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	'''Anthroposophical medicine''' (or '''anthroposophic medicine''') is a form of ~~] ] and ]~~ that partly complements and partly replaces mainstream medicine.<ref name=teils/> Founded in the 1920s by ] (1861–1925) in conjunction with ] (1876–1943), anthroposophical medicine draws on Steiner's ], which he called ].<ref name=workshop/> {{Anthroposophy}} Practitioners employ a variety of treatment techniques including massage, exercise, counselling, and the use of anthroposophic drugs.<ref name=ernstmist/>		'''Anthroposophical medicine''' (or '''anthroposophic medicine''') is a form of medicine that partly complements and partly replaces mainstream medicine.<ref name=teils/> Founded in the 1920s by ] (1861–1925) in conjunction with ] (1876–1943), anthroposophical medicine draws on Steiner's ], which he called ].<ref name=workshop/> {{Anthroposophy}} Practitioners employ a variety of treatment techniques including massage, exercise, counselling, and the use of anthroposophic drugs.<ref name=ernstmist/>

	Anthroposophic drugs are ultra-diluted remedies, similar to those used in ], and are thus completely harmless, except when used as a substitute for mainstream medicine, so missing an effective cure.<ref name=krit/> People with cancer are treated with remedies made from specially-harvested ]; research has found no ] that this is beneficial.<ref name=ACS/> Some anthroposophic doctors oppose childhood vaccination, and this has led to unnecessary outbreaks of disease.<ref name=measles/>		Anthroposophic drugs are ultra-diluted remedies, similar to those used in ], and are thus completely harmless, except when used as a substitute for mainstream medicine, so missing an effective cure.<ref name=krit/> People with cancer are treated with remedies made from specially-harvested ]; research has found no ] that this is beneficial.<ref name=ACS/> Some anthroposophic doctors oppose childhood vaccination, and this has led to unnecessary outbreaks of disease.<ref name=measles/>

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v t e

Anthroposophical medicine (or anthroposophic medicine) is a form of medicine that partly complements and partly replaces mainstream medicine. Founded in the 1920s by Rudolf Steiner (1861–1925) in conjunction with Ita Wegman (1876–1943), anthroposophical medicine draws on Steiner's spiritual philosophy, which he called anthroposophy.

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v t e

Practitioners employ a variety of treatment techniques including massage, exercise, counselling, and the use of anthroposophic drugs.

Anthroposophic drugs are ultra-diluted remedies, similar to those used in homeopathy, and are thus completely harmless, except when used as a substitute for mainstream medicine, so missing an effective cure. People with cancer are treated with remedies made from specially-harvested mistletoe; research has found no evidence that this is beneficial. Some anthroposophic doctors oppose childhood vaccination, and this has led to unnecessary outbreaks of disease.

Anthroposophical medicine takes a view of the human body and its anatomy that is at odds with medical science, proposing for example that the heart does not pump blood but that blood propels itself along. It also proposes that a patient's past lives may influence their illness and that its progress is subject to karmic destiny. Critics, including many scientists and mainstream medical doctors, have characterized anthroposophical medicine as unscientific, pseudoscientific and "pure quackery".

Background

Co-founders of anthroposophic medicine

Rudolf Steiner

Ita Wegman

History

The first steps towards an anthroposophic approach to medicine were made before 1920, when homeopathic physicians and pharmacists began working with Rudolf Steiner, who recommended new medicinal substances as well as specific methods for preparing these. In 1921, Dr Ita Wegman opened the first anthroposophic medical clinic, now known as the Ita Wegman Clinic, in Arlesheim, Switzerland. Wegman was soon joined by a number of other doctors. They began to train the first anthroposophic nurses for the clinic.

At Wegman's request, Steiner regularly visited the clinic and suggested treatment regimes for particular patients. Between 1921 and 1925, he also gave several series of lectures on medicine. In 1925, Wegman and Steiner wrote the first book on the anthroposophic approach to medicine, Fundamentals of Therapy.

