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I wish the Psychiatric News editors would have read more carefully the thoughtful letter by Dr. Peter Barglow in the July 17 issue before publishing elsewhere in that same issue an article that seems to lend some validity to homeopathy. This article is another example of pseudo-science in disguise.
It's disturbing to realize that psychiatrists, of all people, cannot recognize placebo effects and the variations in patient healing brought about by such common occurrences as chance and spontaneous remission.
Contrary to the tone of the article, when homeopathy has been tested under scientific scrutiny with double-blind studies, it has failed miserably. For those who love the truth, I suggest reading the overview of the claims of homeopathy in the premier issue (fall/winter 1997) of the Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine.
I have no argument with taking advantage of suggestion and placebo effects to help a patient, but to suggest that there is a valid, scientific basis for homeopathy is to delude oneself. It is as much quackery as "therapeutic touch" and as much science as astrology.
Louis J. Perillo, M.D.
Pensacola, Fla.