de la homeopatía a la medicina de regulación fisiológica (2)

PHYSIOLOGICAL REGULATING MEDICINE 1/2008

FROM HOMEOPATHY TOPHYSIOLOGICAL REGULATINGMEDICINE: HIGHLIGHTS

Homeopathy, one of the inspiring back-grounds of Physiological Regulating Medi-cine, is founded on the “principle of simila-rity” and bases its treatment strategies onthe use of correctly diluted and potentisedsubstances according to the indications ofthe Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia.However, the concept of dilution seems tocontradict the conventional pharmaceuti-cal principles. Nevertheless basic researchand clinical studies have proved the scien-tific validity of homeopathy. The combina-tion of those new homeopathic achieve-ments, together with the realization of theimportance of the delicate homeostatic me-chanisms present in the human body hasbrought to the model of the PhysiologicalRegulating Medicine. In particular, the the-rapeutic use of cytokines, hormones andneuropeptides, diluted and potentised ac-cording to fundamental homeopathic prin-ciples, offers new highly effective treatmentoptions.With our approach, we can offer, as well asan innovative treatment system, even moreimportantly, a key to reading the complexi-ties of biological phenomena.

HOMEOPATHY,SIMILARITY CRITERION, DILUTION,POTENTISATION, HOMEOPATHISED HOR-MONES-CYTOKINES -NEUROPEPTIDES,COMPLEX BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS,PHYSIOLOGICAL REGULATING MEDICINE

SUMMARY

KEY WORDS

Ricottini L.

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Even if Homeopathy may seem to besome kind of folklore, the ItalianResearch Group took inspiration fromsome of the principles of ClassicHomeopathy, later updated by Dr. H. -H. Reckeweg (1905-1985) in his syn-thesis on Homotoxicology, to develop anew treatment strategy known asPhysiological Regulating Medicine(PRM).

The Group’s work started 10 years agoand was also inspired by the latestImmunology and Neuroendocrinologydiscoveries (PNEI).

In fact the work was founded principal-ly on the intuition of the saxon Dr. C. F.S. Hahnemann, the founder ofHomeopathy. But, as sometimes hap-pens, the children outstripped thefather, and so PRM, based on homeo-pathic ideas, is actually a completelydifferent thing. It is a physiological reg-ulating method based on scientific evi-dence and therefore a long way fromthe visions, sometimes based on “faith”of some classic homeopaths.

However, it seems important and cer-tainly useful for understanding this newmethod that we analyze the founda-tions of the homeopathic thought onwhich is part of its basis.

Speaking of Homeopathy today, that is,the branch of medicine which treats“like with like” (in ancient Greek, theword omeòs means “like”), there seemsto be a kind of resonance with com-monly used treatment methods.

We immediately think about anti-viralor anti-allergy vaccines.However, the use of vaccines is basedon the “principle of identity”, in otherwords the cure is prepared using sub-stances or materials which are the sameas those which can cause the illness(aequalia aequalibus), thus establishinga direct relationship between the patho-genic agent and the therapeutic agent.In Homeopathy, this principle of iden-tity gives way to the principle called the“criterion of similarity”. But it is thesecond principle on whichHomeopathy is based which, for many,is anomalous in the practice of medici-ne: the use, for therapeutic treatmentpurposes, of potentised and diluted sub-stances – so diluted that often there isno trace of them any more in the finalproduct. Inevitably, the use of suchmedicines, which may not even containone molecule of the original substance,forces the modern doctor to look at hisideas on Pharmacology and to confronta conceptual challenge: to identify apossible mechanism of action in ahomeopathic medicine, taking intoaccount the clinical results and treat-ment successes documented in a gro-wing number of protocol studies(Milani, 2002; Milani, 2008a).

In this respect, the effort made by theItalian PRM Group is notable.After long, careful analysis of the exist-ing vast homeopathic/ homotoxicologi-cal literature, the Advisory Committeeselected the publications which con-form to the criteria and scientific meth-ods currently adopted (Homeopathy:

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4-Art. Ricottini:Art. Colombo 29-10-2008 9:06 Pagina 31

the scientific proofs of efficacy. GunaEd., Milano, 2002, 1st edition). In thelight of what has been published itseems inevitable that we should beopen to alternative hypotheses whichalso touch on physical phenomenasince the effect of a homeopathic prod-uct cannot reasonably be correlatedwith mechanisms of a purely chemicaltype.