The clinic expanded and soon opened a branch in Ascona. Wegman lectured widely, visiting Holland and England particularly frequently, and an increasing number of doctors began to include the anthroposophic approach in their practices. A cancer clinic, the Lukas Clinic, opened in Arlesheim in 1963.

In the 1990s the Witten/Herdecke University in Germany established a chair in anthroposophical medicine. The press described the appointment as a "death sentence" and the perception that pseudoscience was being taught damaged the university's reputation, bringing it close to financial collapse. It was ultimately saved by a cash injection from Software AG, a technology corporation with a history of funding anthroposophic projects.

In 2006, anthroposophical medicine was practised in 80 countries.

In 2012 the University of Aberdeen considered establishing a chair in holistic health jointly funded by Software AG, and by the Anthroposophic Health, Education and Social Care Movement, each of which would provide £1.5 million of endowment. Edzard Ernst commented "that any decent university should even consider an anthroposophical medicine unit seems incomprehensible. The fact that it would be backed by people who have a financial interest in this bogus approach makes it even worse". The University's governance and nominations committee eventually decided not to proceed with the appointment.

Categorization and conceptual basis

The categorization of anthroposophical medicine is complex since in part it complements conventional medicine, and in part it replaces it. In recent times it has been promoted as an "extension to conventional medicine".

In 1992, a workshop on alternative medicine prepared a report for the NIH on various alternative medicines and concluded that anthroposophical medicine, when considered as an extension to mainstream medicine, had three foundations: naturopathy, homeopathy, and that mainstream medicine itself.

Edzard Ernst writes that Steiner used imagination and insight as a basis for his ideas, drawing mystical knowledge from the Akashic Records, which were accessible to him via his intuitive powers. Steiner proposed "associations between four postulated dimensions of the human body (physical body, etheric body, astral body, and ego), plants, minerals, and the cosmos". Steiner also outlined a connection betweens planets, metals and organs so that, for example, the planet Mercury, the element mercury and the lung were all associated. These affinities form the basis of anthroposophical medicine.

Ernst has said that anthroposophical medicine "includes some of the least plausible theories one could possibly imagine", categorized it as "pure quackery", and said that it has "has no basis in science". According to Quackwatch illness is regarded as a "rite of passage" necessary to purge spiritual impurities carried over from past lives, according to the precepts of "karmic destiny".

Methods

Anthroposophic drugs are prepared according to ancient notions of alchemy and homeopathy which are not related to the science underlying modern pharmacology: during the preparation process, the patterns formed by crystallization are interpreted to see which "etheric force" they most nearly correspond to. Most anthroposophic preparations are highly diluted, like homeopathic remedies, and while this means they are completely harmless in themselves, using them in place of conventional medicine to treat serious illness risks severe adverse consequences.

Edzard Ernst writes that as well as drug remedies, anthroposophical medicine also includes:

Anthroposphic Art Therapy – a therapy which includes "painting, drawing, clay modeling, music, or speech exercises".
Rhythmic massages
External applications
Counselling
Anthroposophic nursing

Immunization

Plant-derived treatments

To find remedies to treat a particular illness, physicians practising anthroposphical medicine consider the nature of the source of the substances used. The character of a mineral, plant or animal is considered to have been formed by the substances that are most active within it, such that this character may also reveal what the substance will accomplish when given to treat another organism. This is related to Samuel Hahnemann's Doctrine of signatures. Willow, for example, is considered to have an unusual character:

... plants that grow near water are usually heavy, with big, dark green leaves that wilt and break easily. An exception is... the white willow, a tree that always grows near water and loves light. However, unlike other "watery" plants, the willow has fine, almost dry leaves and looks very light... Its branches are unbelievably tough. They are elastic and cannot be broken. They bend easily and form "joints" rather than break. These few signatures can give us the clue to what salix can be used for therapeutically: arthritis, deformation of joints, swollen joints...

