Yesterday evening (4th February 2018) I watched a BBC 1 Television programme "Call the Midwife". It is a popular, long-running, and extremely good series that raises many important social and medical issues from the 1950's and 1960's, mainly to do with pregnancy and childbirth. Last night's episode featured a woman, and her young daughter, who had Huntington's disease, and its treatment.
The episode was set in 1963, and the doctor said that 'there was no treatment' for the condition. Whilst watching I wondered what conventional medicine had to offer patients today, over 50 years on. So I went to the NHS Choices website, and found this explanation.
"There's no cure for Huntington's disease. Its progress can't be reversed or slowed down, although this is the goal of many research projects."
It says that goes on to say that "some of the features of Huntington's disease can be managed with medication and therapies, which may be coordinated by specialist teams". These therapies include speech and language therapy, and occupational therapy, and emphasises the importance of regular exercise.
The episode was set in 1963, and the doctor said that 'there was no treatment' for the condition. Whilst watching I wondered what conventional medicine had to offer patients today, over 50 years on. So I went to the NHS Choices website, and found this explanation.
"There's no cure for Huntington's disease. Its progress can't be reversed or slowed down, although this is the goal of many research projects."
It says that goes on to say that "some of the features of Huntington's disease can be managed with medication and therapies, which may be coordinated by specialist teams". These therapies include speech and language therapy, and occupational therapy, and emphasises the importance of regular exercise.
In other words, conventional medicine still has no treatment for this disease.
As a homeopath I have never treated a case of Huntingdon's disease (once called Huntingdon's Chorea) but I was aware that homeopathy was able to treat 'involuntary movement', and many other other features of Chorea. In researching I found one interesting website that listed a number of remedies that have been successfully used in the treatment of this progressive disease. So I wrote another page for my "Why Homeopathy?" website, which compares conventional with homeopathic treatment for many illnesses.
The major point to make here is that when conventional doctors tell patients there is no treatment for a disease, Huntington's disease or any other, or that the only treatment available is by dangerous drugs with potentially health harming side effects, it is true only to the extent that CONVENTIONAL MEDICINE has no treatment. It is always wise to check whether treatment is available outside the monopolistic world of the conventional medical establishment!
It is also an indication of the progress, or rather the lack of progress, made by conventional medicine in the treatment of illness and disease. Huntington's Disease was first recognised and described in 1872 when an American doctor, George Huntington, wrote a paper called 'On Chorea', since when the disorder he described obtained its name. "Chorea" is a Greek word meaning chorus or a group of dances, and is now the term used for many "dancing disorders" that were first noticed in the Middle Ages. The involuntary muscle jerks and twitches which are characteristic of the condition were thought back then to about being 'possessed by devils'. Even through the 18th and 19th centuries the disease was poorly understood. Then in 1993 it was discovered that a gene was involved, and ever since this has been described as a major breakthrough. But a breakthrough to what, exactly?
- So the disease has been known for centuries.
- It was first described and named over 150 years ago.
- It is over 50 years from the time featured in the television programme.
- And it is now 25 years since the connection with our genes was discover.
And still conventional medicine has no treatment!
Of course, the conventional medical establishment always promises new miracles drugs, wonder cures, and it does so on a regular basis. The last was in December 2017, heralded in all the mainstream media. But they have never amounted to anything, and that is why NHS Choices is still having to admit that "there is no cure for Huntington's disease". Stories about the 'breakthroughs' of medical science is all part of the propaganda campaign that has been going on for centuries - that conventional medicine is winning the war against disease.
It is not! So if anyone if looking for treatment of this awful disease a more worthwhile route may be to look at what alternative medical therapies, particularly homeopathy, able to offer. Begin with my 'Why Homeopathy?' page, and then look for a qualified homeopath near where you live.