In recent years, well-known researchersand experts in the field of the exact sci-ences have come out in support of theidea that homeopathic medicine maybe effective, providing valuable con-ceptual tools for the clinician.In fact, it has been possible to establishcorrelations with the new discoveriesabout the chemical-physical propertiesof water (Del Giudice and Preparata,1998; Elia and Niccoli, 1999), theapplications of functional type elec-trodynamic diagnostics (Bellavite andSignorini, 1996) and finally the use ofsubstances, for treatment purposes,obtained according to the principle ofsimilarity and strongly diluted (Bellaviteand Signorini, 1995).

These correlations seem to validate theeffectiveness of homeopathic medicineand methods.

Let us analyze, so that we can re-read ina “modern” light, the two cardinalpoints of Homeopathy, which emergedfrom experimental studies carried outby the german Dr. C. F. SamuelHahnemann (1796):- the principle of similarity- the use of dilution.

The treatment of like with like is anancient principle existing in the historyof medicine right from its beginnings.However, in homeopathic medicine,the principle of similarity becomes thetheoretical nucleus of the entire treat-ment concept. Initially derived fromempirical evidence, the principle ofsimilarity is now based on some experi-mental evidence (Pennec and Aubin,1984; Lazzarato et al., 2007) and,although some of its aspects have still tobe investigated, the principle of simila-rity seems to be a possible key to rea-ding the complexity of biological phe-nomena (Bellavite, 1998).

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Let’s start with the traditional concept,expressed in Hahnemann’s own words(Organon of Medicine) so that we canunderstand better the idea of homeopa-thic similarity:“One imitates nature which sometimesheals one chronic disturbance byadding another and uses for the illnessthat remedy which is able to provokeanother artificial illness as similar as pos-sible to the one which it wants to cureand which it is able to cure: similia simi-libus” (Hahnemann, 1842). “Choosinga remedy for a specific natural illnesswhich is able to produce a very similarartificial illness, we can cure the moreobstinate illness” (ibid.). “Every singlecase of illness is much more surely, radi-cally, rapidly and definitively conqueredand cured when the medicine (whichtreats it) can produce in a healthy orga-nism in the most complete and similarway the totality of its symptoms, whichat the same time are stronger than theillness” (ibid.).To sum up, we can condense the classicformula of homeopathic similarity intothree points:- Every biologically active substance,whether it is a medicine or a toxin, amineral or a plant extract, or even abacterial product, produces some spe-cific characteristic symptoms in thebody of a person who takes it (proving)(Kent, 1991);- Every sick person presents symptomswhich are peculiar to the particularchanges which have affected them (andit is on these symptoms that we base thediagnosis of a pathology), but also andmore importantly, symptoms which arelinked to the person’s own individualreactivity and biological constitutionand which are therefore personalsymptoms;- The recovery of a sick person may beinduced or encouraged by administeringa specific substance in the correct dilu-tion (or with a high molecular dispersionof the active component). This substancecan produce in a healthy person the samesymptoms present in the pathology.From an analysis of these three points, itis clear that the homeopathic Principleof Similarity is founded on a similarity ofsymptoms which is mainly subjectiveand therefore not acceptable to conven-tional medicine which generally tries totake account of objective data.

In short, the choice of a medicine madeon the basis of individual symptoms(even if they are specific) would seem tobe contradictory to the guidelines dicta-ted by modern scientific medicine,which looks for biochemical and mole-cular confirmation. In reality this con-tradiction is more apparent than real.We can in fact, regard every symptomas the clinical expression of a series ofunderlying physiopathological and bio-chemical changes. Craving, or the over-whelming yearning for sweet foods,especially in the evening, may dependon a reduction in serotonin levels.The desire for liquid, or thirst, can beinterpreted as a hypothalamic-pituitaryresponse to liquid depletion (profusesweating, diarrhea, blood loss etc.).A high temperature is well known to bea response by the heat regulation cen-ters in the hypothalamus to the release,activated by inflammation, of cytokinesby specific cells.

In good medical practice, however, it isalways the clinical symptom whichdetermines a request for blood analysesor lab and other tests, never the con-trary.

So if we analyze the problem from thisperspective, homeopathic medicalpractice differs from the conventionalmainly in the integration of all the infor-mation gathered from its own diagno-stic procedures: the use of symptomsand signs on the basis of the procedurecodified by Hahnemann could evenoffer different (but not conflicting) levelsof comprehension of the pharmacologi-cal properties of biologically activecompounds.- Let’s see why.

