Be careful with homeopathy!
53-year-old man poisoned with belladonna from a homeopathic drug
Victoria Baranovskaya, N+1
In Germany, doctors recorded an anticholinergic syndrome in a patient caused by the alkaloid atropine contained in a homeopathic preparation. In an article published in the journal Clinical Toxicology, it is reported that the concentration of atropine sulfate was 600 times higher than that stated by the manufacturer.
Krasavka, or belladonna (Atropa belladonna), contains the potent alkaloid atropine, which blocks m-cholinergic receptors and can cause a variety of mental and somatic disorders. Belladonna extract is widely (and controversially) used in large dilutions in many homeopathic medicines for the treatment of various ailments, ranging from sunstroke to neurological and respiratory diseases.
In homeopathy, the "therapeutic" substance is diluted many times, and it often turns out that this substance is completely absent in the final solution. Modern homeopaths often explain the effectiveness of their method with pseudoscientific concepts of "water memory" and "resonance of quantum fields". Homeopathic decimal dilutions are designated as "D" and are achieved by successive dilutions of the substance in water or alcohol. Homeopathic solutions of atropine in dilution D4 (1:10000) and higher are dispensed without a prescription.
However, in 2017, hundreds of American children had serious side effects, including several deaths, from taking a homeopathic drug from one of the largest manufacturers of such products, Hyland's company. This drug (due to a manufacturing error) contained doses of belladonna extract significantly exceeding those indicated on the label.
This time, doctors led by Sabrina Schmoll from the Munich Technical University Clinic described a case of poisoning of a man with atropine sulfate contained in a homeopathic medicine that he took for stomach pain.
The 53-year-old man ended up in the clinic with symptoms such as dizziness, loss of muscle control, slurred speech, confusion and visual impairment. All these symptoms began to appear after the man took a homeopathic medicine prescribed by his doctor for stomach pain after dinner. Symptoms appeared within 10 minutes after taking 30 drops (approximately 1.5 milliliters) of a homeopathic medicine containing belladonna extract, diluted with D4, as indicated on the label.
The patient said that at first he felt that his vision became blurry, then problems with coordination and speech began, a feeling of fear and severe dizziness appeared. A friend took him to the hospital an hour and a half later. According to the man, he did not suffer from any diseases, did not take any other medications except homeopathic, and did not use drugs.
The patient's blood pressure, pulse and temperature were normal. The urine was immediately checked for the presence of narcotic substances. The analysis was negative for amphetamines, benzodiazepines, opiates, cocaine metabolites, tetrahydrocannabinol, buprenorphine, fentanyl, pregabalin. A small concentration of ethyl alcohol was detected in the urine, most likely due to the ethanol content in the homeopathic preparation.
Doctors suspected anticholinergic syndrome, a condition caused by blocking of m-cholinergic receptors, and leading to the elimination of the effects of acetylcholine, which is responsible for the transmission of impulses by motor neurons. This condition could be caused by atropine sulfate from a homeopathic remedy. The man's blood test showed the presence of atropine at a concentration of 5.7 (±1.4) nanograms per milliliter. However, there is a slight correlation between the dose taken and the concentration of b substances in the blood.
The doctors received a homeopathic remedy that the man took for stomach pain, and analyzed its composition using liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. It turned out that the concentration of atropine sulfate in the drug was 3 milligrams per milliliter instead of the stated 0.005 milligrams per milliliter, which corresponds to a 600-fold excess of the dose. The doctors quickly performed an analysis and sent its results to the relevant regulatory authorities.
The patient was under the supervision of doctors for 12 hours, during which his condition gradually improved. After discharge, he reported that the feeling of fatigue and weakness lasted for several more days.
Such cases demonstrate that the use of homeopathic remedies can be not only useless, but also dangerous to health. In 2017, the Commission on Combating Pseudoscience and Falsification of scientific research under the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences issued a memorandum recognizing homeopathy as pseudoscience and calling for limiting its state support.
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