There is no scientific evidence that the shape of plants has ever caused a new medical property to be discovered. The intent of the medical approach is to consider both the effective substances and the character (not just shape) of the mineral, plant or animal these substances are drawn from, however.

Heart

Steiner described the heart as not a mechanical device in which the heartbeat can be distinguished from the blood circulation. For Steiner, the heart was a regulator of flow, flow that in the blood of the circulatory system is, as Marinelli put it, "propelled with its own biological momentum, as can be seen in the embryo, and boosts itself with induced momenta from the heart".

Mistletoe treatment for cancer

Rudolf Steiner proposed that mistletoe could cure cancer based on the observation that the plant was a parasite which eventually killed its host, so paralleling the progression of cancer. Steiner believed the plant had to be harvested at the right time, as its medical potential was influenced by the position of the sun, moon and planets. Some anthroposophical preparations are highly-diluted; others are made from fermented mistletoe. The most common trade names for the remedies are Iscador and Helixor.

According to the American Cancer Society, "available evidence from well-designed clinical trials does not support claims that mistletoe can improve length or quality of life".

In 2006 Edzard Ernst wrote that approximately 30 types of mistletoe extracts were available; and concluded that the treatment "has no proved benefit, and can cause harm". Mistletoe extracts are used as an unconventional treatment for cancer patients in the Netherlands and in Great Britain. In Germany, the treatment has been approved as palliative therapy to treat the symptoms of patients with malignant tumors. Various forms of mistletoe extract are available in Central Europe, where – a 2006 case study reports – it has been widely used. Mistletoe extracts may not be distributed in or imported into the US except for the purpose of clinical research.

References

^ Kienle, Gunver S.; Kiene, Helmut; Albonico, Hans Ulrich (2006). "Anthroposophische Medizin: Health Technology Assessment Bericht – Kurzfassung". Forschende Komplementärmedizin / Research in Complementary Medicine. 13 (2): 7. doi:10.1159/000093481. teils ergänzend und teils ersetzend zur konventionellen Medizin Cited in Ernst, E (2008). "Anthroposophic medicine: A critical analysis". MMW Fortschritte der Medizin. 150 Suppl 1: 1–6. PMID 18540325.
^ DIANE Publishing Company (1 July 1995). Alternative Medicine: Expanding Medical Horizons. DIANE Publishing. p. 86. ISBN 978-0-7881-1820-3.
^ Ernst, E. (2006). "Mistletoe as a treatment for cancer". BMJ. 333 (7582): 1282–3. doi:10.1136/bmj.39055.493958.80. PMC 1761165. PMID 17185706.
^ Ernst, E (2008). "Anthroposophic medicine: A critical analysis". MMW Fortschritte der Medizin. 150 Suppl 1: 1–6. PMID 18540325.
^ "Mistletoe". American Cancer Society. January 2013. Retrieved September 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
^ Ernst, E (2011). "Anthroposophy: A risk factor for noncompliance with measles immunization". The Pediatric infectious disease journal. 30 (3): 187–9. doi:10.1097/INF.0b013e3182024274. PMID 21102363.
^ Marinelli, R., Fuerst, B., et al. "The Heart is not a Pump: A refutation of the pressure propulsion premise of heart function", Frontier Perspectives 5(1), Fall-Winter 1995
^ Rawlings, Roger. "Rudolf Steiner's Quackery". QuackWatch. Retrieved 10 September 2012.
^ Paul A. Offit (2011). Deadly Choices: How the Anti-Vaccine Movement Threatens Us All. Basic Books. p. 13. ISBN 978-0-465-02356-1.
^ McKie, Robin; Hartmann, Laura (29 April 2012). "Holistic unit will 'tarnish' Aberdeen University reputation". The Observer.
^ Dugan, Dan. Michael Shermer (ed.). Anthroposophy and Anthroposophical Medicine. ABC-CLIO. pp. 31–32. ISBN 978-1-57607-653-8. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
^ Jump, Paul (11 May 2012). "Aberdeen decides against alternative medicine chair". Times Higher Education Supplement.
Ita Wegman Klinik (German). Accessed 2007-12-26.
Lukas Clinic. Accessed 2007-12-26.
Gunver Sophia Kienle; Helmut Kiene; Hans Ulrich Albonico (2006). Anthroposophic Medicine: Effectiveness, Utility, Costs, Safety. Schattauer Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7945-2495-2.
Ernst, E (2010). "Anthroposophic Medicine". Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies. 12: 66. doi:10.1111/j.2042-7166.2007.tb04893.x.
Hamre, HJ; Witt, CM; Glockmann, A; Ziegler, R; Willich, SN; Kiene, H (2007). "Anthroposophic art therapy in chronic disease: A four-year prospective cohort study". Explore. 3 (4): 365–71. doi:10.1016/j.explore.2007.04.008. PMID 17681256.
Hall, Alan (6 March 2002). "Anti-vaccine town struck by measles epidemic". The Times. p. 3.
Carroll, Robert Todd (21 May 2012). "Anthroposophic medicine". The Skeptics Dictionary. Retrieved October 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
Bennett, Bradley C. (2007). "Doctrine of Signatures: An Explanation of Medicinal Plant Discovery or Dissemination of Knowledge?". Economic Botany. 61 (3): 246–255 doi=10.1663/0013–0001. doi:10.1663/0013-0001. Retrieved 2008-08-31. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help); Missing pipe in: |pages= (help)
Angaben zu Pflanzeninhaltsstoffen bei Rudolf Steiner. Merkurstab 1994; 47:561- 80
James S. Olson (5 January 2005). Bathsheba's Breast: Women, Cancer, and History. JHU Press. p. 452. ISBN 978-0-8018-8064-3. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
Finall, A I; McIntosh, S A; Thompson, W D (2006). "Subcutaneous inflammation mimicking metastatic malignancy induced by injection of mistletoe extract". BMJ. 333 (7582): 1293–4. doi:10.1136/bmj.39044.460023.BE. PMC 1761174. PMID 17185712.
"Overview". Mistletoe Extracts (PDQ®). National Cancer Institute. July 2013. Retrieved October 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)

