Anthroposophic Medicine: Scientific Research on an Integrative Medical System
Anthroposophic medicine (AM) is a medical system developed in Europe (1). It celebrated its centenary in 2020 (2) and is now found in over 60 countries worldwide (3). It is an integrative system that in diagnosis and the resulting treatment plan takes account of the human being in their physical, physiological – integrating the aspect of life – mental and spiritual dimension. Based on this understanding of the human being, AM extends conventional medicine through specific therapeutic methods such as eurythmy therapy and other movement and body therapies (e.g. rhythmical massage therapy), art therapies, psychotherapy and biography work. In medicinal therapy, plant, mineral or animal-derived substances are processed using specialised pharmaceutical methods such as, among others, potentisation and rhythmical procedures (4). Mistletoe therapy as the first immunotherapy for cancer has now become widely used and has been extensively evaluated in scientific studies (5). External applications (Einreibung, compresses and wraps) constitute another indispensable, cost-effective and widely applicable pillar of AM (6).
Thus both the whole medical system (7) and individual therapeutic measures as well as multimodal treatment concepts (8) are the subject of investigation in AM research, with the establishment of the "evidence house" as a modern and innovative approach (9). Benefit evaluation plays an essential role here (10).
Other areas of research include the measurement of quality of care specific to AM (11), the effects of AM medicinal products (see below), and the measurement of regulatory processes (12).
From the very beginning, anthroposophic medicine has also had an academic focus, as reflected in the numerous doctoral theses and postdoctoral dissertations.
With regard to the question of the efficacy of potentised medicines as an element of anthroposophic pharmacy, we refer in the following to the current state of scientific research:
In its evaluation of homoeopathy, the Institute for Applied Epistemology and Medical Methodology (IFAEMM; an affiliated institute of Witten/Herdecke University) has set out its position on four key questions:
- What do laboratory experiments say about highly potentised substances?
- Is homoeopathy effective – beyond the placebo effect?
- How can homoeopathy work at all?
- Why is homoeopathy often judged negatively?
The answers can be found at https://www.ifaemm.de/forschung/4-1-homoopathie-wissenschaft/
The current state of scientific research shows the efficacy of potentised medicines:
- Hamre HJ, Glockmann A, von Ammon K, Riley DS, Kiene H. Efficacy of homoeopathic treatment: Systematic review of meta-analyses of randomised placebo-controlled homoeopathy trials for any indication. Systematic Reviews 2023;12(191). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-023-02313-2
- In addition to the references mentioned, we link here to the homoeopathy databases of the working group led by Prof Stephan Baumgartner, which are hosted by the Institute for Complementary and Integrative Medicine at the University of Bern: https://www.ikim.unibe.ch/forschung/uebersichten_zum_stand_der_forschung/homoeopathie/index_ger.html
Dr med Marion Debus, Dr med Karin Michael, Adam Blanning MD
Leadership of the Medical Section at the Goetheanum
Literature
- Kienle GS, Albonico HU, Baars E, et al. Anthroposophic medicine: an integrative medical system originating in Europe. Global Advances in Integrative Medicine and Health 2013;2(6):20–31. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7453/gahmj.2012.087.
- Martin D. 100-year anniversary of anthroposophic medicine as an integrative medical system. Complementary Medicine Research 2020;27(6):375–378. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1159/000511668.
- https://www.ivaa.info/anthroposophic-medicine/introduction/
- Pedersen PA, Suhr C, Engel W, Rozumek M, Waldburger B, Baumgartner S, Schilk J. Herstellungsverfahren. In: Meyer U, Pedersen PA (Hrsg.) Anthroposophische Pharmazie. Grundlagen Herstellprozesse, Arzneimittel. Berlin: Salumed Verlag; 2026, S. 399-516.
- https://www.mistel-therapie.de/
- https://pflege-vademecum.de/
- Baars EW, Hamre HJ. Whole medical systems versus the system of conventional biomedicine: a critical, narrative review of similarities, differences, and factors that promote the integration process. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2017;2017:4904930. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/4904930.
- Siehe z. B. Längler A, Schwermer M, Fetz K, Vagedes J, Krüger M, Ostermann T, Zuzak T. Entwicklung von wissensbasierten Behandlungsempfehlungen in der integrativen-anthroposophischen Kinderheilkunde am Beispiel der akuten Gastroenteritis. Pädiatrische Praxis 2019;91:1-8.
- Kienle GS, Ben-Arye E, Berger B, et al. Contributing to global health: development of a consensus-based whole systems research strategy for anthroposophic medicine. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2019;2019:3706143. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/3706143.
- Strasser F. Kriterien der Nutzenbewertung der Integrativen Medizin am Beispiel der Anthroposophischen Medizin. Der Merkurstab 2023;76(3):177-186. DOI: https://doi.org/10.14271/DMS-21636-DE.
- Koster EB, Baars EW, Delnoij DMJ. Patient-reported quality of care in anthroposophic and integrative medicine: A scoping review. Patient Education and Counseling 2020;103(2):276–285. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2019.09.010.
- Baars EW, Kienle GS, Heusser P, et al. Anthroposophic medicinal products: a literature review of features, similarities and differences to conventional medicinal products, scientific and regulatory assessment. Global Advances in Integrative Medicine and Health 2022;11:21649561211073079. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/21649561211073079.