According to the principle of similarity,a substance capable of producing aseries of disturbances in a healthy, sen-sitized body which manifest themselvesas symptoms or as changes of a physio-logical type, could act on these samesymptoms, or on changes which can beconnected to them, when they are partof a pathological picture.This hypothesis can be rationally accep-table if we consider that every substan-ce, if it is capable of producing in ahealthy organism symptoms similar tothose produced by an illness, would in


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To summarize: the raw materials areprepared by extracting the active com-ponents, which is done after dissolvingin hydro-alcoholic mixtures or, if thesubstance is insoluble, after a process ofpulverization and crushing in lactosefollowed by dissolving in water andalcohol.The starting solutions for all dilutions ofhomeopathic remedies are known asMother Tinctures and contain the maxi-mum concentration of the active ingre-dients.They cannot be considered homeopa-thic medicines.The later dilutions, which constitute thetrue homeopathic remedies, are alwayssubmitted to succussion (vigorous agita-tion or potentisation). According tosome authors, it is the succussion itselfwhich causes the physical phenomenawhich give the homeopathic solution itsparticular properties (Elia et al., 2005).These researchers base their hypothesison laboratory experiments conductedon water using tried and trusted techni-cal methods. These experiments haveshown that new chemical-physical pro-perties arise in the water when it is usedas a solvent in a homeopathic dilution(Elia and Niccoli, 1999) and subse-quently vigorously agitated.

The new properties of the “homeopa-thic” water can be explained by hypo-thesizing the presence of dissipatorystructures in it, which have formedspontaneously. Inside a dissipatorysystem, that is, one which can give outall of its internally produced energy(Prigogine, 1980), there is a network of“coherent dominions” or areas in whichall the molecules move in set phases,setting in motion a chemical interactionchannel which is much faster than thediffuse channels in which the moleculesmeet through chance movements(Del Giudice and Preparata, 1998).Inside the water constituting the livingmatter, dominions of coherence can beobserved and biological water posses-ses the property called coherence.The experiments referred to allow us tohypothesize that the potentised watertoo possesses the same properties ofcoherence, suggesting a possible linkbetween chemical and electromagneticphenomena.

But let’s go back to the preparation ofhomeopathic medicine (FrenchPharmacopeia 10th edition; HAB 2000).

Homeopathic dilutions can be preparedin different strengths: Decimal scales (X)when one part of the concentrated tinc-ture is diluted with 9 parts of solvent;hundredths scales (C) when one part ofthe concentrated solution is dilutedwith 99 parts of solvent.There are also other dilution scaleswhose preparation is particularly com-plex.Homeopathic potencies can be identi-fied according to the following dilutionbands (see FIG. 1):- Low potencies: prepared using thedecimal scale between 2X and 8X or,on the hundredths scale, between 1Cand 4C. It is calculated that this lowlevel of dilution has molecular concen-trations of potentially active agents bet-ween 10-5 e 10-12 (Linde et al., 1997)depending also on the concentration ofthe original extract.- Medium potencies (medium dilu-tions): prepared on the decimal scalebetween 9X and 23X or, on the hun-dredths scale between 5C and 11C.They are highly diluted preparations,but in theory, contain at least somemolecules.- High potencies (high or very high dilu-

some way “touch” those same(or similar) homeodynamic regulatingsystems which are activated (and evenaltered) when the illness starts.On the basis of the Principle of theInversion of Effects, scientifically calledhormesis (in Milani, 2008b), one wouldexpect that the homeodynamic systemaltered by the illness would respond tothe same substance in the opposite way(always in relation to the state of sensi-tization and responsiveness of thesystem and according to the dosesused), encouraging the healing processin this way (Calabrese, 2001; Calabrese,2005).It is worth briefly mentioning this prin-ciple, which rules biological response.

Arndt and Shultz, when working onyeasts, observed that various types oftoxic substances (iodine, bromide, mer-curic chloride, arsenic acid, etc.) had astimulating effect on metabolism ifadministered at low doses and, on thecontrary, an inhibitory effect if admini-stered at high doses.This observation led to the formulationof the Principle of the Inversion ofEffects which can be applied to all bio-logical systems including that ofhumans. Weak stimuli provoke biologi-cal activity, strong stimuli suppress it.

In other words, the effect of a certainsubstance changes diametrically accor-ding to whether it is used in heavy orinfinitesimal doses.

On this subject, before turning to someexperiments relating to the above prin-ciple, it would seem opportune to lookat the question of homeopathic dilu-tion/potentisation (“potencies”) whichcovers a wide range of concentrationsin molecular terms. The widespreadopinion that homeopathic remedies arealways simply “plain water” becausethey contain no molecules of the origi-nal substance is not correct.In reality, some of the homeopathicmedicines contain molecular quantitiesof the active components, even if in lowto extremely low concentrations.The techniques for preparing the diffe-rent types of remedies are codified indetail by the different Pharmacopeias,the most important of which are theFrench and German ones.