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Pseudoscience

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Medicine	Acupuncture Aromatherapy Adrenal fatigue Alternative medicine Anthroposophic medicine Applied kinesiology Ayurveda Bates method Biorhythms Bloodletting Body memory Chiropractic Chromotherapy Correactology Cryonics Crystal healing Cupping Detoxification Colon cleansing Doctrine of signatures Doktor Koster's Antigaspills Ear candling Electromagnetic hypersensitivity Energy medicine Fad diet FasciaBlaster Germ theory denialism HIV/AIDS denialism Homeopathy Humorism Iridology Leaky gut syndrome LGBT chemicals conspiracy theory Lunar effect Macrobiotic diet Magnet therapy Miracle Mineral Supplement Naturopathy Palmistry Panchagavya Patent medicine Phrenology Primal therapy Radionics Reiki Traditional medicine Traditional Chinese medicine Trepanning Vertebral subluxation Wind turbine syndrome Young blood transfusion
Social science	2012 phenomenon Ancient astronauts Arabian Judah theory Catastrophism Conspiracy theory 5G conspiracy 9/11 conspiracy theories Chemtrail conspiracy theory Climate change denial COVID-19 misinformation Moon landing conspiracy theories Conversion therapy Generational theory Generationism Strauss–Howe generational theory Hollow Earth theory Indigo children Japhetic theory Mediumship Nazi archaeology Nibiru cataclysm Parapsychology Pseudoarchaeology Pseudohistory Genocide denial Historical negationism Holocaust denial Pseudolaw Recovered-memory therapy Past life regression Scientific racism Aryan race Melanin theory Myers–Briggs Type Indicator Enneagram of Personality
Physics	Anti-gravity‎ Cold fusion‎ Faster-than-light travel‎ Perpetual motion‎ Quantum mysticism Reactionless drive Dean drive EMDrive Teleportation‎ Tractor beam Water-fueled car
Other	Alchemy Aquatic ape hypothesis Astrology Biodynamic agriculture Biological transmutation Creation science Cryptozoology Dianetics Auditing Dowsing Electronic voice phenomenon Eugenics Facilitated communication Feng shui Flat Earth theory Graphology Intelligent design Laundry ball Law of attraction Levitation Lysenkoism Numerology Orgone Polygraph Pseudoscientific metrology Rapid prompting method Statement analysis Ufology Voice stress analysis Water memory

