GAPiD), founded in 2001, is to “expand the pharmacist's profession through anthroposophy” in Germany and to further develop “ anthroposophical pharmacy ” .

Theory and background

The basis of the anthroposophical healing is a holistic view of man and nature. It is a peculiarity of anthroposophical herbal therapy that it assumes that there is an evolutionary relationship between the human organism and the natural processes in the mineral, plant and animal world. On the basis of this relationship, certain rules apply to the selection of raw materials and their processing as well as to the manufacture and use of anthroposophic medicinal products. Against this background, the “specific healing powers” ​​of a natural substance should be worked out in order to align them with a specific therapeutic goal. The history of the ingredients of anthroposophic remedies is often more important than their material composition.

The human image of anthroposophy is based on the understanding that the four planes of existence (Leiber / creatures members ) interact the human being with three natural systems. The following table shows the references from which anthroposophy is based:

human Kingdom of nature
The physical-physical level is related to ... World of minerals
Life organization, etheric body (biological identity, regeneration and physiological functions) is related to World of plants
Sensory organization, astral body (feeling and movement) is related to World of animals
I-organization (spiritual level) as an individual level There is only self-awareness in humans

According to the anthroposophic understanding of the treatment with anthroposophic medicines has a dual focus: firstly, they are directly in acute and chronic intervention and disease processes and symptoms ease. On the other hand, they are supposed to stimulate the organism's self-regulating abilities.

Pharmaceutical manufacturing processes

In the manufacture of anthroposophic medicinal products, both specifically anthroposophic and typical homeopathic procedures are used. The starting materials for anthroposophic medicinal products are mineral / metallic, plant or animal substances, for example quartz, sulfur, gold, copper, silver, arnica, chamomile or calendula. There are often rhythmic processes and / or graded heat applications used. Animal experiments are avoided as much as possible.

Anthroposophic remedies include scleron , which consists of lead, honey and sugar, or the migraine drug biodoron , which contains silicic acid, sulfur and iron .

Treatment of herbal raw materials

Examples of typical processes for plant raw materials:

Pharmaceutical process temperature Raw material
Cold maceration 2-8 ° C fresh or dried plants, all parts
Macerate approx. 15-20 ° C fresh or dried plants, all parts
Rhythmic processing 4-37 ° C fresh or dried plants, all parts
Digest 37 ° C fresh plants, flowers and leaves
Infuse 60-90 ° C dried leaves and flowers
Cook approx. 100 ° C dried roots, bark and seeds
Distill Steam, approx. 100 ° C fresh or dried plants, all parts

The methods are described in Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia, for example in the rules 18 to 24. The rules 18 to 20 deal with ethanolic preparations (ethanolic Digestio , ethanolic decoction , ethanolic infusion ). The so-called Rh tinctures , the production of which is described in regulations 20 and 21, are made from crushed fresh plants or pressed juice through a fermentation process in a daily warm-cold rhythm, with temperatures of 37 ° C and 4 ° C alternating. The Rh method is based on the assumption that the plant quality is allegedly influenced by the daily and night rhythms, and attempts are made to achieve this by means of temperature and movement changes during preparation from the medicinal plant juice.

Potentiate

A production process that is frequently used is also potentization , which is also used in homeopathy . Compared to classical homeopathy , the shaking technique differs , and the time of day and the star constellation are also taken into account during production. Potentiated preparations often ultimately contain extremely dilute substances. Each degree of dilution is achieved by rhythmic shaking or rubbing . The principle of potentiation is controversial, since in higher dilutions the amount of the starting substance tends to zero, so that even the presence of individual atoms or molecules of the starting substance becomes unlikely. The medical historian Robert Jütte is of the opinion that the boundary drawn by Hahnemann between homeopathy and " allopathy " is less sharp in anthroposophic medicine.

Manufacturer

Anthroposophic medicinal products are produced by specially founded pharmaceutical companies, e.g. B. Weleda AG , Wala Heilmittel GmbH , Abnoba GmbH, Helixor Heilmittel GmbH & Co. KG and others.

Legal classification

Anthroposophic medicinal products, which are described in an official pharmacopoeia of an EU member state and prepared according to a homeopathic process, are treated the same as homeopathic medicinal products in terms of registration and approval for marketing in the EU member states. This means that in the EU member states, as with homeopathic medicinal products, provided they meet the requirements for a simplified approval process, no proof of efficacy is required and the pharmaceutical company may not name any effects or areas of application.

In Germany, with the amendment of the Medicines Act 1976 for homeopathic medicines, the possibility of the simplified procedure without proof of effectiveness (“registration”) was introduced. Anthroposophic medicinal products are also legally defined in Germany as a “special” or “specific” direction of therapy according to Section 34 of the Book V of the Social Code and Section 25, Paragraph 7 of the Medicines Act, similar to homeopathy.

In 1993, the internist Klaus Dietrich Bock complained that the main problem had been excluded from the classification as a “special therapy direction” and the exemption of anthroposophic medicines from the effectiveness test: They had not checked whether the anthroposophical medicine theory met scientific criteria. The "expansion" of orthodox medicine through anthroposophy intended by Steiner is generally impossible, since two incompatible paradigms of medicine cannot be used side by side.

Areas of application

Anthroposophic medicines are used in different dosage forms: Externally, for example, as oils, gels, ointments or tinctures, or internally as drops, powders, tablets or granules (globules). There are also ampoules for injection or inhalation.

