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CONTINUING HOMŒOPATHIC MEDICAL EDUCATION SERVICES

QUARTERLY HOMŒOPATHIC DIGEST

VOL. XXX, 3 & 4, 2013.

Part I Current Literature Listing

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Part I of the journal lists the current literature in Homœopathy drawn from the well-known

homœopathic journals published world-over - India, England, Germany, France, Brazil, USA,

etc., - discipline-wise, with brief abstracts/extracts. Readers may refer to the original articles for

detailed study. The full names and addresses of the journals covered by this compilation are

given at the end of Part I. Part II contains selected essays/articles/extracts, while Part III carries

original articles for this journal, Book Reviews, etc.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

I. PHILOSOPHY

1. Homöopathie und Medizin theorie

(Homœopathy and Medicine Theory)

WISCHNER, Matthias (ZKH. 55, 4/2011)

There has been and still in, frequent questions

whether Homœopathy is a Medical Science and if yes,

then the question, how? The discussions so far have

been on general Philosophy of Science.

Attempts have also been made to ‘fit’ Homœopathy

within the general folds of (material) Science but such

attempts have been, naturally, clumsy.

WISCHNER argues that Homœopathy should be

considered only with regard to Philosphy of Medicine.

It has to be considered only in practical application.

[It should be recalled that HAHNEMANN called it

‘Heilkunde der Erfahrung’ – Practical Therapeutics.

Attention is invited to the small booklet “Die Idee der

Wissenschaft bei Samuel Hahnemann, by Dr. Phil.

Ekkehard Fräntzki, Haug Verlag, 1976. = KSS].

========================================

II. MATERIA MEDICA

1. Verifications, Falsifications, Clinical Symptoms

LUCAE, Christian

(ZKH. 55, 4, 2011)

1. Fever Cramps – Cicuta virosa

An year and seven months old boy: suffered from

Fever Cramps four weeks before and another seizure

two days before. Every time brought to Emergency.

Except Fever no other symptoms were available.

Meningitis was excluded.

Some hours before the Spasm the child was angry,

shrieked shrilly and threw herself on the floor. After the

first attack of spasm the shriek set in for an hour

nonstop until she became much tired. With the attack,

the fever developed slowly, the head was hot, the feet

cold and the arm and ball of feet twisted, foam at the

mouth. With the second attack he fell on his back, the

muscle tone was increased, the eyes turned upward to

the left. The body temperature was 38.3˚C (rectal), the

attack lasted 5-6 minutes and stopped after Diazepam.

He began to bite very severely after the first attack.

Weeks before the attack he was restless and there was

an opisthotonal position. Otherwise he was very

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restless and wild. He danced regularly and constantly

turned around in circle.

Had love of Eggs, ate a whole Chalkpiece and Coal.

After repertorisation and study of Materia Medica

Cicuta virosa 200 was given and repeated twice in 10

months. The child remained well.

The Materia Medica Pura and Guiding

Symptoms give only “Coal” as per Proving but no

“Chalk”, ‘Chalk’ has entered into the Repertory may be

from Clinical Cases. [BOENNINGHAUSEN also gives

only desire for ‘Coal’. = KSS]

2. Surviving Radiation: Diospyros Kaki – The World

Tree

CREVELD Marijike (HH. 36, 1/2011)

This article is a reprint. It has been mentioned in

the QHD also – may be 10 years ago. It is once again

mentioned here to draw attention to its relevance to

Cancer.

This tree, Diospyros Kaki, survived the Plutonium

bomb dropped on Nagasaki in 1945. Large city was

destroyed but this tree which was close to the epicenter

of the explosion survived!

The author gives cases in which surgery,

chemotherapy and Radiation have been helped and who

suffer from adverse effects have been helped by

Diospyros Kaki.

There is a study which points that honey bees lose

their way to return to their hive – this is called ‘Colony

Collapse Disorder’; Radiation is linked with this. There

is also the longterm exposure to mobile phone radiation

causing tumors in experimental rats. Therefore a

remedy to treat the ill effects of radiation is badly

needed.

[It is not clear whether there was a Hahnemannian

Proving and if so its symptoms. Also the availability of

this medicine, which promises to be of very great help

to Cancer sufferers = KSS.]

3. Delusions; thoughts come from the right side of

neck – Moreton Bay Fig

GRAY, Alastair (HH. 36, 2 & 3/2011)

Moreton Bay Fig was a Proving conducted in 1999

at Nature Care College in Sydney, Australia. The

Proving was done with a large number of provers with

11 students. Several symptoms were observed during

the trituration and succussion stages. As has been

observed in the last two decades a large number of

‘mental’ symptoms have been recorded. Part II of the

article gives the symptoms in the ‘Schema’ form.

4. Identifying the Kali group

MASTER, Farokh J. (HH. 36, 3/2011)

The title is self-explanatory

Symptoms are given covering all the Kali salts in

general. The author says, “… all the symptoms and

observations mentioned have been confirmed in my

practice.”

========================================

III. THERAPEUTICS

1. Breathe Easy!

Break free from the anguish of Asthma –

Homœopathy has answers

GOODMAN-HERRICK, Pearlyn

(HT. 32, 3/2012)

An estimated 25 million Americans have Asthma

and the number has been growing steadily. Asthma is

believed to cost U.S. economy $56 billion per year.

More than 3000 people in the U.S. die of Asthma each

year.

An estimated 70% of people with Asthma also have

allergies. Cold air, exercise and emotions trigger

Asthma.

Conventional medicine views Asthma as

controllable not as curable. Common medicines are

corticosteroids.

Homœopathy succeeds in reducing both the

intensity and frequency of asthmatic episodes. It offers

an opportunity to build the person’s immune system.

A 7-year-old boy with Asthma was sympathetic,

afraid of dark, of being alone, and thunderstorms.

Thirsty for cold drinks. Phosphorus made him better.

In six months no longer troubled with Asthma.

Jenny 42, periodic episodes of wheezing seemed

worse in Summer and Fall. Tight feeling in chest,

between midnight and 2 a.m. Had her first attack at 10

years with a fear of being abandoned. Neat, freak.

Chilly overall. Arsenicum 200. Over the next four

months, her breathing difficulties gradually receded. In

a year 90% better.

2. A matter of Life & Breath: Quick Action Against

Asthma

HAM, Natalie (HT. 32, 3/2012)

Stephanie, 6, with Asthma since an infant. First

allergic shiners, obstructed and runny nose and itchy

eyes along with Asthma symptoms. Her mother would

treat her naturally with change in diet, herbs and

vitamins. “Always overheated”. Complaining of being

hot all the time. Cough worse around 0300hrs. Worse

from warmth. Face red while coughing.

Desire to be uncovered.

Sulphur 200c. Within 15 minutes, cough

decreased. No wheezing.

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Next day briefly woke up at 3 a.m. and slept off.

Cough decreased by 90%. Less aggravated by heat and

was in better mood.

Sulphur 200 three times a day for few more days.

5 days later, relapse. Sulphur 1M. A month later,

no longer having any symptoms.

Based on her sensitivity to criticism and

reprimands, sensitivity to animals, strong desire to be by

the ocean, Carcinosin 30.

A year later minimal coughing in the allergy

season.

3. Forschende Praktiker?

Falldokumentation in der homöopathischen Praxis

(Case Recording in Homœopathic Practice)

KESSLER, Ulrike (ZKH. 55, 4/2011)

A small study of the Practice by homœopaths with

reference to case documentation and study of the

outcome for further development of practice, is

presented.

How is the case documented? In Electronic base

(Computer)? How and what symptoms are chosen for

repertorisation? Is the Computer Repertory used what

details are documented or the Conventional one?

Which symptoms and in which order did they go? How

much time does one take for the Interview, the first and

the subsequent follow-up interviews, etc. etc.

In this way the Practitioner becomes a researcher

too.

Proper Protocol will help right study of Materia

Medica and methods which are successful.

4. Zur Dosierung der homöopathischen Arzneimittel

(On dosage of homœopathic medicine)

DINGLER, Werner and RISSEL, Rogel

(ZKH. 55, 4/2011)

There is confusion in the minds of several

homœopaths as to what HAHNEMANN meant by

‘dose’, ‘small dose’, etc.

Source references from 1797 when HAHNEMANN

gave raw substances, 1800 (succussion and dilution)

1806, 1809, 1816 (varied succussions, dilutions) 1821,

1824, 1832, 1833, 1837, 1842, (Q potencies).

In 1832 he corrected his strict advice of one dose

only and wait, and instructed that in chronic diseases the

same medicine can be repeated in 7, 9, 12, 14 days as

required. He also advised smelling of one globule.

In the last edition of Chronic Diseases he advised

the dissolution of one globule in water and from that

solution a dose may be given after stirring the solution

vigorously.

In 1842 he advised to give the dose/s according to

the individual cases.

It is seen from a careful study of the sources,

HAHNEMANN meant the size, volume of the pill and

not the dynamisation, when he mentioned a ‘dose’.

5. Randomized controlled pilot study to compare

Homœopathy and Conventional therapy in Acute

Otitis Media

SINHA, MN., SIDDIQUI, VA, NAYAK, C. et al

(HOM. 101, 1/2012)

Objective: To compare the effectiveness of

Homœopathy and Conventional therapy in Acute Otitis

Media (AOM).

Method: A randomized placebo-controlled parallel

group pilot study of homœopathic vs conventional

treatment for AOM was conducted in Jaipur, India.

Patients were randomized by a computer generated

random number list to receive either individualized

homœopathic medicines in fifty millesimal (LM)

potencies, or conventional treatment including

analgesics, antipyretics and anti-inflammatory drugs.

Patients who did not improve were prescribed

antibiotics at the 3rd day. Outcomes were assessed by

the Acute Otitis Media-Severity of Symptoms (AOM-

SOS) Scale and Tympanic Membrane Examination over

21 days.

Results: 81 patients were included, 80 completed

follow-up: 41 for conventional and 40 for homœopathic

treatment. In the Conventional group, all 40 (100%)

patients were cured, in the Homœopathy group, 38

(95%) patients were cured while 02 (5%) patients were

lost to the last two follow-up. By the 3rd day of

treatment, 4 patients were cured in Homœopathy group

but in Conventional group only one patient was cured.

In the Conventional group antibiotics were prescribed in

39 (97.5%), no antibiotics were required in the

Homœopathy group. 85% of patients were prescribed

six homœopathic medicines.

Conclusion: Individualized Homœopathy is an

effective conventional treatment in AOM, there were no

significant differences between groups in the main

outcome. Symptomatic improvement was quicker in the

Homœopathy group, and there was a large difference in

antibiotic requirements, favouring Homœopathy.

Further work on a larger scale should be conducted.

6. Homœopathy in paediatric atopic diseases: long-

term results in children with atopic dermatitis

ROSSI, Elio; BARTOLI, Paola et al

(HOM. 101, 1/2012)

Aim: To study the socio-demographic features, the

prescribed remedies and the outcome of atopic diseases

in children treated with Homœopathy at the

Homœopathic Clinic of Lucca (Italy), and the long-term

outcome of children suffering from atopic dermatitis

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(AD) after an approximate 8-year period (range 5-10

years).

Methods: Our data derived from an observational

longitudinal study carried out on 213 children (38.6%)

with atopic diseases out of 551 children consecutively

examined from September 1998 to December 2008. We

used the Glasgow Homœopathic Hospital Outcome

Score to evaluate the results that were classified on the

basis of a Likert scale.

Results: Eighty-three (39%) children were affected by

Asthma, 51 (24%) by allergic rhinoconjunctivitis, 76

(36%) by AD and 3 (1%) by food intolerance. Follow-

up patients were 104 (48.8%), and 65 (62.5%) of them

reported a major improvement or resolution. The

parents of paediatric patients suffering from AD, who

had started homœopathic treatment at < 4.9 years of age

were examined; 28/40 (70%) had a complete

disappearance of AD, 12/40 children (30.0%) were still

affected by AD; 8/40 (20%) had asthma and 8/40

patients had, or developed, allergic rhinitis.