Promoters of
pseudoscience

v t e Alternative medicine
Systems	Ayurveda Aromatherapy Bodywork Chiropractic Energy medicine Faith healing Herbalism Hydrotherapy Homeopathy Naturopathic medicine Orthopathy Osteopathy Shamanism Traditional Chinese medicine Traditional medicine Unani medicine
People	Mind-body intervention advocates Critics
Treatments	Biologically based therapy Energy therapy Manual and body-based methods Mind-body intervention
Public-health issues	Dental amalgams Growth hormone Vaccines Water fluoridation
Key terms	Alternative medicine Complementary medicine Glossary of alternative medicine Pseudoscience Skeptical movement
Contrary viewpoints	Evidence-based medicine Anti-quackery organizations

v t e Anthroposophy
Founding board members of the General Anthroposophical Society	Rudolf Steiner Albert Steffen Marie Steiner-von Sivers Elisabeth Vreede Gunther Wachsmuth Ita Wegman
Anthroposophists	Hilma af Klint Henri Bortoft Georg Kühlewind Ehrenfried Pfeiffer Theodor Schwenk Emil Bock Bernard Lievegoed Edith Maryon Sergei O. Prokofieff Peter Selg Jens Bjørneboe Aasmund Brynildsen Daniel Nicol Dunlop Zviad Gamsakhurdia John Fentress Gardner Walter Burley Griffin Karl König Robert A. McDermott Arthur Zajonc Douglas M. Sloan Marjorie Spock Walter Johannes Stein Ernst Lehrs Herbert Witzenmann Massimo Scaligero Ross Rentea Rudolf Hauschka Oskar Schmiedel Hermann Poppelbaum Alfred Meebold Wilhelm Rath Herbert Hahn Francis Edmunds Thomas Weihs Cecil Harwood Daphne Olivier Marguerite Lundgren Valborg Werbeck-Svärdström Wilhelm Ernst Barkhoff John Davy Jakob Streit Alfred Rexroth Ernst Weissert Michael Henry Wilson Margaret Cross Fried Geuter Arnold Freeman Rudi Lissau Margaret Bennell Edith Rigby Bertram Keightley Arild Rosenkrantz Eileen Hutchins Eleanor Merry Paul Nordoff Clive Robbins Violetta Plincke Hans Schauder George Adams Kaufmann Liane Collot d'Herbois Egil Tynæs Else Klink Carlo Pietzner Marta Fuchs Wolfgang Schad Julian Sleigh Botho Sigwart zu Eulenburg Johannes Tautz Vydūnas Willem Zeylmans van Emmichoven
Notable supporters	Saul Bellow Owen Barfield Andrei Bely Joseph Beuys Russell Davenport Wassily Kandinsky Selma Lagerlöf Albert Schweitzer Andrei Tarkovsky Bruno Walter Ibrahim Abouleish Nicanor Perlas Jacques Lusseyran Millicent Mackenzie Margaret McMillan
Cultural influences	Anthroposophic medicine Biodynamic agriculture Camphill Movement Eurythmy Threefold social order The Christian Community Waldorf education
Institutions and publications	Anthroposophical Society in America Associação Comunitária Monte Azul Demeter International General Anthroposophical Society GLS Bank Goetheanum Harduf SEKEM Triodos Bank Weleda

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