Anthroposophic medicines are also used in cancer therapy (oncology). Preparations made from mistletoe such as the “Iscador” preparation are particularly well-known . There are many clinical studies on mistletoe therapy . However, their results are controversially discussed and evaluated differently. The internist Klaus Dietrich Bock complains that the anthroposophists have not been able to provide evidence of effectiveness on cancer patients that meets the criteria of university medicine for over 60 years. In the meantime, recourse is being made to in vitro tests that alone said nothing, or to “ adjuvant ” cancer treatment for which there is also no evidence of efficacy.

literature

  • Barbara Burkhard: Anthroposophic Medicines. A critical consideration. GOVI, Eschborn 2000, ISBN 3-7741-0810-2 .
  • Robert Jütte : History of Alternative Medicine. From folk medicine to today's unconventional therapies. Beck, Munich 1996, ISBN 3-406-40495-2 , pp. 240-260.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ § 4 Medicines Act.
  2. ↑ Glöckler: Anthroposophic medicinal therapy for doctors and pharmacists, Wissenschaftliche Verlagsgesellschaft mbH Stuttgart, 2005, Grundwerk, pp. 1–2.
  3. ^ Helmut Zander: Anthroposophy in Germany. 2007, p. 1540 ff.
  4. ↑ https://www.ivaa.info/fileadmin/editor/file/Facts_and_Figures_AM_WorldwideJuly2012_Final_Public_Light.pdf (as of May 20, 2015)
  5. ↑ Pharma-Daten2014 ( Memento from September 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) (Status: May 20, 2015)
  6. ↑ IVAA: The System of Anthroposophic Medicine, found at: http://www.ivaa.info/fileadmin/editor/file/The_system_of_Anthroposophic_Medicine_2014.pdf , p. 21 (as of May 20, 2015)
  7. ↑ http://www.gapid.de/ Society of Anthroposophical Pharmacists in Germany eV
  8. ↑ Glöckler: Anthroposophic medicinal therapy for doctors and pharmacists, Wissenschaftliche Verlagsgesellschaft mbH Stuttgart, 2005, 3rd act. 2010 pp. 2–14
  9. ^ Edzard Ernst : Anthroposophic Medicine: A Critical Analysis . In: MMW advances in medicine . Supplementary Volume No. 1, No. 150 . Urban & Vogel, April 2008, ISSN  1438-3276 , OCLC 890211612 , ZDB -ID 1478211-X , p. 1-6 .
  10. ^ Rankin-Box and Williamson: Complementary Medicine. A Guide for Pharmacists, Churchill Livingston, 2006
  11. ^ Deutscher Apotheker Verlag: Complementary medicine for the smock pocket. Advice on self-medication, 2009, p. 20
  12. ↑ GAPiD: Basic questions on anthroposophic pharmacy, 2014, p. 29 f.
  13. ↑ http://www.damid.de/anthroposophische-medizin/arzneimittel/19-anthroposophische-arzneitherapie.html , (as of July 14, 2015)
  14. ^ Robert Jütte : History of Alternative Medicine. From folk medicine to today's unconventional therapies. Beck, Munich 1996, ISBN 3-406-40495-2 , p. 246.
  15. ↑ Kurt H. Bauer, Karl-Heinz Frömming, Claus Führer, Bernhardt C. Lippold - Pharmaceutical Technology. Thieme Verlag, 2nd edition 1989, p. 469 f.
  16. ^ Robert Jütte: History of Alternative Medicine. From folk medicine to today's unconventional therapies. Beck, Munich 1996, ISBN 3-406-40495-2 , p. 248.
  17. ^ Hans Wolfgang Hoefert, Bernhard Uehleke: Complementary healing methods in health care . Analysis and evaluation. 1st edition. Huber, Bern 2009, ISBN 978-3-456-84700-9 , p. 184 f .
  18. ^ Robert Jütte: History of Alternative Medicine . From folk medicine to today's unconventional therapies. CH Beck, Munich 1996, ISBN 978-3-406-40495-5 , p. 238 .
  19. ↑ Barbara Burkhard: Anthroposophic Medicines. A critical consideration. GOVI, Eschborn 2000. p. 15.
  20. ↑ Directive 2001/83 / EC (Community Code for Human Medicinal Products ) (PDF)
  21. ^ Robert Jütte: History of Alternative Medicine. From folk medicine to today's unconventional therapies. Beck, Munich 1996, ISBN 3-406-40495-2 , p. 252 f.
  22. ^ A b Klaus Dietrich Bock: Scientific and Alternative Medicine: Paradigms — Practice — Perspectives. Springer-Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg 1993. pp. 65 f.
  23. ↑ GAÄD: Vademecum Anthroposophic Medicine, 2008, p. 364 ff.
  24. ↑ Kienle, Kiene and Albonico: Anthroposophic Medicine in Clinical Research, Schattauer, 2006, Chapter 6
  25. ^ Robert Jütte: History of Alternative Medicine. From folk medicine to today's unconventional therapies. Beck, Munich 1996, ISBN 3-406-40495-2 , p. 246 f.
  26. ↑ Kienle, Kiene: Influence of mistletoe treatment on quality of life in cancer patients. A systematic review of controlled clinical studies. Integrative Cancer Therapies 2010: http://ict.sagepub.com/content/9/2/142.full.pdf+html (as of July 14, 2015)
  27. ↑ Horneber, Bueschel, Huber, Linde, Rostock: Mistletoe therapy in oncology (Cochrane Review: Mistletoe in oncology (Review). 2008 The Cochrane Collaboration. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd)
  28. ↑ Kienle, Berrino, Büssing, Portalupi, Rosenzweig, Kiene: Mistletoe in cancer - a systematic review on controlled clinical trials. Eur J Med Res 8, 2003, pp. 109-119
  29. ↑ Barbara Burkhard: Anthroposophic Medicines. A critical consideration. GOVI, Eschborn 2000, p. 162 f.