Conclusion: These preliminary results seem to confirm

a positive therapeutic effect of Homœopathy in atopic

children. Furthermore, according to the data from the

literature paediatric patients treated with Homœopathy

seem to show a reduced tendency to maintain AD and

develop Asthma (and allergic rhinitis) in adult age.

7. Monitoring improvement in health during

homœopathic intervention. Development of an

assessment tool based on Hering’s Law of Cure the

Hering’s Law Assessment Tool (HELAT)

BRIEN, Sarah, B., HARRISON, Hugh, and

LEWITH, George (HOM. 101, 1/2012)

Introduction: Hering’s ‘Law of Cure’ is considered

important in Homœopathy and thought to predict a

positive outcome to treatment. No formal outcome

measures are currently available to monitor response to

homœopathic treatment on the basis of these

assumptions. We describe a simple assessment tool, the

Hering’s Law Assessment Tool (HELAT) to identify

and differentiate patient responses to homœopathic

treatment as corresponding to Hering’s Law from other

symptomatic responses. We describe the development

of the tool and assess its face, content and predictive

validity.

Method: The HELAT was initially developed through

literature review, discussion between homœopaths and

clinically experienced homœopaths to assess face and

content validity. In phase two, we tested its predictive

validity by hypothesizing that the HELAT total score

may predict changes in a clinical response (using

standard validated rheumatological outcome, the

American College of Rheumatology (ACR) 20%) in 32

patients with rheumatoid arthritis receiving

homœopathic intervention over 24 weeks as part of a

clinical trial.

Results: The HELAT was piloted and changed to

improve face and content validity and the final version

was then employed for phase two as a predictor of

outcome. HELAT total score predicted patient’s

clinical response (ACR20) [B= 1.142, SE = 0.462, P =

0.013] which was independent of practitioner assessing

the patients treatment response [B = 1.04, SE = 1.01, P

= 0.302].

Conclusion: The initial data suggests that the HELAT

may hold promise for a potential clinical and research

outcome measure in Homœopathy. Further work is now

needed to formally assess its reliability and validity for

potential use in clinical practice and trials.

8. Homœopathic medicines substantially reduce the

need for clotting factor concentrates in haemophilia

patients: results of a blinded placebo controlled

cross over trial

KUNDU, Tapas, SHAIKH, Afroz, KUTTY, Afzal,

& et al. (HOM. 101, 1/2012)

Background: Modern management of Haemophilia

patients is expensive: 90% of expenditure is on clotting

factor concentrates. Any intervention which reduces the

need for clotting factor concentrates in these patients

without compromising the quality of life is of interest.

Aims and objectives: To investigate the effectiveness

of individualized homœopathic medicines in reducing

the requirement of factor concentrates in haemophilia

patients.

Materials and Methods: In a single blind placebo

controlled cross over trial 28 consecutive persons with

haemophilia (PWH) with severe (24) or moderately

severe (4) disease received standard management with

placebo Homœopathy for 1 year and active

homœopathic treatment in the subsequent year with the

same conventional management. There was no wash

out period. They received standard managements for

any acute emergency during the study period.

Development of inhibitor during the study period was a

withdrawal criterion. Sample size for the trial was

calculated as 24 PWH.

Transfusion requirements, bleeding scores, pain scores

were evaluated blind by independent experts.

Homœopathic medicines were selected by experienced

homœopathic physicians depending on clinical

condition of the patient. Chi-squared and paired t tests

were used in statistical analysis.

Results: 28 patients were recruited. Homœopathic

medicines improved frequency of bleeding, extent of

bleeding, blood products consumed and pain scores (P <

0.0001). There was also significant improvement in

well being. Plasma levels of clotting factors did not

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change. No patients developed inhibitors during the

study there were no drop-outs.

Conclusion: Individualised homœopathic medicines

may have an important supportive role in the

management of PWH, where blood products and factor

concentrates are not easily available. Larger, perhaps

multicentric trials are warranted.

9. Frequently occurring polar symptoms assessed by

successful cases

RUTTEN, Lex (ALB) and FREI, Heiner

(HOM. 101, 2/2012)

Background: Frequently occurring symptoms with

opposite poles like ‘Cold ameliorates/aggravates’ are

regarded valuable for homœopathic practice, but are

insufficiently assessed and impossible to handle with

conventional repertorisation.

Method: In a pilot study 30 questions out of a standard

questionnaire in 102 cases responding well to five

medicines were analysed and compared with a control

group of 100 consecutive new cases. Outcomes of a

pivot table, Likelihood Ratio (LR) calculations and

Multivariate Analysis (MVA) were compared.

Results: Some questions were less useful than expected.

With an average of 4.8 useful answers per patient and

moderate LRs this questionnaire provided substantial

information. MVA was useful in emphasizing

differences between medicines and for differential

diagnosis.

Conclusion: The value of frequently occurring

symptoms could be much enhanced by scientific

assessment. We propose further research with an

improved questionnaire.

10. Homœopathic aggravation with

Quinquagintamillesimal potencies

ROSSI, Elio; BARTOLI, Paola et al

(HOM. 101, 2/2012)

Introduction: Homœopathic aggravation is the

exacerbation of some symptoms or the whole

pathological situation, followed by improvement of the

patient’s conditions.

Aim: To evaluate the typology, intensity and frequency

of homœopathic aggravation, especially with

Quinquagintamillesimal (Q, LM) potencies and its

prognostic value.

Methods: The homœopathic prescription strategy

evaluated consists in the administration of a single

homœopathic medicine in Q dilutions, starting with 6Q,

then a progressive scale of Q potencies. Patients whose

symptoms could be attributed to a wrong and in-

appropriate prescription, according to the criteria

previously described, were excluded.

Results Data was collected on 1108 patients

consecutively visited from 3rd October 2002 to 31st

December 2007, and 441 cases followed for at least 2

months (40% of total cases). 63 of these cases (14%

reported homœopathic aggravation: 7% reported

‘slight’, 5% ‘medium’, 2% ‘intense’ and 0.4% ‘very

intense’ aggravation. Homœopathic aggravation was

present in 21% of paediatric patients (≤ 14 years).

About 50% of the cases manifested homœopathic

aggravation 1 or 2 days after the prescription and for

67% of patients the symptoms lasted 1 week or less.

Patients with aggravation of the original disease had

significantly greater improvement than those patients

showing the aggravation of other, new or different,

symptoms or conditions, or no aggravation.

Conclusions: These data show that homœopathic

aggravation with Q potencies is quite frequent in

homœopathic clinical practice and seems to be

associated with better treatment outcome.

11. Homœopathy in Cancer

MASTER, Farokh (HH. 36, 1/2011)

Dr. MASTER writes about his experience with

some remedies in Cancer which have given good

palliation.

Carbo animalis: Has been helpful in ‘Common

Cancers’. Also Sarcoma. Cancer of Cervix and

mammary gland. Pain from cervix extends to the arms.

There is burning too like Kreosotum. For Cancer of

Cervix, the discharge from vagina is characteristic

Carb-an. for Cancer of lymph nodes.

For Kreosote the Keynote is corrosiveness.

Ulceration, destructiveness, necrosis.

Hydrastis canadensis – Cancer of Eyes, Ears, Nose,

Face, Mouth, especially Gums, Palate, Tongue,

Esophagus, Stomach, Colon, Liver, Pancreas, Rectum

etc.

It will be worthwhile if cases are also furnished.

12. Cancer and Pre-cancerous state

SINGH, Ajit (HH. 36, 1/2011)

This article is a study of the personality predisposed

Cancer. A list of the ‘Mental’ symptoms (Schroyen’s

Repertory in Radar 10. 5003) are given. These

‘mental’ are the ‘altered’ state that is ‘psychological

symptoms which are not normal.

13. Dealing with Cancer

KULKARNI, Ajit (HH. 36, 1/2011)

Dealing with Cancer is mainly dealing with the

mental symptoms of the cancer patient. Allaying the

fears, despair, sadness etc. Also dealing with the side

.

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effects of Chemotherapy, Radiations, relieving pains of

terminally ill patients.

14. Treating the Totality

SHARMA, Rajneesh Kumar

(HH. 36, 1/2011)

A case of Cancer, Glandular tumour right side of

neck in a female 30 year. She was treated with

Phosphorus 200 and then M and lastly Sulphur M

between 30.9.2005 and 4.12.2005. Completely cured.

The pathology and its reversal is seen in photographs at

every stage.

47 year-old male presented with colicky pain

epigastrium since six months, extending to the back

accompanied by vomiting and sour taste. Severe

heartburn. Anorexia. Weak, emaciated. Diagnosed in

AIIMS as Adeno Carcinoma.

Nux vomica 200, then Causticum 30, between 11

Dec. 2003 and 30 March 2004. Completely cured.

15. Sexually transmitted disease – A cured Case

DEY, Abhijit (HH. 36, 1/2011)

A male diagnosed (VDRL positive) STD patient

treated homœopathically. Cure confirmed by serology

tests. Phosphorus, Medorrihnum, Natrum muriaticum

were the remedies.

16. Cases of Cancer: Treated with Iscador Therapy

RASTOGI, D.P.

Iscador Therapy for Cancer.

MEHTA, Firuzi (HH. 36, 1/2011)

This is an anthroposophical medicine treatment.

17. Snakes – An Essay in Interpretation

ENGEL, H.H. (HH. 36, 1/2011)

This again is Anthroposophy. In the early 20th

Century and even in the 1970s there was much

discussion on anthroposophical understanding of

homœopathic medicines. Dr.Ed. WHITMONT, a

Jungian Psychologist brought in much understanding of

the sickness of the patient and linking the remedy to it.

Dr.E. SCHMEER also understood Anthroposophy and

interpreted ‘constitution’ and remedy selection. Karl

KÖNIG analysed the drug sources, its action in general

and Otto LEESER by understanding the chemistry of

the drug. W. GUTMANN also on signatures and

natures of the substances.

18. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and

Homœopathy

MASTER, Farokh J. (HH. 36, 2/2011)

ADHD or ADD cases are becoming more. Or

rather there is more awareness of this. Sometimes even

reasonably active children who do not pay greater

attention but would rather play more are brought in by

parents dubbing the child as hyperactive. It is not

unusual that children will not be contained. Excessive

disciplining will make it more rebellious.

Dr. Farokh MASTER has written a very good

article on this ‘disorder’. Ritalin was the medicine used

routinely in the West for this condition. Dr. MASTER

has presented two cases: one was treated with

Absinthium and the other with Saccharum lactis. He

has referred to Dr. Tinus SMITS for the application of

this remedy.

[Dr. Heiner FREI of Switzerland has made special

study of this disorder and treated several children with

appreciable success. He applied Boenninghausens

Therapeutic Pocket Book and his own method of

Polarity Analysis in selecting the remedy. Has authored

some books on this including an English version

recently = KSS]

19. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

SINGH, Ajit (HH. 36, 2/2011)

These children seem to have abundant energy.

This article is a brief overall study of the disorder.

No cases are cited. The author has given his own

‘additions’ to the Repertory to the Rubrics: 1) Careless

and negligent 2) Child – Concentration difficult,

distracted easily; and 3) Hyperactive.

The author ends: “There is no ‘cure’ for ADHD.

Children with this disorder seldom outgrow it; however

some may find adaptive way to accommodate the

ADHD as they mature ..”.

[It is not correct for the author to say that this

disorder is incurable. Several cases have been cured, a

good percentage indeed. It is unfortunate that the editor

has not mentioned anything about this conclusion by

Ajit Singh = KSS]

20. Managing ADHD

KUMAR Shiva (HH. 36, 2/2011)

3 – 5% School children suffer from this disorder.

It is more common in boys.

A case is mentioned. Calcarea carbonica 200 was

given to this girl of 8 years. The remedy was given

further in M and 10M and she became 90% improved.

Tuberculinum M was given as intercurrent remedy.

