Cajuputum—a homœopathic drug test

British HomeopathicJournal April 1989. Vol. 78. pp. 115-117

International press abstracts and reviews

C a j u p u t u m - - a homeeopathic drug test K.-H. G E B H A R D T A patient presented in 1976 with difficulties in swallowing diagnosed as idiopathic dilatation of the oesophagus. He experienced temporary relief with Asa foetida 3x and 6x and proprietaries called Gastricumheel and Spascupheel, and no relief with Pulsatilla 12x and Magnesium phosphoricum 4x, but is doing well to date on Cajuputum (Melaleuca leucadendron Linn.) 2c, 5 drops t.d.s. This induced the author to carry out a singleblind hom0eopathic drug test with students attending his lectures at Heidelberg University and members of a homeeopathic study group in Karlsruhe in winter 1985 and spring 1986, using the record books designed by Drs Stuebler and Bayr. Thirteen records were suitable for assessment. The paper gives full details of the symptoms recorded. The key symptoms are given as: Organotropic symptoms: Parasympathetic system. Smooth muscle, mucosa, connective tissues. Tendency to spasm in gastrointestinal system (globus, difficulties in swallowing, nausea, pressure in right epigastrium, constipation alternating with diarrhoea), thoraxic region (oppression of heart and dyspnoea) and urogenital system (frequency of micturition and dysmenorrhoea). Modalities: Worse from 4~5 p.m., in the evening, after midnight, from heat. Better with local cold applications and from movement. Peculiar symptoms: Sensation of pointed tongue, numbness in perioral triangle, sensation of foreign body in eye, lancinating and tearing sensation above left inguinum, pleasantly warm sensation despite cold feet, urine smells of golden hamster (cats). The author has since treated thirty-two patients with the drug. In nine cases results could not be assessed or were doubtful, sixteen patients responded and seven did not. Four successful cases are reported in detail, with particular attention drawn to the importance of correct dosage in two of them. One unsuccessful case is also described in detail. The author concludes that Cajuputum is an interesting drug and that

further drug tests on it are a matter of urgency, as it appears to be frequently indicated in conditions due to the stresses of modern living. Allg Homrop Ztg 1989; 234:3-9 Fabiana imbrieata HORST MEHNERT The author died sometime after submitting the paper. In the editors' view the paper is a fitting tribute to his meticulous clinical work and represents a genuine addition to the range of indications for this drug. Fabiana imbricata is an evergreen shrub growing in the Andes, where its local name, based on its effectiveness in popular medicine in treating conditions affecting the bladder and kidneys, is pichi pichy--a rather vulgar term that in more polite usage has become pinco pinco. It is a sovereign drug for the treatment of migraine and sciatica, as a muscle relaxant and pain reliever in cervical root syndrome, to resolve spasms and thus relieve pain after trauma and in neuropathies (injections of the 4x). Positive results have also been noted with diseases of the kidneys, bladder, prostate and gall bladder, mainly using the 4x-12x in form of drops given by mouth. Allg Homrop Ztg 1989; 234:20-23 First five years of the RCCM This is an elegant thirty-page report of the Research Council for Complementary Medicine, including an account of the origin and history of the Council. Mention is made of the research work by Dr David Taylor Reilly and of Dr Peter Fisher's research in progress on mutagens. Dr Ronald Davey contributes an article entitled 'Where do we go from here?'

Research Councilfor Complementary Medicine Fifth Annual Report Asthma K R I S H N A SINGH et at. The importance of protocol in research is discussed and exemplified in a twelve-page article on the full assessment of cases of asthma. There are seven other articles on various aspects of asthma, by other Indian doctors, of considerable

115