FIG. 1


tions): prepared on the decimal scale atover 24X or over 12C on the hundredthsscale. They are preparations in whichthe dilution exceeds the Avogadro num-ber and they do not contain any mole-cules of the original preparation.As one of the main topics of argumentin homeopathic theory is about the pos-sibility that pharmacological propertiesmay exist in the absence of molecules,the subject of high homeopathic dilu-tions is connected to the subjects of

water biophysics and electromagnetismof which we have already spoken (DelGiudice et al., 2007; Elia and Napoli,2007). We could hypothesize that ahighly diluted medicine (containing litt-le or none of the original solution) pos-sesses high information content capa-ble, in the particular conditions wherethe system is sensitised, of forming akind of orientation towards therapeuticreorganization (Bellavite, 1998).This view of a medicine as a “catalyst”


for reorganization means that we canlook at the illness itself in a new way.It would be (at least in the initial stages)like a disturbance in a series of electro-magnetic communications betweenmolecules making up tissues, nervecenters and organs. These, in the finalanalysis, are biological structures madeup of elements oscillating at coherentand specific frequencies and thereforecapable of resonance. Up to now theworking hypotheses of researchersin the different branches of scientificknowledge (chemistry, physics, biology)have been based on looking for anexplanation for the growing number ofobserved “facts”.These facts are the good clinical resultsobtained by doctors who are expert inHomeopathy, even though not alwaysin randomized studies.These facts are also all the laboratoryexperiments carried out to validate thehypothesis of a possible biologicaleffect of homeopathic preparations.One among many is the experiment ofConney and Burns (Conney and Burns,1963) (FIG. 2). The two English scientistscarried out particularly interesting expe-riments on rats. The laboratory animalswere given intraperitoneal injections ofmassive doses of methylcholanthrene,an azulene dye with strong hepatocarci-nogenic properties (similar experimentscan be conducted using CCl4).The rats rapidly developed degenerativepathology of the liver. At a second stagethe same animals were given decrea-sing doses of methylcholanthrene untilthey reached a homeopathic concentra-tion of 3X-4X (10-3-10-4).At this point the degeneration was seento regress.The hypothesis, based on the Arndt-Shultzlaw of inverse effect, is that the infinitesi-mal doses of methylcholanthrene couldhave stimulated the synthesis of a specificanti-toxin enzyme (N-dimethylamino-oxi-dase) in the hepatocytes capable of neu-tralizing the methylcholanthrene molecu-les.The scientists observed also that the antito-xin-specific enzymes were not only activeagainst themethylcholanthrenewhich hadinduced them but also towards all the azo-dyes, that is, towards the “poisons” similarto methylcholanthrene capable of indu-cing degenerative damage to the hepa-tocytes (criterion of similarity).

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FIG. 2

FIG. 3


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Another significant experiment is thaton beta-galactosidase (Wallenfels andWeil, 1972) (FIG. 3).Beta-galactosidase is a hydrolyticenzyme which is a catalyst for hydroly-sis of terminal residues of β - D - galac-tose in well-known polysaccharides likeβ-galactosidase, through breaking theβ-glycosidase terminal links.Beta-galactosidase plays a furtherimportant role in the story of molecularbiology in that the E. coli bacteria genewhich codifies for this enzyme, calledLacZ, was the first example studied indetail of the regulation of geneticexpression of which it constitutes a clas-sic model (Kuby and Lardy, 1953). Infact this gene is part of a body of genesregulated in a coordinated way (oper-one lac), whose expression depends onthe presence or absence of lactose andon other sources of energy involved ingrowth.Beta-galactosidase synthesis is thereforeinduced by the substratum of the reac-tion, i.e. the lactose.It is known that lactose is a dimerformed by one molecule of galactoseand one of glucose joined together by aβ-glycoside link.The lactose dimer as such, cannot beused by the organism.The β-galactosidase is indispensable forhydrolyzing the β-glycoside link andliberating the glucose and galactose sothat the organism can make use of thevaluable glucose.Wallenfels and Weil’s experimentshowed that if galactose-glycerin (a mol-ecule quite similar to lactose althoughformed of galactose and glycerin insteadof glucose) and not lactose itself wasused in the experimental system (E. coliculture), a strange phenomenon wasnoted: the speed of the reaction increas-es because of greater induction of the β-galactosidase (Principle of Similarity) andit increases more when the galactose-

glycerin is diluted more(Principle of Inverse Effect).An enzyme induction effect isseen starting from a concen-tration of 1:10.000, that is...the homeopathic 4X dilution.It is surprising to note that thesame induction effects areobserved in concentration Msof 10-20 molecules of galac-tose-glycerin for every incu-

bating E. coli cell, that is dilutions ofabout 22X-23X.