21. Histrionic Personality Disorder

BIDANI, Navneet (HH. 36, 2/2011)

The author discusses Histrionic Disorder.

.

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A woman with burning pain in stomach from eating

fruits for which she had marked craving, also had

personality disorder. On the totality (Mental Symptoms

and gastric disorder) of her case, was given Veratrum

album M and over a time span of 4 months, she made

very good improvement not only with regarding to her

gastric complaint but also her histrionic disorder.

22. Antisocial Personality and Homœopathy

SHARMA, Rajneeshkumar & RAJPUT, Ruchi

(HH. 36, 2/2011)

What is antisocial personality, what are the cardinal

features and the relevant rubrics in the Repertory are all

exhaustively discussed.

23. The treatment of nervous disorders, the importance

of physical symptoms and signs

BURNS, McK. (HH. 36, 2/2011)

This is a reprint of an old ‘gem’ from the British

Homœpathic Journal, July 1964. Six case studies are

presented.

Case 1: 48 year-old woman, mental depression, anxiety

attempted to take her own life, pain right knee which

suffered an injury while dancing. Orthopedist could

find no abnormality. She felt as if she had a steel band

tied tightly around the knee joint. She had an almost

irresistible desire to use foul language.

Anacardium produced almost miraculous results.

Her knee no more troubled her and she had no more

anxiety, depression, etc.

Case 2: 23 year-old female. Breathlessness from the

time she heard of her father’s sudden death. This

cleared after few weeks. Then anxiety, palpitation,

Tachycardia, constant pain in the left chest 5th rib

interspace. Depressed, weeping, fear of death, lost

weight.

Spigelia 30, 3 doses and Bryonia 3x morning and

evening. Within few weeks, became well and could go

to work, gained weight, became her old self.

Case 3: 54 year female. Severe Migraine of 10 years

duration every week or ten days, lasting up to 48 hrs.

depressed, tense and nervous.

Prunus gave considerable relief; repeated over the

next two years.

Three years later she came with Haemorrhoids.

She then said that she had similar attacks earlier too.

Aesculus 30, three doses and Nux vomica 3x b.d.

cleared up everything and her migraines too seemed far

better cleared. With Nux vomica continued she went on

to improve steadily and no more complaints.

Case 4: 53 year female: Anxious, Tense. Palpitation

night and day. Tremor felt throughout the whole body.

Loss of weight. Vague digestive complaints. Acidity.

Examination revealed peptic ulcer.

Acid sulph. 30, three doses, Nux vomica 3x b.d.

began to improve immediately, to complete recovery.

Case 5: 85 year Female. Became muddled and

unsteady in her gait. Suddenly became confused,

unable to stand upright. She deteriorated gradually.

Visual and auditory hallucinations. Became violent at

night, difficult to be controlled. Hyoscyamus and

Stramonium did not help. “When visited found her

hairnet was askew. I straightened it upon her head. She

pulled me towards her and said her “head was so itchy”,

and while she spoke she yawned continually. These two

symptoms made me try Nat.mur.30. By evening she

was completely clear mentally and had been able to take

little food. Next day she walked to the bathroom and

three days later was downstairs. She has been quite

normal ever since.

Case 6: 15 year male. At 5 year age, born imbecile

subject to convulsions since infancy and subject to

Epilepsy. On Phenobarbitone. Unable he speak or do

anything for himself. Had to be fed. Made some

improvements with Calcarea carbonica and Baryta

carb. Recently while talking his parents said that he

rubbed his nose often, as if itching. On this symptom

Cina 30 was given and he made a dramatic and

immediate improvement. His parents said that this

remedy was unlike anything ever given before or after.

Now there is hope that he may be able to fully become

normal.

24. Life style diseases are challenge to Homœopaths

MOHAN, G.R. (HH. 36, 2/2011)

Life style diseases are the result of an inappropriate

relationship of people with their environment. By 2020

lifestyle diseases are expected to claim 7.63 million

lives in India. They are different from other diseases

because they are potentially preventable. In all life style

disorders, maintaining factors are important in

prolonging the disease. The pseudo chronic disease is

the one which has been influencing the individual for a

prolonged duration, which has been continuing in his

life. – ref. Aph. 77.

Early diagnosis can be made by general physical

examination. Psychological counseling is also very

important, and homœopathic remedies.

25. Homœopathy heals Severe Cystic Acne

ROTHENBERG, Amy (HT. 32, 4/2012)

People with cystic acne suffer from painful bumps,

deep beneath the skin. Skin may be extremely inflamed

over large areas of the face, neck or back and painful to

touch or pressure. Scarring is common. Embarrassment

and low self-esteem are frequent accompaniments to

this condition.

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Lara, 40 years, suffered with cystic acne for 25

years. Nothing helped her. Never had much energy

since childhood. Always chilly, needing extra sweaters

and blanckets. Anxious about children and their future.

Chronic Sinusitis. Tendency to constipation. Shy. Low

self-confidence. Silica 12c, daily for 6 weeks + natural

medicine approaches. After 6 weeks, her skin looked

remarkably better. No big cysts. No angry areas. She

felt energized and excited and more confident. Advised

to continue Silica 12C. After three months, her skin

was perfect. No bumps, no acne, no redness. Silica 30c

one dose. In the next one year, one dose of Silica 200,

when her improvement appeared to be plateauing.

It is now 8 years and she simply no longer has acne.

26. Blemish Busting Remedies

HT STAFF (HT. 32, 4/2012)

Indications are given for Hepar sulph., Calcarea

sulph., Kali bromatum, Pulsatilla, Silica and Sulphur.

27. Top Student – Athlete Beats Acne

MOSKOWITZ, Richard (HT. 32, 4/2012)

A 14 year-old girl with cystic acne since 5 years,

also had pain right shoulder, right hip and thigh in the

past, with sweaty head and greasy face, she craved rich

foods. Calc. sulph. 1M. No change after a month.

Lycopodium 1M. Two months later, skin clearer.

Lycopodium 12c to use as needed for headaches and

back pain. Lycopodium 1M for a relapse and excellent

result.

28. Whooping cough on the rise again

MALERBA, Larry (HT. 32, 4/2012)

All indications are that whooping cough is on the

rise in the U.S. this year. More than 32,000 cases had

been reported by late October 2012 alongwith 16

deaths.

So there is over emphasis on additional pertussis

booster shots with possibilities of broad range of

adverse reactions.

Since treatment is so demonstrably inadequate,

prevention is promoted as the only game.

Homœopathy has a long standing clinical track

record for reducing the duration and severity of

symptoms of whooping cough.

The indications are given for the following

remedies: Drosera, Belladonna, Coccus cacti,

Ipecacuanha, Bryonia, Antimonium tartaricum, Cuprum

metallicum, Kali carbonicum.

29. Stop Shingles in its Tracks

OSKIN, Jamie (HT. 32, 4/2012)

Shingles may begin with burning, itching or

throbbing in the affected area, along with flu like

symptoms such as weakness, fatigue, headache or fever.

When the rash appears, usually a week or more later, the

pain is often severe. The eruptions progress from red

and flat to raised, vesicles that crust, scab over and

eventually fall off. 20% suffer from post herpetic

neuralgia.

76 years old Rick, having deep aching pain in the

area of his shoulder blade, since 2 weeks, then vomiting

and wandering body aches. He was restless, constantly

changing position. Then small red blisters on right

chest at the same rib level as the pain in his back. Pain

better by lying on heat pad and also by walking about.

Rhus tox 200, twice a day until his symptoms resolved.

The rash disappeared overnight. Other symptoms

resolved by 80-90%.

Shingles of the eyes

Barbara 57, with pain in and around left eye and an

eruption on her face. By the time she consulted

ophthalmologist, and diagnosed as shingles, it was

already 10 days, so only antiviral eye drops were

prescribed. No relief in the next several months.

Another new outbreak on left nostril since 10 days.

She had shingles several times since 1989.

Feeling in eye as if it is on fire, dryness of eyes.

Congestion and fullness in her sinuses above. Always

worse before a storm.

Shooting pain inside eye socket and radiate above

and to the outside of eye. Worse after reading or

computer work, from bright light.

Rhododendron 30 twice a day for a week. In two

days, the pain steadily improved. A week later, burning

and itching in her left eye gone. Shooting pain almost

gone. Able to tolerate light more. Not worse before a

storm. Shingles lesion inside her nose was completely

gone. Dryness of eyes better. But pain again increased

since 2 days. Rhododendron 200 twice a day. A week

later, her burning, shooting and squeezing pains were

almost gone. Two weeks later, new acute shingles

eruption below left eye due to very severe cloudy

weather, overwhelming stress and emotional turmoil

about her daughter’s depression.

Rhododendron 1M, every 2 hrs. within 2 days 75%

relief.

Her chronic allergies and her grief over her

daughter worsened a few days later. Natrum

muriaticum 200 daily.

A week later, eye pain continued to be less and her

allergies much better. Over the next several months

improved steadily with an occasional dose during

setback.

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IV. PHARMACOLOGY

1. The Science of high dilutions in historical context

WAISSE, Silvia (HOM. 101, 2/2012)

This paper begins from a discussion of the terms

currently applied to the preparations used in

homœopathic practice and relates them to the names

given to them by HAHNEMANN, the founder of

Homœopathy. The latter were directly related to the

notion of matter HAHNEMANN held, this is discussed

as it evolved from the earliest sources to the sixth and

final edition of the Organon of Medicine, through all

the editions of this work as well as many other hitherto

rarely explored sources. This review shows that

HAHNEMANN moved conceptually within the field of

concepts of late 18th- early 19th century science. This is

only natural, and, a legitimate object for studies of the

history of science and medicine.

========================================

V. VETERINARY

1. Indian Zoo treats Lions, Tigers & Bears with

Homœopathy

SHREYA ROY, Chowdhury (HT. 32, 3/2012)

Since 8 years, Veterinarians at the National

Zoological Park in Delhi, India, have been using

Homœopathy for difficult cases when conventional

Veterinary methods had failed. Two Asiatic lions and a

Himalayan black bear with hind quarter paralysis were

successfully treated with Homœopathy.

- The Times of India, June 5, 2012.

2. Rescued Dog Gets New Leash on Life

Homœopathy helps anxious animals transition from

Shelter to home

CHAPMAN, Sara Fox (HT. 32, 3/2012)

Rescued animals often come with emotional

baggage. They are anxious when left alone. Some are

afraid of noises or storms and may exhibit destructive

behavior. This lack of socialization can be helped with

Homœopathy and patience. They often benefit from

Natrum muriaticum or Ignatia.

Stan, two-year-old Golden Retriever mix, with

destructive behavior, tendency to escape and frequent

loose stools from stress or dietary changes. Anxious

from noises like gunshots. Other sharp noises also

frightened him. Confined spaces annoyed him. He is

submissive. Sensitive. Anxious during car rides.

Carcinosin (to address miasmatic state exacerbated

by his history of abuse or neglect by the previous

owner) 30- 200-1M “potency chord” – equal quantities

of these three granular potencies in one dose.

Aconitum 30 in water doses during acute bouts of

anxiety, trembling, restlessness, sudden terror.

A month later overall improvement in his level of

anxiety. Three minor destructive episodes. Loose

stools improved.

Repeated Carcinosin potency chord as

improvement reached a plateau.

A month later, further improved. One minor

destructive incident. Two months later, still loose

stools. Lycopodium LM1 after abnormal stools.

In the next 4 months two more doses of Carcinosin

potency chord and Lycopodium once or twice a week.

During car rides, his pupils are dilated, trembles,

panting heavily. Belladonna 30. A month later did

much better on 6 hour car ride.

In the next 2 years, no need for Carcinosin and

Lycopodium.

========================================

VI. RESEARCH

1. Homœopathic Research Matters

An Array of Recent Research

JOHNSON, Christopher (HT. 32, 3/2012)

The year 2012 has seen a large number of

impressive studies demonstrating the effectiveness and

validity of Homœopathy in a number of areas. Here are

a few.

