The AIDS study in detail

Can the thoughts of one person influence the well-being or the health of another person at a distance? Dr. med. Elisabeth Targ of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California in San Francisco has provided further indications of the effectiveness of so-called remote healing. Forty scientists from various research institutions in the USA, amongst them Dr. Targ, met in December 1998 in Harvard for a closed symposium on remote healing - or as the National Institute of Health put it somewhat more scientifically in its glossary: "Mental remote effect on biological systems". The three-day event was organised jointly by the Institute of Noetic Sciences and the Harvard University School of Medicine.

As one of the trials directors of two double-blind studies (neither the patients nor the researchers knew who was being treated by remote healers) carried out over five years and presented in Harvard, involving a total of 60 patients with advanced AIDS, Dr. Targ presented to the specialist public the amazing results of the studies: the mortality rate of the untreated control group was 40 %, whereas the group exposed to remote treatment suffered not a single fatality (both studies were published in the December issue of the Western Journal of Medicine). The positive trend continued to remain stable during the subsequent six-month observation phase. The sensitivity of the patients who had received treatment also improved significantly before and after the tests, not only in physical but also in psychic terms.

The healers were selected according to strict criteria; essential requirements for participation in the tests included a good reputation and experience with AIDS patients. Some of the remote healers were themselves physicians and psychologists, who use their apparent healing abilities in their practice, while others already worked in cooperation with doctors. The remote healing techniques applied in the test represented a wide range of healing methods: from faith healers (a Baptist priest) to a Qui-Gong master and a shaman, a wide range of traditional spiritual healing techniques were represented.

Although the results appear to be quite spectacular, Dr. Targ warns against premature enthusiasm: "Individual studies cannot necessarily demonstrate an effect. The two studies presented represent only the most recent work in an almost 40 year process of development, refinement and repetition of studies for the evaluation of remote healing trials. Both studies confirm such an effect in exactly the same way as other published results. This work however throws up many questions, which will be the subject of further studies: Which healing techniques or attitudes are the most helpful? Are there certain people who are more able than others to develop healing powers? Is remote healing more effective in the case of particular illnesses? What role does the patient play in the healing process? Is such healing an additive process, i.e. would it be worthwhile organising prayer groups or other remote healing groups? Are less certain biological paths which are particularly affected by healing efforts? And lastly of course: