Introduction to Infectious Diseases

Last update: 20.05.2019

The growing worldwide resistance to antibiotics requires much more cautious use of antibiotics when treating acute infectious diseases. What can Anthroposophic Medicine contribute in this situation? What possibilities does it offer that go beyond just focusing on the pathogens, how does it therapeutically guide and support a patient’s inflammatory response, and strengthen the person’s immunological resources, both acutely and preventatively? Which procedures have proven successful? How can Anthroposophic Medicine benefit patients with infectious diseases, whether acute or long-term?

In this section we present some of Anthroposophic Medicine’s multi-professional therapeutic concepts for common infectious diseases in childhood and adulthood.

 Fig. «Sick person at night» of Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. © akg-images

Research news

Case series: Topical application of Viscum album extract in keratinocyte carcinomas shows remissions 
A retrospective case series examined the safety and clinical effects of topical application of 10% lipophilic Viscum album extract (VALE) in individual cases of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC), basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and actinic keratosis (AK). The study population consisted of 55 patients with 74 skin lesions. Risk factors, concomitant therapies and diseases, adverse drug reactions to VALE and other relevant information were documented. As a result, the clinical response rate was 78% for cSCC, 70% for BCC and 71% for AK. The complete remission rates for individual lesions were 56% for cSCC, 35% for BCC and 15% for AK. Overall, the results suggest that VALE is a safe and tolerable extract, and complete and partial remissions of ceratinocyte carcinomas were observed with its use. The article is published in Complementary Medicine Research: 
https://doi.org/10.1159/000537979.


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