Swiss Health Technology Assessment (HTA)

This report stands out as likely the most thorough

and comprehensive evaluation of Homœopathy ever

conducted. This report resulted from the

“Complementary Medicine Evaluation Programme” set

up by the Swiss federal Government in 1998 to assess

the appropriateness of including various holistic medical

therapies and systems.

The board recommended Homœopathy be included

in the statutory Health Insurance Scheme.

The authors of HTA concluded: “Taking internal

and external validity criteria into account, effectiveness

of Homœopathy can be supported by clinical evidence,

and professional and adequate application (can) be

regarded as safe”.

Homœopathy for Chronic Sinusitis

This study is one of the largest Homœopathy trials

ever to focus on a specific condition, funded by the

Central Council for Research in Homœopathy, India.

628 patients enrolled and finished with 550 patients.

88% had moderate/severe sinusitis suffering an

average 13.7 years. 84% had pathological changes. An

ENT Specialist and a Radiologist assessed each patient

to confirm diagnosis. Treatment consisted of

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individually prescribed homœopathic remedies and use

of daily steam inhalation.

After three months of treatment, those with the

most severe and moderate Sinusitis experienced a drop

in symptom severity from 8 to 1.5, 6 to 1.5 respectively.

At the end of 6 months 96% improved. (62%

marked improvement, 25% moderate and 10% mild).

Only 43% still had pathological X-ray findings. This is

highly significant since it has been demonstrated that

radiologic pathology in chronic sinusitis simply does

not improve spontaneously.

Homœopathy in malnourished children

The study conducted by researchers at Juan B.

Contreras and Marta Abreu de las Villas Universities,

Cuba and published in The International Journal of

High Dilutions Research, investigated the use of

standardized homœopathic product containing

homœopathically prepared Calcium salts, (Calcarea

flourica 30c, Calcarea carbonica 30c and Calcarea

phosphoric 30c) as an adjunct in the treatment of

malnourished children.

99 children (mostly aged 1-14 years) who were

below the third percentile in weight – height ratio were

randomly allocated to receive either the standard

protocol for malnourishment (adequate diet of

multivitamin) or the protocol plus the homœopathic

product. After one year, 84% of the children receiving

the homœopathic product achieved normal weight,

whereas only 30% of those receiving the standard

malnutrition protocol did so.

The potential public health implication of these

findings is immense.

2. Prospective observational study of 42 patients with

atopic dermatitis treated with homœopathic

medicines

EIZAYAGA, JoséEnrique & EIZAYAGA, Juan

Ignacio (HOM. 101, 1/2012)

Background: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a highly

prevalent chronic inflammatory skin disease which

usually develops during childhood. Despite being a

condition frequently treated with Homœopathy, the

evidence is still insufficient to define homœopathic

treatment’s efficacy and the best therapeutic strategies.

Aims: To evaluate the effectiveness of homœopathic

treatment of AD in a general homœopathic practice

setting.

Methods: Patients spontaneously seeking homœopathic

treatment meeting Hanifin and Rajka’s criteria were

prospectively treated. Severity of disease was evaluated

by Rajka and Langeland’s score and a set of four Visual

Analogue Scales (VAS) evaluating disease severity,

itch, general and psychological wellbeing and quality of

sleep. Assessed outcomes were: change in AD

extension, change in VASs, and a categorical scale for

global subjective perception of evolution.

Results: Forty two patients were eligible. Twenty-one

had other atopic comorbidities and 28 (66.7%) were

moderate or severe cases. Sixteen (38.1%) patients

dropped out. Significant differences were found

comparing first and last consultations in mean

percentage (95%Cl) of affected skin area, 21.1% (10.9;

31.4) versus 5.5% (1.3; 9.7) respectively, P = 0.002, and

in the change or the four VASs: [mm (95% Cl)]AD 31.1

(20.6; 41.7), P < 0.0001; Itch 35.0 (23.6; 46.4), P

<0.0001; General wellbeing 11.1 (1.2; 20.9), P <0.0188,

and Sleep 17.4 (5.0; 29.8), P < 0.0073. Homœopathic

aggravations were reported after 29.8% of prescriptions.

Twelve individualized homœopathic medicines were

prescribed; Sulphur accounted for 60% of cases with

good treatment response.

Conclusions: This study suggests that in a general

medical practice setting, homœopathic treatment could

be regarded as an effective choice for patients with AD.

3. The impact of the medical speciality in primary

health-care problem solving in Belo Horizonte,

Brazil: homœopaths versus family doctors: a

preliminary quantitative study

IANNOTTI, Giovano & MELO, M. Elza

(HOM. 101, 1/2012)

Introduction: This research project examined influence

of the doctors’ speciality on primary health care (PHC)

problem solving in Belo Horizonte (BH) Brazil,

comparing homœopathic with family health doctors

(FH) and homœopathic doctors work in PHC. The

index of resolvability (IR) is used to compare resolution

of problems by doctors.

Methods: The present research compared IR, using

official data from the Secretariat of Health and test

requests made by the doctors and 482 structured

interviews with patients. A total of 217,963

consultations by 14 homœopaths and 67 FH doctors

between 1 July 2006 and 30 June 2007 were analysed.

Results: The results show significant differences greater

problem resolution by homœopaths compared to FH

doctors.

Conclusion: In BH, the medical speciality,

Homœopathy or FH, has an impact on problem solving,

both from the managers’ and the patients’ point of view.

Homœopaths request fewer tests and have better IR

compared with FH doctors. Specialization in

Homœopathy is an independent positive factor in

problem solving at PHC level in BH, Brazil.

4. Effects of Ignatia amara in mouse behavioural

models

MARZOTTO, Marta; CONFORTI, Anita; et al.

(HOM. 101, 1/2012)

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Background: Ignatia amara (Ignatia), a remedy made

from the Strychnos ignatii seeds, is used for anxiety-

related symptoms, but consistent evidence of its activity

in reproducible experimental models is lacking. An

investigation was performed in order to assess on mice,

by means of emotional response models, the activity of

homœopathic Ignatia dilutions/dynamizations.

Methods: Groups of 8 mice of the CD1 albino strain

were treated intraperitoneally for 9 days with 0.3ml of

five centesimal (C) dilutions/dynamizations of Ignatia

(4C, 5C, 7C, 9C and 30C). Control mice were treated

with the same hydroalcoholic (0.3%) solution used to

dilute the medicines. Diazepam (1mg/kg) was the

positive reference drug. Validated test models for

locomotion and emotional response, the Open-

Field(OF) and the Light Dark (LD) tests, were

employed. Five replications of the same protocol were

carried out, in a randomized way using coded

drugs/controls.

Results: In the OF the general locomotion of mice was

slightly decreased by Ignatia 4C, but not by Ignatia 5C,

7C, 9C and 30C, indicating the absence of unspecific

motor impairment or sedation by these

dilutions/dynamizations. Ignatia and diazepam seemed

to decrease the number of urine spots released in the OF

during 10 min, with borderline significance (P = 0.083).

In the LD the tested medicine showed anxiolytic-like

activity (increase of time spent and distance travelled in

the lit area), though to a lesser extent than diazepam.

The highest and most significant difference with

untreated controls (P < 0.01) was observed with the 9C

dilution/dynamization. Among the 5 replication

experiments, the best drug effects were obtained where

the baseline anxiety of mice was higher.

Conclusions: Homœopathic Ignatia

dilutions/dynamizations (peak at 9C) modify some

emotion-related symptoms in laboratory mice without

affecting locomotion.

5. Development of broiler chickens after treatment

with thymulin 5cH: a zoo technical approach

SATO, César; LISTAR, Veranice Galha &

BONAMIN, Leoni Villano

(HOM. 101, 1/2012)

Modulation of immune response due to Thymulin

5cH has been previously observed. The aim of the

present study is to evaluate the development of broiler

chickens treated with Thymulin 5cH by conventional

zoo technical indices, phytohemaglutinin induced

inflammation test and histomorphometric analysis of

lymphoid organs (thymus, Fabricius bursa and spleen).

Animals were divided in two groups: (a) test: birds with

free access to thymulin 5cH diluted into the drink water

and (b) control: birds with free access to water only,

from the 1st to the 42nd day of life. All experimental

procedures were done in blind. The results show that

Thymulin 5ch treated group had increased productivity

index compared to control (391.45 versus 261.93)

associated with higher viability in the 7th week

(p = 0.013), and a possible shunt to B lymphocyte

activity. The data suggest that thymulin 5cH could be a

viable method to improve productivity in poultry

production due to its immune modulation properties.

6. Lymphocyte proliferation stimulated by activated

Cebus paella macrophages treated with a complex

homœopathic immune response modifiers

MOREIRA, Carlos Onete Coelho; DA COSTA,

Joana de Fátima Ferreira Borges;; et al.

(HOM. 101, 1/2012)

Introduction: Canova is a complex homœopathic

medicine that enhances a specific immunologic

responses against several exogenous and endogenous

conditions. Canova activates macrophages both in vivo

and in vitro.

Aim and method: We evaluated the effects of

macrophages activated by Canova in vivo and ex vitro

in the proliferation of lymphocytes. Canova was used

to activate Cebus paella macrophages in vivo or ex

vitro with Canova. Lymphocytes were cultured with

the macrophage culture medium. The analysis of

canova effects in cultured lymphocytes was performed

according to the cell cycle phase using flow cytometry.

The Interferon gamma and Interleukin-5 cytokines

quantification in these lymphocyte culture media was

performed by Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay

(ELISA).

Results: We observed that Canova activates

macrophages in vivo and ex vitro. The lymphocytes

cultured in a supplemented medium with macrophages

activated by Canova treatment presented a higher

number of proliferation cells than lymphocytes not

exposed to macrophages activated by Canova. The

Interferon gamma and Interleukin-5 cytokines were only

observed in the medium of lymphocytes exposed to

macrophages activated by Canova. Thus, Canova has

potential as new adjuvant therapy.

7. Homœopathy in chronic sinusitis: a prospective

multi-centric observational study

NAYAK, Chaturbhuja; SINGH, Vikram; et al

(HOM. 101, 2/2012)

Objective: The primary objective was to ascertain the

therapeutic usefulness of homœopathic medicine in the

management of chronic sinusitis (CS).

Materials and methods: Multicentre observational

study at Institutes and Units of the Central Council for

Research in Homœopathy, India. Symptoms were

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assessed using the chronic sinusitis assessment score

(CSAS). 17 pre-defined homœopathic medicines were

shortlisted for prescription on the basis of

repertorisation for the pathological symptoms of CS.

Regimes and adjustment of regimes in the event of a

change of symptoms were pre-defined. The follow-up

period was for 6 months. Statistical analysis was done

using SPSS version 16.

Results: 628 patients suffering from CS confirmed on

X-ray were enrolled from eight Institutes and Units of

the Central Council for Research in Homœopathy. All

550 patients with at least one follow-up assessment

were analyzed. There was a statistically significant

reduction CSAS (P = 0.0001, Friedman test) after 3 and

6 months of treatment. Radiological appearances also

improved. A total of 13 out of 17 pre-defined

medicines were prescribed in 550 patients, Sil (55.2% of

210), Calc. (62.5% of 98), Lyc. (69% of 55), Phos.

(66.7% of 45) and Kali iod. (65% of 40) were found to

be most useful having marked improvement. 4/17

medicines were never prescribed. No complications

were observed during treatment.

Conclusion: Homœopathic treatment may be effective

for CS patients. Controlled trials are required for

further validation.

8. Effects of Calendula officinalis on human gingival

fibroblasts

SAINI, Pragtipal; AL-SHIBANI, Nouf; et al.

(HOM. 101, 2/2012)

Background: Calendula officinalis is commonly called

the marigold. It is a staple topical remedy in

homœopathic medicine. It is rich in quercetin,

carotenoids, lutein, lycopene, rutin, ubiquinone,

xanthophylls, and other anti-oxidants. It has anti-

inflammatory properties. Quercetin, one of the active

components in Calendula, has been shown to inhibit

recombinant human matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)

activity and decrease the expression of tumor necrosis

factor-α, interleukin -1β(lL) lL-6 and lL-8 in phorbol

12-myristate13-acetate and calcium ionophore-

stimulated human mast cells.