- In the light of the above, it was possi-ble to develop a therapeutic systemfounded on the use of substances witha biological action, such as cytokines,hormones and neurotransmitters in ahomeopathic form.We know that these substances, whichare produced in our body, can be con-sidered the indispensable “phonemes”for structuring intercellular language,that is, they are capable of transmittinginformation between groups of cellsbelonging to different tissues working insynergy. Cytokines, hormones and neu-rotransmitters, correctly diluted andpotentised, become active, probablythrough a mechanism of sensitization,on the corresponding cellular receptors,not with steric type properties, butrather using an “information” system.The result of the action of these medici-nes is a physiological modulation of thecell’s activity, when this is inhibited ordisturbed by endogenous or exogenousstressors which are too aggressive, andrestoration of the capacities for cellularself-regulation which are indispensablefor maintaining homeostasis.- In conclusion, it is possible to considerHomeopathy as the basis of a realPhysiological Regulating Medicine, inthat a purely biological therapeuticsystem is founded on the homeopathicprinciples of similarity anddilution/potentisation.

This therapeutic system supports andassists the self-regulation typical ofliving matter, acting on the modulationof the delicate mechanisms which con-trol the neuro- endocrino-immunologynetwork (FIG. 4). �

References

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2. Bellavite P., Signorini A. – Biologische Wirkungenelectromagnetischer Fielden. In: Homöopathie undBioresonanztherapie. PhysiologischeundPhysikalischeVoraussetzungen Grundlagenforschung (P.C. End-ler und J.Schulte, Hrsg.). Medizinverlag Maudrich,Wien; 1996. 65-76.

3. Bellavite P. – Biodinamica: basi fisiopatologiche etracce di metodo per una Medicina Integrata. Tecni-che Nuove, Milano; 1998.

4. Calabrese E.J. – The future of hormesis: where dowe go from here? Crit.Rev.Toxicol; 2001. Jul.31 (4-5): 637-48.

5. Calabrese E.J. – Toxicological awakenings: the re-birth of hormesis as a central pillar of toxicology.To-xicol. Appl. Pharmacol; 2005. 204 (1): 1-8 review.

6. ConneyA.H.,BurnsJ.J.-InAdvanc.Enzyme Regul., Vol.1, Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1963.

7. Del Giudice E., Preparata G. – A new QED pictureof water: understanding a few fascinating pheno-mena. Sassaroli et Al. Editors, Macroscopic Quan-tum Coherence, World Scientific; 1998. 49-64.

8. Del Giudice E. et Al. - Il ruolo dell’acqua nella ma-teria vivente. La Med. Biol., 2007/4; 37-39.

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10. Elia V., Niccoli M. – New physico-chemical proper-ties of extremely diluted aqueous solutions. Journalof Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry;2004. 75: 815-836.

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12. Elia V., Napoli, E. - Strutture dissipative nelle solu-zioni estremamente diluite della medicina omeopa-tica. La Med. Biol., 2007/4; 13-22.

13. Hahnemann C.F.S. – Essay on a new principle forascertaining the curative power of drugs, and someexaminations of the previous principles. Hufeland’sJournal; 1796. 2: 391-439.

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15. Kent J.T. – Lezioni di filosofia omeopatica.Red, Co-mo; 1991.

16. Kuby S.A., Lardy H.A. - Purification and kinetics ofβ-galactosidase from Escherichia Coli, strain K-12.J.Am. Chem. Soc. 75 (1953) 890-6.

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19. Milani L. (Advisory Committee Coordinator) - Ho-meopathy; the scientific proofs of efficacy. GunaEd., Milano; 2002.

20. Milani L. (Coordinatore dell’International AdvisoryCommittee) - Omeopatia-Omotossicologia. Gli stu-di scientifici che ne provano l’efficacia. Guna Ed.,Milano; 2008; 4th edition (a).

21. Milani L. - Da un dogma infranto al futuro dellescienze bio-mediche low dose. L’ormesi e il princi-pio omeopatico di similitudine. La Med. Biol.,2008/2; 21-31 (b).

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Author's address

Dr. Lucilla Ricottini, MD- Specilist in PaediatricsVia Eutropio, 33I - 00136 Roma

FIG. 4


de la homeopatía a la medicina de regulación fisiológica (2)

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