Objectives: To examine the effects of Calendula on

human gingival fibroblast (HGF) mediated collagen

degradation and MMP activity.

Material and Methods: Lactate dehydrogenate assays

were performed to determine the non-toxic

concentrations of Calendula, doxycycline and quercetin.

Cell-mediated collagen degradation assays were

performed to examine the inhibitory effect on cell –

mediated collagen degradation. Gelatin zymography

was performed to examine theireffects on MMP-2

activity. The experiments were repeated three times and

ANOVA used for statistical analyses.

Results: Calendula at 2-3% completely inhibited the

MMP-2 activity in the zymograms. Doxycycline

inhibited HGF-mediated collagen degradation at 0.005,

0.01, 0.02 and 0.05%, and MMP-2 activity completely

at 0.05%. Quercetin inhibited HGF-mediated collagen

degradation at 0.005, 0.01 and 0.02%, and MMP-2

activity in a dose-dependent manner. Calendula

inhibited HGF-mediated collagen degradation and

MMP-2 activity more than the same correlated

concentration of pure quercetin.

Conclusion: Calendula inhibits HGF-mediated collagen

degradation and MMP-2 activity more than the

corresponding concentration of quercetin. This may be

attributed to additional components in Calendula other

than quercetin.

9. Effects of two homœopathic complexes on bovine

sperm mitochondrial activity

M.AZIZ, Dhafer; SCHNURRBUSCH, Ute et al.

(HOM. 101, 2/2012)

Objectives: This study was conducted to evaluate the

effect of two homœopathic complexes Ubichinon

compositum® (Ubi comp) and Coenzyme compositum

ad us. vet.® (CoQ10 comp) on bovine sperm

mitochondrial activity.

Methods: Sperm viability, acrosomal integrity and

sperm chromatin structure were estimated to detect the

possible side effect of complexes on other sperm

parameters.

Results: Mitochondrial activity was significantly

enhanced by both Ubi comp (P < 0.01) and CoQ10

comp (P < 0.05). No effects were detected in other

tested sperm parameters.

Conclusion: The tested homœopathic complex

medicines stimulate the mitochondrial activity of bovine

sperm without effects on their viability, acrosomal

integrity or chromatin structure. The possibility that

this translates into improved fertilization capacity in

artificial insemination should investigated.

10. The biopsychosocial model and its potential for a

new theory of Homœopathy

SCHMIDT, M. Josef

(HOM. 101, 2/2012)

Since the nineteenth century the theory of

conventional medicine has been developed in close

alignment with the mechanistic paradigm of natural

sciences. Only in the twentieth century occasional

attempts were made to (re)introduce the ‘subject’ into

medical theory, as by Thure von Uexküll (1908-2004)

who elaborated the so-called biopsychosocial model of

the human being, trying to understand the patient as a

unit of organic, mental, and social dimensions of life.

Although widely neglected by conventional medicine, it

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is one of the most coherent, significant, and up-to-date

models of medicine at present. Being torn between

strict adherence to Hahnemann’s original

conceptualization and alienation caused by

contemporary scientific criticism, Homœopathy today

still lacks a generally accepted, consistent, and

definitive theory which would explain in scientific

terms its strength, peculiarity, and principles without

relapsing into biomedical reductionism. The

biopsychosocial model of the human being implies great

potential for a new theory of Homœopathy, as may be

demonstrated with some typical examples.

11. Homœopathic Research matters

JOHNSON, Christopher (HT. 32, 4/2012)

As Homœopathy’s popularity continues to grow,

the chorus of critics becomes ever louder.

The research by most skilled scientists show that

whether or not any molecules of the original source

substance remain, homœopathic remedies are definitely

different from plain water.

In 2005, Rustom ROY, along with Richard

HOOVER, William TILLER and Iris BELL, published

a paper in the journal Material Research Innovation.

The paper demonstrated that different types of liquid

water, although identical in chemical composition, can

have important structural differences and therefore

different material properties.

The authors described a number of phenomena

resulting from the succussion phase of manufacturing

homœopathic remedies.

In 2007 ROY’s team published a paper in the

journal Homeopathy presenting evidence from their

lab, distinguishing between remedies and both plain and

succussed water and further between different potencies

within each remedy.

Vittorio ELIA, Professor of electro-chemistry at the

University of Naples, has been studying the Physico-

Chemical properties of aqueous solutions for over 40

years. He has published 110 scientific papers on the

subject, with citations by 400 authors.

He has published 23 papers on the study of

homœopathically prepared dilutions - by Calorimetric

Method.

Swiss chemist Louis ROY has been studying the

effects of low temperatures on material and biological

fluids for over 50 years. he is an expert on Freeze

drying and Thermoluminescence.

In 1998, ROY published a paper in Nature,

demonstrating the application of low temperature

thermoluminescence to the study of water (H2O) and

heavy water (D20). The data showed two distinct

shapes (peaks) of the graphed measurements.

In 2003, Roy published in Physica A, an important

statistical mechanics (physics) journal, in which this

technique was used to assess homœopathically prepared

Sodium chloride and Lithium chloride. The

Thermoluminescence glows were substantially different

and reproducible.

========================================

VII. GENERAL

1. Running an NHS community Homœopathy clinic –

10-year anniversary 2001-2011

BAWDEN, Stella (HOM. 101, 1/2012)

An outcome series was conducted over a five-year

period of patients attending a community NHS

Homœopathy clinic in Dorchester, Dorset. 273 new

patients were seen. 183 (67%) questionnaires were

completed at six months after initial consultation. 44%

of patients had been unwell for more than five years;

19% of all patients for more than 15 years. A wide

variety of conditions were seen, the largest group with

depression anxiety or grief. For follow-up patients 75-

81% indicated an improvement in their symptoms and

activity while 58% recorded an improvement in their

overall wellbeing. Six months after the initiation of

treatment 155 (84.7%) felt an improvement in their

condition with 148 (81%) attributing this to

Homœopathy. Nobody reported deterioration due to

homœopathic treatment; conventional drug use was

reduced in 46 patients (25%).

2. ‘Remote-controlling’ of Stem-cell differentiation

with Homœopathy

GANGAR, H.U. (HH. 36, 2/2011)

Abstract: Stem cells exist in all multi cellular

organisms. The two broad types of Stem cells are:

embryonic Stem cells and adult Stem cells. Plants also

have these two Stem-cell populations. However,

embryonic Stem cells of plant are known as apical

meristem of the shoot and the root whereas adult stem

cells of plant are called as lateral meristem. Flowers

arise from the shoot lateral meristem (adult stem cells).

The flowering process is regulated by a set of genes.

Stem cells possess the ability to renew themselves and

to differentiate into an intermediate cell type, which in

turn, differentiate into diverse range of specialized cell

types. Embryonic Stem cells can differentiate into all of

the specialized embryonic tissues. Adult stem cells

maintain and repair the tissues in which they exist.

However, in certain plants, adult stem cells possess

ability to differentiate into all type of cells to develop

itself into full plant. In recently ongoing medical

research, technologies are under development, in which

stem cells, obtained from variety of sources, are grown

and induced to differentiate into specialized cells by

.

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol. XXX, 3 & 4, 2013. Private Circulation only 129

culturing and sub-culturing under specific conditions.

Subsequent to initial differentiations, they are

transplanted into diseased body for intended repair.

This type of therapy, through transplant of cells, needs

their ‘physical’ handling. This paper presents

experiments on cotton, gram, mung, chauli etc., which

reveal that stem cell differentiations can be controlled

remotely, without physically handling them, through the

use of homœopathic drugs. It further presents cases of

application of this technology (of triggering adult stem

cells into differentiations through homœopathic drugs),

on human bodies to achieve repair/cure of certain

diseases like large cystocele/rectocele (causing vault

descent), Polycystic Ovarian Disease, development of

large nodules on vocal cord etc. (in advanced stages,

which otherwise essentially require immediate surgery.

3. How to make – break – your homœopathic practice

Let’s work at doing better!

BENYEI, Candace R. (HT. 32, 4/2012)

The author is a long time family Therapist, Clinical

Psychologist, Veterinary Practice Manager, Business

Consultant and Lay Homœopath.

Though we have one of the most powerful and least

harmful medicines, we are very bad at helping folks

take advantage of it because of the excessive charges

$200-300 for first 45 minutes, and $85-100 for a second

half-hour, never minding that insurance covers none of

it.

She feels homœopaths need to find a way to make

treatment relatively affordable, that we should become

true healers.

=======================================

VIII. BOOKS

I. Historische Wörterbuch der philoophie,

(Historical Dictionary of Philosophy) RITTER , J.

GRÜNDER, K., GABRIEL, G. (hrsg). Volltext-CD-

ROM des Gesamtwerks mit einer. Einführung von

Gottfried GABRIEL und einer Anleitung zur

Benetzung, Einzelatzlizenz. Basel: Schwabe 2010.

348-s Fr 244-Є. (German)

Review Matthias WISCHNER (ZKH. 55, 4/2011):

“…. It is a great idea. A large number specialists,

scholars are involved. The work is now offered in a

CD-ROM with good search facilities….. An

irreplaceable references work for scientific work

involving mental processes. A large fund of knowledge

is available in this work covering all aspects of

intellectual life. For those who want to manage

sincerely on a higher level of understanding the mental

scientific work on the background of Homœopathy this

work will be very useful.”

II. Duale Reihe Anamnese und klinische

Unterschung (Double streams Anamnesis and

Clinical Investigations), Füeßl, H.S., MIDDEKE, M.,

Stuttgart, Thieme: 2010. 4 überarb. Aufl. (4th

revised edition) 506. S., 675 Abb., kart., mit CD-

ROM, 44.95 Є (German). Review Matthias

WISCHNER (ZKH. 55, 4/2011):

“Anamnesis and physical investigation are the basic

pillars of the daily practice. According to the authors

this book is No.1 in the market introduces students into

these basic techniques. In respect to Homœopathy this

is specially interesting. However homœopaths have

been following now for 200 years the art of Anamnesis

….”

III. Apparative Hochpotenzherstellung in der

Homöopathie in den Vereinigten Staaten von

Amerika in Zeitraum von 1860-1920. Quellen und

Studien zur Geschichte der Pharmazie, Bd. 94,

GYPSER, H. (Mechanised Manufacture of high

Potency in Homœopathy in the United States of

America during the period 1860-1920. Sources and

Studies in history of Pharmacy, Vol. 94). Stuttgart:

Wissenschaftliche Verlagsgesellschaft, mbH; 2011.

Kart 254 S., Є21.95 (German) review Christian

LUCAE (ZKH. 55, 4/2011): “This was the text of the

Dissertation of Helke GYPSER in 2010 on history of

Pharmacy in the University of Marburg. Although the

subject is specific with reference to 60 years of

potentising, the book contains much not exactly

pharmaceutical. In 60 pages the author gives 60 years

of potentisation in general (HAHNEMANN,

KORSAKOFF, JENICHEN, etc.).

Main part of the book is about the Protoganists:

FINCKE, BOERICKE, SWAN, SKINNER, BURDICK,

DESCHERE, TYRELL KENT, SANTEE and ABT.

Many details hitherto not well-known regarding the

construction of the machines and other matters have

been collected and furnished. We learn that Bernhard

FINCKE hailing from Saxony has published and proved

by X-ray and in accordance with the principle of

continued fluxion used Brooklyn’s tap water and

potentized 30,000 medicines of 961 drugs.

We also get much information about life of Francis

E. BOERICKE, Samuel SWAN and Thomas

SKINNER.

A complete list of references, an index of persons,

subject etc. are given.

This doctoral thesis is very informative, thorough

and is a valuable source for all homœopaths.

IV. Homœopathy for Acutes and Emergencies, A

Practical Guide by R.S. PAREEK and Alok

PAREEK. Narayana Publishers, Kandern,

Germany 2012, Hardback,148 pages, $36.00. ISBN

.

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol. XXX, 3 & 4, 2013. Private Circulation only 130

978 3-943309-22-5. Reviewed by Francis TREUHERZ

(HT. 32, 4/2012).

This is a serious work to share clinical experiences

of a father and son and extended family, who have their

own hospital specializing in emergency surgical and

medical care in Agra, India.

The practical experience describes a partnership in

serious “Accident and Emergency” care between regular

and homœopathic medicine and surgery. The limits of

each are described in detail.

There are special chapters on Cardiac and

circulatory emergencies; neurological emergencies such

as stroke, intra-cerebral haemorrhage, epilepsy, transient

ischaemic attack; and more on psychiatry; trauma and

injury, post-operative care including iatrogenic

emergencies, oncology, alcoholism, environmental

disasters such as industrial pollution, perenicious

anaemia and more. Always there is respect shown for

the necessary medical and surgical care given.

========================================

IX. NEWS & NOTES

1. A plant poison becomes a money-spinner –

Professor B.M. Hegde (The Hindu, Chennai).

“The most exquisite pleasure in the practice of

medicine comes from nudging a layman in the direction

of terror, then bringing him back to safety again.” –

Kurt Vonnegut.

China has a valley in the north where the

environment is very hostile - old, dark and lonely.

Small plants live there very precariously. Red yeast rice

is a very small plant there which has so many enemies

locally as they find the rice tasty. Nature equips all of

us, including red yeast rice plants, with tricks to live in

spite of the hostile atmosphere. This rice produces a

poison, lovastatin, which kills all foolish predators.

One researcher from the U.S. Government found

this poison and took it back home for further study. But

it proved to be pretty useless from the U.S. Army point

of view. However, this poison was seen to be blocking

an important enzyme known as the HMG-CoA

redutase. This enzyme is responsible for Cholesterol

production in the liver. The Pharma lobby found out

that, Lovastatin, in smaller doses, blocks Cholesterol

production in our liver.

By this time Cholesterol, the main lifeline of our

existence, was already made into a demon needing to be

killed at any cost. Many of you might not know that it

was a lie. But we believe in telling lies to people. Truth

telling and medicine just do not go together. Those of

you who want to know the truth should visit the site:

www.thincs.org

The medical world did not have a good looking,

tasty poison to bring down the Cholesterol our own liver

keeps producing for our good. “Right” thinking people

in the pharma lobby must have had a brilliant idea. Why

not use the Chinese red yeast rice plant poison to block

the liver’s Cholesterol factory?

The other leading drug that we had at that time was

Cholestyramine, sand like powder, which had to be

taken three times a day in two large tablespoons. A

majority of patients used to vomit and stop taking the

medicine. The business was not too good in that area.

The plant poison came in handy at that time.

Soon we created enough “evidence” to show that

Lovastatin reduces the Cholesterol level in the blood

report effectively. The FDA, in its inimitable style,

approved this drug for lowering Cholesterol. Industry

sponsored “thought leaders” soon got into action to have

several studies done to show how good this drug was

and went round the world delivering talks based on

company produced “science” and succeeded in

convincing the gullible medical world about the virtues

of this red yeast rice poison.

Special conferences were organized lavishly where

the invited “scientists” were feasted and entertained to

boost sales and it was shown that the drug company

profits went up exponentially to make shareholders

happy. The company executives laughed their way to

their banks!

To give the reader the taste of one such conference

on fat hypothesis in disease we will discuss that (in)

famous Transatlantic Conference on Cholesterol,

presided over by the famous Scottish scientist, Sir

Michael Oliver, Professor of Cardiology at the Royal

Infirmary in Edinburgh and for a term President of the

Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh and an FRS

himself. He was a no-nonsense scientist and the

conference ended in total disagreement about the role

Fat plays in vascular disease!

While on his flight back over the Atlantic, Sir

Michael was reading The New York Times, in which

there was a report on that conference with a title:

Consensus Conference on Cholesterol with his name

mentioned. He was surprised and equally enraged at the

blatant lie. When he landed in Edinburgh, he wrote an

article in the Lancet titled Consensus or non-senses

Conference on Cholesterol? There was a long-drawn

debate raging for a long time after. This will give you

an idea how clouded the area is.

Now we have enough and more evidence to show

how dangerous this red yeast rice poison is for the

human body. While it definitely reduces the blood

report of the fat profile, there is still no evidence that it

reduces the outcome of premature death. In fact, we

have evidence to show that in the long-run these drugs

increase total mortality. In medical research, patient

.

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death is of no consequence. It is only a statistic! How

does this happen? The enzyme HMGCoA reductase

blocks many other routes in the liver, the most

important being production of Mevalonic acid, a vital

part of good health and longevity.

There are rare births with congenital mevalonic

acid deficiency. The child looks like an old man at one

year and dies by the age of 2-3! If a doctor has seen a

child with that disease, she/he will never prescribe this

poison to any patient.

One other salient feature needs to be mentioned

here. The cell wall in our body is made up of

Cholesterol. The wall has to be strong to be

hydrophobic. Low Cholesterol levels make cell walls

weak, inviting cell necrosis, something that abets

Cancer growth!

Although the jury is still out on this poison, there is

enough and more evidence to show that the red rice

plant had this very powerful weapon to survive in that

extremely hostile terrain in the cold valley of North

China. I dare not prescribe that unless it is a terminal

illness.

“… that statins are a widespread conspiracy aimed

at fleecing the public and ruining their health. In fact,

the majority of studies show that men, just like women,

die more from heart disease if they have low

Cholesterol levels. And yet doctors are busy

prescribing Cholesterol-lowering medication to millions

of men around the world.” – Campbell-McBride

(The writer is a Cardiologist and former Vice-

Chancellor, Manipal University.

Email:hegdebm@gmail.com)

II. Why Novartis Case Will Help Innovation: (The

Hindu, April 15, 2013)

On April 1, 2013, the supreme court upheld the

decision to deny patent protection to Novartis

application covering a beta crystalline form of imatinib;

which is very effective against the form of Cancer

known as Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia. The judgement

marked a crucial conclusion to a saga that has been

several decades in the making; started in 1972. It

enables the explosive growth of the Indian generics

industry into the world’s largest exporter of bulk

medicines.

The case the Supreme Court heard was whether

Novartis beta crystalline form of imatinib was worthy of

patent protection: its judgement was that this

modification by Novartis did not satisfy the standard of

inventiveness required under Indian patent law.

The outcome of this nuance and originality?

Imatinib will continue to be available to patients in

India from multiple suppliers at a price 10 times less

than the current cost of Glivec, approximately 27,000

cancer patients in the country who pay for their imatinib

will continue to have access to the medicine in the

public and private sectors at the lowest cost possible.

In developing country like India, a hackneyed

narrative has emerged, warning us that this judgement

will have a negative impact on innovation in the long

run. The most useful outcomes of the judgement is a

renewed focus on innovation and how it would be

rewarded. [Behind the headlines foretelling various

levels of doom is the death of innovation in the country

for the end of research for diseases is the popular idea

that patents are proxy for innovation. The patents are

widely understood as short-term monopolies enshrined

in the law and provided as incentive to inventors on the

evaluation of publicly disclosed innovation.]

In the last three decades, the global gold rush for

patents has been dominated by minor and mostly in-

consequential innovations. (This is because weak

standards in the patent laws of developed countries

(U.S. & Europe) have encouraged this shift. The

whittled-down, lobbied-out patient regime is

characteristic of these countries and other less

developed countries where they influence the polity is

‘norm’ to which India now finds itself an ‘outlier’. The

outlier is a solution, the norm is the problem).

The real innovation crisis: Pharmaceutical research

and development turns out mostly minor variations on

existing drugs most new drugs are not superior on

clinical measures. Secondary patents extend patent life,

thereby, the monopoly pricing of pharmaceutical

products long beyond their designated life span. Weak

laws will only serve to extend commercial monopolies

at low levels of innovation and will no longer provide

the incentive for genuine innovation.

The Indian patents Act of 1970 was a game

changer; it shook up the pharmaceutical industry and

altered it irreversibly. The new, empowered scenario

was illustrated during the peak of the HIV/AIDS

treatment in the first decade of 21st century. Countries

like Brazil, Thailand, South Africa and India took health

security into their own hands. The Indian patents

Amendment Act of 2005, gave us the law we have

today. The Supreme court judgement is all the more

important as a result, for it shows a new way may be

hard and tiresome, but is ultimately possible.

III. Musical taste and dementia (The Times of India,

Mumbai 13 Jan. 2001).

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE described old age as

second childishness. A paper in Neurology by Giovanni

FRISONI and his colleagues at the National Centre for

Research and Care of Alzheimer’s Disease in Brescia,

Italy shows that one form of Senile Dementia can affect

musical desires in ways that suggest a regression, if not

to infancy, then at least to a patient’s teens.

Frontotemporal dementia is caused, as its name

suggests, by damage to the front and sides of the brain,

.

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regions concerned with speech and higher functions

such as abstract thinking and judgement.

Frontotemporal damage therefore produces different

symptoms from the loss of memory associated with

Alzheimer’s disease. Frontotemporal dementia is rarer

than Alzheimer’s. In the past five years the centre in

Brescia has treated some 1,500 Alzheimer’s patients; it

has seen only 46 with frontotemporal dementia.

Two of those patients intrigued Dr. FRISONI – one

was 68 year old lawyer, the other a 73 year old

housewife. Both had undamaged memories, but

displayed the sorts of defect associated with

Frontotemporal Dementia diagnosis that was confirmed

by brain scanning.

About two years after he was first diagnosed the

lawyer, once classical music lover who referred to pop

music as mere noise, started listening to the Italian Pop

band. The housewife had not even had the lawyer’s

love of classical music having never enjoyed music of

any sort in the past. But about a year after her diagnosis

she became very interested in songs that her 11yr. old

grand daughter was listening to.

FRISONI speculates that illness is causing people

to develop a new attitude towards novel experiences.

Alternatively, the damage may have affected some

specific neural circuit that is needed to appreciate

certain kinds of music. Whether that is a gain (or) a loss

is a different matter. As Dr. FRISONI puts it in his

article de gustibus non dis-putandum est. Or, in

plainer words, there is no accounting for taste.

IV. Breast beating about Cancer (The Hindu,

Chennai. June 5, 2013).

In the battle of the female cancers, breast cancer has

overtaken cervix as the top cancer among women in

Chennai.

Statistics from the Madras Metropolitan Tumour

Registry at the Adyar Cancer Institute’s Hospital

registry indicate that a subtle change has taken place

that has had Breast Cancer incidence growing at a much

higher rate than cervical cancer.

A comparative study between the incidence of two

conditions:

1) In 1982-87 – incidence of cervical cancer in the

registry was 44.3 per 1,00,000 population and

Breast Cancer incidence was 19.1.

2) In 2009-2010, cervical Cancer incidence had

dropped to 19.3 while that of Breast Cancer rose to

35.8 per 1,00,000.

In Rural areas, cervical cancer still remains high.

But in urban areas, Breast Cancer is still ahead. Greater

awareness has led to a reduction in the number of cases

of virally – contracted Cervical Cancer.

Education is the key, when girls study more, they

are more likely to have better genital hygiene; Dr.

SHANTHA, Chairperson of Adyar Cancer Institute

adds. Dr. SWAMINATHAN explains that in the

metros, late age of marriage, child bearing and fewer

children have probably to do with the reduction of

Cervical Cancer cases. With urbanization, there have

been consequent lifestyle changes – a sedentary life and

diet of fast foods.

V. Amorous Worms Reveal Effects of Chernobyl.

(The Hindu, Chennai, April 24, 2003).

According to Ukrainian scientists, the worms

contaminated by radioactivity from the Chernobyl

Nuclear accident 27 years ago have changed their sexual

behavior to increase their chances of survival. It is one

of the first pieces of direct evidence on how wildlife is

affected by radioactive pollution.

Although there is a wealth of evidence on the

impact of ionizing radiations on humans, its effects on

wildlife are poorly understood. International

Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) has

launched an investigation into how best to safeguard

“non-human species”.

Gennady POLIKARPOV and Victoria

TSYTSUGINA from the Institute of Biology of the

Southern Seas in Sevastopol studied the reproduction

of certain sedimentary worms that are vital to aquatic

ecosystems. They compared the behavior of three

species in a lake near Chernobyl with the same species

in a lake 20 Kilometers away. The lakes had similar

temperatures and chemical composition; but the worms

in the Chernobyl lake had received 20 times as much

radiation as those in the other lake. The researchers

found some remarkable changes in the worms’ sexual

habits.

Two species had switched from asexual to sexual

reproduction, as they are capable of doing. The

proportion of Nais pardalis seeking partners for sex was

5 percent in the normal lake but 22 percent in the

Chernobyl lake, while the proportions of Nais

pseudobtusa doing the same were 10 percent and 23

percent respectively. The third species, Dero obtusa,

showed double the rate of asexual reproduction in

polluted lake. Sexual reproduction allows natural

selection to promote genes that offer better protection

from radiation damage, and “the resistance of

populations as a whole will be increased”, says

POLIKARPOV.

Carmel MOTHERSILL from the Dublin Institute

of Technology, one of the experts helping the ICRP

develop its new policy on protecting wildlife.

VI. Freedom from Pain. (The Hindu, Tuesday,

October 19, 2010).

Arthritis (World Arthritis Day was on October 12)

a generic name for over 100 diseases and conditions that

affects joints and surrounding tissues and cause mild-to-

.

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severe pain, joint tenderness and swelling can affect

anyone – race, gender, age no bar.

According to a Mayo clinic study, the incidence

and prevalence of Rheumatoid Arthritis among women

is rising. About 60% of those with Arthritis are female

especially among elderly women. P.V.

JAYASHANKAR, President, Tamil Nadu Orthopaedic

Association agrees that they see more women with

Arthritis.

Older people are likely to develop it; overweight,

injury to joints may cause Arthritis. The risky category

are women who choose a “sedentary lifestyle; obese are

pre-disposed to inflammatory Arthritis such as RA have

a touch of Diabetes, Hypothyroidism and Hyper

cholesterolemia. Others at risk would be post-

menopausal women, those with family history of

Osteoporosis; and who smoke and drink. Its also a side

effect of Gluco corticoid medications and also women

taking medication (aromatase inhibitors) for Breast

Cancer.

Arthritis is painful, limits mobility. It can be

prevented, with planned exercises, Yoga, nutritional

supplements and weight control.

VII. Revival of Risky Medical X-Ray Practices: (The

Hindu, Chennai. May 23, 2002).

JACK SCHUBERT and RALPH E LAPP in their

eminently readable book entitled ‘Radiation – what it

is and How it affects you’ wrote about a Medical

practice that had, in the fifties, which became almost a

standard, among many firms, they used to send their

executives off to a clinic for a complete annual medical

checkup. It included X-ray screening of the lungs,

heart, stomach, upper and lower intestinal tracts,

Kidneys and other organs.

They received a whopping radiation dosage of

about 50 roentgen in the bargain! (Roentgen is a unit of

radiation exposure; a chest X-ray may involve an

exposure of about 0.1r).

On April 26, 2002, the U.S. Food & Drug

Administration (USFDA) noted that some medical

imaging facilities are now promoting and marketing

whole body CT screening as preventive health measure

to healthy individuals who have no symptoms or

suspicious of disease. FDA asserted that it knows of no

scientific study demonstrating that whole body CT

screening is effective in detecting any particular disease

early enough for the disease to be treated or cured.

According to FDA “Any such presumed benefit of

whole body CT screening is uncertain, and such benefit

may not be great enough to offset the potential harms

such screening could cause. Public health agencies and

National Medical Societies – the American College of

Radiology, the American College of Cardiology and the

American Heart Association – do not recommend CT

screening”.

CT screening may help to determine the extent of

the disease. But it is not to be used indiscriminately.

Screening of Symptom–less patients provides uncertain

benefit with potential for some risk.

The effective dose in CT procedure is not less than

the lowest dose received by some of the survivors of the

atomic bombs. All radiation doses have an associated

risk, a small possibility of developing radiation induced

Cancer some time later in life.

FDA warns that for a person without symptoms, CT

screening is unlikely to discover serious disease and the

potential harm to the individual may be greater than the

presumed benefit.

On 13th April 2002, The British Medical Journal

published a letter by consultant radiologist K.GROWER

THOMAS and his colleagues from several other

hospitals. They compiled a simple questionnaire and

interviewed 130 doctors of all grades including

consultant radiologists. Only 3/130 scored a pass mark

of 50% in spite of a generous marking scheme and no

negative marking. “The degree of knowledge was

inversely proportional to seniority, with consultants

scoring less than junior colleagues.” Many specialists

were not equipped to offer advice on the magnitude of

radiation doses in different medical X-ray procedures.

If physicians knew about the relative magnitude of the

doses in various procedures, it may help to reduce

unwanted referrals of symptom-free patients.

[Readers are requested to read this carefully and not

merely agree to CT scans and such scans radiation

technique = KSS]

VIII. It’s a PATH of violations, all the way, to

vaccine trials: Parliamentary panel. (The Hindu,

Sept. 2, 2013).

Accusing the international organization PATH

(Programme for Appropriate Technology in Health) of

exploiting with impunity the loopholes in the system

during a trial of Human Papilloma Virus (HPV)

vaccines, a parliamentary panel has also questioned the

roles of the Indian Council of Medical Research and the

Drug Controller–General of India in the entire episode.

The issue pertains to trials conducted by two U.S.

based pharmaceutical companies through PATH on

tribal school girls in Khammam distinct in Andhra

Pradesh and Vadodara in Gujarat in 2012. The trials

were stopped only after the matter received media

attention following the death of seven girls. In its

report, presented to parliament, the committee has said

the ICMR representatives apparently acted at the behest

of PATH in promoting the interests of the Vaccine

manufacturers, and recommended that the Health

Ministry review the activities of the functionaries of the

Council involved in the PATH project.

The Department of Health Research/ICMR “have

completely failed to perform their mandated role and

.

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol. XXX, 3 & 4, 2013. Private Circulation only 134

responsibility as the apex body for medical research in

the country. Rather, they have even transgressed into

the domain of other agencies which deserves the

strongest condemnation and strictest action against

them”.

The Committee also questioned the ICMR’s

decision to commit itself to promoting the drug

inclusion in the universal immunization programme

before any independent study on its utility and rationale

of inclusion in the UIP was undertaken.

Had PATH been successful in getting the HPV

Vaccine included in the Universal immunization

programme of countries concerned windfall profits

would have been generated for manufacturers by way of

automatic sale, the Committee said. It asked the

Government to take up the matter with these countries

through diplomatic channels.

After drawing attention to gross violation of ethics

during the conduct of trials, the Committee said PATH

should be made accountable and the government should

take appropriate steps in the matter, including legal

action against it for breach of laws of the land and

possible violations of laws. Describing this act of the

PATH as a clear-cut violation of human rights and case

of child abuse The National Commission for Women

should also take Suo motu cognizance of this case as all

poor and hapless subjects were female.

[Is the ICMR not guilty? Should it not be held equally

responsible for the death of seven poor girls? There are

several unethical experiments leading to loss of life, but

the medical fraternity appear quiet. Apathy is abetment,

one should remember = KSS].

IX. SC Notice of PIL against Pentavalent Vaccine

for Infants (The Times of India, Sep. 3, 2013).

PIL petitioner Yogesh Jain, a former Pediatrician in

AIIMS and now a public health physician in Bilaspur

district, alleged a conspiracy in closing down of public

sector units manufacturing the proven DPT (Diphtheria

Pertusis & Tetanus) Vaccine in 2007 by the Health

Minister to clear way for introduction of Pentavalent

Vaccine.

The Government of India decided to pre-empt the

reopening of PSUs and distribution of DPT at low

prices by making an abrupt switch to Pentavalent

Vaccine (which is to immunize a child against DPT plus

Hepatitis B and Haemophilis Influenza type B or HIB).

“The strategy was to make out as if DPT was

obsolete and was bound to be replaced by Pentavalent

Vaccine. Any possibility of PSUs restarting DPT

production was made redundant by ousting it from the

public health system.”

The petitioner said though other countries, both

developed and developing, had banned the Pentavalent

Vaccine and taken swift action in the face of infant

deaths, the Health Ministry decided to launch this under

UIP.

To justify introduction of Pentavalent Vaccine in

India, interested parties have made attempts to

exaggerate the country’s HIB and Hepatitis B disease

burden, despite opposition from public health experts,

the vaccine was launched in Kerala and Tamil Nadu in

December 2011. Within days of introduction, the new

Vaccine resulted in death of two babies in Kerala.

Subsequently, 15 infants died from Vaccine related

complication in Kerala and Tamil Nadu in the year

2012.

On April 26, 2012, the Ministry of Health and

Family Welfare announced that it would introduce the

Pentavalent Vaccine in five more states – Gujarat,

Haryana, Karnataka, Goa, Jammu & Kashmir and

Pudhucherry – by Oct. 2013. The Ministry launched the

Vaccine in Haryana in Dec. 2012 without analyzing its

effects in Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

The Supreme Court has agreed to examine PIL

alleging the increase in infant deaths after

administration of Pentavalent Vaccine.

[Neither the Pharmaceutical Company nor the

Govt. which blindly permits the use of the Vaccine nor

the Physicians who prescribe/apply it, have the real

benefit of the people at heart. In fact they have no

heart. It is only money in place of heart = KSS].

X. Stand up for Homeopathy! (HT. 32, 3/2012).

Powerful business interests in Europe, Canada &

United States are using every means possible to disrupt

the homeopathic community and discourage the use of

this grand system of medicine. NCH has been equally

active, aggressively promoting Homœopathy while

working hard to frustrate our adversaries’ efforts to

spread misinformation.

[This is an eternal battle, as between the Demons and

Angels or Devas and Asuras in the Hindu Mythology =

KSS].

XI. There was a small write-up in the English daily

Indian Express, dated 9 January 1997, titled ‘A tree

grows in Gulmarg’.

It is about the tree Taxus baccata. “There is a tree

growing in the slopes of Jammu & Kashmir that speaks

more eloquently on the state of Indian science than any

luminary who graced the podium of the just concluded

Indian Science Congress. The therapeutic pain-

relieving properties have long been known in the local

communities; but as usual it requires Western Scientists

to bring home to this country, the magical potential of

Taxus baccata as an anti-cancer agent. Meanwhile the

tree itself is pillaged by the local forest Mafia for its

invaluable bark and leaves to meet the demand from

German and American Laboratories researching into its

properties. Today, like the Indian Tiger, Taxus baccata

.

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol. XXX, 3 & 4, 2013. Private Circulation only 135

which had grown in large tracts of the Himalayan

forests and is now found only in Gulmarg, is on the

verge of extinction ……”

In the ‘Science & Culture, Vol.77, 1-2/2011, J.S.

Rawat, et al of the Rajiv Gandhi University, Rono Hills,

Ita Nagar, Arunachal Pradesh, write about this condition

in the Taxus baccata forest in West Kameng Dt.

Arunachal Pradesh.

There is a worldwide demand for the bark of Taxus

baccata. The present study gives a very pathetic picture

of the illegal trade since 1990s. “Interactions with the

villagers disclose that Taxus in pure stands is no more

available in the nearby vicinities. The random transacts

in the forest areas reveals many dead plants in different

areas of the district. Out of the 143 plants located 105

are dead trees, only 4 are live trees, 14 are saplings and

20 are newly growing seedings.”

[There seems to be no efforts to regenerate the

stock, and the Taxus baccata seems to be very near

extinction. There also seems to be a strong Mafia

involved in the demolition of this plant. If even at this

near-end stage, the States of J & K, and Arunachal

Pradesh and the Government of India do not wake up

then that will be the end = KSS].

XII. Homœopathy in the News.

Queen Elizabeth and her Homœopathic Kit (HT.

32, 3/2012).

During her 60 years reign, the Queen has visited

more than 100 countries and along the way has

perfected the art of staying healthy, looking faultless

and keeping cool under pressure. Her luggage includes

60 vials of homœopathic medicines, carried in a special

leather case, without which she won’t travel anywhere.

 - The Daily Mail, May 25, 2012.

XIII. Homœopathy relieves hot flashes (HT. 32,

3/2012)

A multi-center, clinical trial, in France found a

combination of homœopathic remedy effective in

reducing the frequency of hot flashes. 101 menopausal

women over age 50 who experienced more than 5 hot

flashes daily were enrolled in the study via 35 different

gynaecologists in private practice. 50% received 2-4

tablets of the homœopathic remedy for 12 weeks and

the other 50% received identical looking placebo

tablets. Those receiving the homœopathic remedy

experienced significant reduction in hot flashes

compared to those receiving placebo.

The combination medicine was manufactured by

Boiron and contained Actea racemosa 4c, Arnica

Montana 4c, Glonoinum 4c, Lachesis muta 5c and

Sanguinaria canadensis 4c. – COLAU JC et al.

DRUGS R.D. AUG.1, 2012.

[This ‘remedy’ is not genuine Homœopathy in the sense

that five substances have been combined into a complex

one. It is the experience of almost every homœopath

that single remedy appropriate to the patient with

flashes, has cured well = KSS].

X. Growth projected for U.S. Homœopathic

market. (HT. 32, 3/2012).

The largest independent publisher of U.S. industry

research IBISWorld’s press release states that “The

aging population and struggling US economy have

fostered mounting interest in homœopathic healing

methods. This trend has spurred growth in the

Homœopathy industry with double-digit sales growth in

recent years. The report projects that revenue will

increase in the next five years.

-PR Web, July 18, 2012.

XV. CUBA: Alternative medicine in use 25-30% of

time.

In June 2012, Cuba held its 5th National

Homœopathy Conference along with the 4th National

Convention of Bio-Energy and Natural Medicine.

Traditional/alternative Medicine has been part of the

Cuban Health Care System for 20 years and is seen as a

means of sustainable development. Cuba is also

building a center to increase production of Vidatox, a

homœopathic medication against Cancer that has the

venom of the local scorpion as its essential ingredient.

 IPR Strategic Business Information

Database, June 10, 2012.

XVI. Homœopathy Web Pioneer Creates Waves

of Awareness. Intrepid, inspired and optimistic: Meet

Debby Bruck. Interview by Vatsala SPERLING.

Debby BRUCK, is the founder of Homœopathy

World Community (HWC) – a vibrant, International

Social networking website for professional homœopaths

– in 2009.

Here members can chat, have formal discussions,

support one another, plan events, share ideas,

photographs and Videos. HWC is by – invitation,

which means a person must be accepted for membership

before they can comment or post articles.

Many join HWC to share their knowledge and

experience. They also make connections online and

then meet face to face at meetings, workshops and

conferences to solidify their bonds.

Majority of the members live in India, with the US,

UK, Pakistan, Canada and Australia following. There

are members from 60 countries.

The website hosts forum discussions, blog articles,

Blog Talk Radio shows, livestream Video Health Inn

shows. The site is brimming with useful and relevant

content.

.

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol. XXX, 3 & 4, 2013. Private Circulation only 136

[It appears to be useful for colleagues to join the HWC

– Homœopathy World Community. There are several

from India = KSS].

XVII. A Life changing Journey to India and back.

VULETIN, Helen (HT. 32, 3/2012).

Helen Vuletin is a graduate from the Canadian

college of Homœopathic Medicine. She recalls her

experience of participating in a two week program at the

Bengal Allen Medical Institute in the Indian city of

Calcutta, conducted by the fourth generation

homœopath Dr. Subrata Banerjea.

The course consisted mainly of observing treatment

of patients in the very active Calcutta Slum Project

Clinic. He follows a practical way to determine the

Miasms in a case and use them to select a homœopathic

medicine that addresses the person as a whole.

MTEK – Miasmatic Totality

Totality of symptoms

Essence

Keynotes

The surface Miasm is determined by the presenting

symptoms, heredity, constitutional predisposition to

certain kinds of disease and physical qualities of the

skin and nails.

Dry harsh nails – Psora

Irregular, ridged or corrugated nails that are pale,

thick or convex - Sycotic,

Spoon shaped, paper like nails that are Concave,

fungal infections – Syphilitic,

Stains, specks or white spots, glossiness, hang nails

and pus where the nail meets the flesh – Tubercular.

The Totality is decided by the intensity of the

symptoms, the Essence determined by patient’s

demeanor, gestures, postures and behaviours, as well as

noting whether the weight of the pathology is physical

or mental/emotional. Finally Keynotes or PQRS

symptoms.

In this methodology, most of the patients felt

improvement in their chief complaints for months

together without repetition of the dose.

A summary of six cases seen are given.

XVIII. Dadajii: A Lifetime of Service. Monk in

Kolkata treats patients 7 days a week since 1990.

DOOLEY, Timothy R. (HT. 32, 3/2012).

Dadajii, is a yogic monk of Ananda Marga (since

1965) for whom the world is their monastery and their

practice (outside of their personal meditation and

discipline) is to serve humanity. He passed out the

exam to become certified homœopath in 1967.

Since 1990, he is practicing Homœopathy in the

Abha Seva Sadhan in Kolkatta, India. He works two

shifts a day, from mid morning to afternoon and then

again in the evening until the very last patient has been

seen, as long as it takes, regardless of the hour.

The clinic runs at a deficit and met by donations

from well-wishers. The donors appreciate that 100% of

their donations goes to the project (and none to the

organizational overhead)

After at least 650,000 consultations and counting,

Homœopathy is his advice to modern students of it, can

be used to cure any disease.

XIX. Visit to Dhawale Memorial Homœopathic

Hospital in India. JONAS, Julian (HT. 32, 3/2012).

Dr. M.L. Dhawale Memorial Homœopathic

Institute is a 50 – bed hospital in the rural township of

Palghar, about 100Kms north of Mumbai, was built in

2000.

The purpose was to serve patients low income rural

people with little access to medical services. The

hospital’s origin stretch back to 1930’s when a small

homœopathic study group was formed by a renowned

homœopathic physician, L.D. DHAWALE.

The motto is “where no doctor reaches, we will

reach. Where patients cannot afford costly services, we

will try to provide at minimum costs.” They also

recognize the importance of integrating certain

necessary aspects of conventional modern medicine,

such as blood tests, ultrasound and X-rays to

understand the pathological condition of patients.

Certain interventions such as surgery to repair

broken bones, emergency C sections and the removal of

tumors that do not respond to homœopathic treatment

are also performed by conventional physicians

employed to conduct these procedures.

The hospital provides inpatient and outpatient

services and includes special departments in Pediatrics,

Neonatal care, Psychiatry, Rheumatology, HIV &

AIDS, Diabetes, Respiratory illness and Dermatology.

In addition, it has surgical departments for Gynaecology

and Obstetrics – Orthopaedics, Opthalmology and

Dentistry as well as diagnostic facilities with a

pathology lab, X-ray machines, ultrasound and ECG

Units. It provides round the clock services for accident

and trauma patients.

A case of Meningitis in a 3 year-old comatose girl

admitted and treated with Opium is discussed.

Another important trust activity is furthering the

education of graduates from homœopathic colleges. A

rigorous 3 year residency program trains young doctors

to become competent in a hospital setting, adept at

performing and interpreting conventional medical

diagnostic procedures, as well as at dealing with the

wide variety of disease conditions present in both rural

and urban populations.

XX. In the ZKH. 55, 2/ 2011 Dr. Heiner FREI has

his article ‘Selbstverletzendes Verhalten bei

Borderline – Personlichkeitsstörung (Self injuring

state in Borderline Personality Disorder) narrated the

.

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol. XXX, 3 & 4, 2013. Private Circulation only 137

case of a 15 year girl with a mental disorder in that she

inflicts cuts on her forearms with a razor blade. This

since three months. She refused to go to a Therapy. At

the same time she had changed much physically. It was

learnt that since few months now was experiencing

mood swings, self-confidence is lost, often annoyed and

disturbed. Severe out bursts of rage/etc.

BOENNINGHAUSEN’s method of remedy

analysis was applied which meant that the characteristic

symptoms of the patient matched the genius of a

remedy. These are represented in the remedies in

Grades 3-5 in the Pocket Book.

Special Value was given to the Modalities.

The Therapeutic Pocket Book was used for

repertorisation. Then polarity Symptom which are also

the opposite (e.g. Thirst/Thirstless, < Cold/ > Cold,

desires fresh air/aversion to fresh air) whether the

patient symptoms agree with the remedy (that is in

grade 3 – 5 in the Repertory), was the symptom in low

grade and the opposite pole high grade, which meant

that the remedy was contra indicated while the genius of

the remedy did not agree with the patient’s symptoms.

The definite choice of the remedy was on the basis of

the ‘Mind’ alteration symptom and lastly by a study of

the remedy in the Materia Medica.

The polarity analysis is an extension of

BOENNINGHAUSEN’s concept as experienced clearly

in the Swiss ADHS-double blind study, to enhance the

precision of finding the suitable remedy.

Dr. Heiner FREI and his group fixed certain

protocals. The questionnaire, to suit the rubrics in the

Therapeutic Pocket Book – in general to all cases and

questionnaire to be applied in particular cases like

Respiratory disorder, Menstrual Complaints, etc. were

also devised.

The patient mentioned above was given Belladonna

200 selected on the above manner and within few days,

she became well.

Dr.Hans ZWEMKE has in a letter to the Editor

(ZKH. 55, 4/2011) raised many points and wondered at

the Polarity analysis, etc.

Dr. Heiner FREI, has answered in great detail.

FREI has spoken of the great difficulties in obtaining

pointer symptom in cases of ADD, consequently

failures. He and colleagues had much discussion and

found the answer in the BOENNINGHAUSEN method

of repertorisation and polarity analysis and their

experience with this method was such that they felt

greater confidence in treating ADD children and get

good rate of success.

There are several articles on this in the British

Journal, Homoeopathy and ZKH over the years

[Interested colleagues may write to me for these =

KSS].

XXI. The cruelty of Animal Experiments which is

considered essential for the allopathic Medical

School has been reported several times in the Print

Media. (HH. 36, 2/2011). Nevertheless, it persists. As

long as there are people who take the ‘medicines’ born

of animal experiments be it a mouse or a monkey, we

should swear not to take those medicine even if the

doctor may call it life-saver. Human lives are not any

more precious than any other creature. This we should

swear to ourselves.

The Beagle Freedom Project is to save the Beagle

Puppies from cruelty in the name of medical research.

The Report (The Hindu, Chennai, Dec. 8, 2013) says

that 70 Beagles were rescured from Bangalore-based

Advinus Therapeutics after being bred in Beijing and

illegally transported to Bangalore for research. All the

way from China to India, and then two months of

quarantine. Some pups have been weaned from their

mother almost immediately after birth; also de-barking,

where the animals, vocal cards are cut to silence them!

To add to these cruelties the research labs are totally

dark; the pups are in isolation in stainless steel cages in

rooms of concrete floors; no windows, no sunlight, no

grass or soil. The pups can’t even see each other. The

live in this condition for years.

We do not know how many labs of this kind

function in our country. Any tests conducted on such

emotionally and socially starved poor animals will be

bad medicine.

Homœopathy is humane, and no animal experiment

is required – None at all. But in the name of ‘Science’

there have been and there are animal experiments. We

should abhor this at every opportunity.

XXII. Some tit-bits from ‘Health Capsule’ by Bron

SMITH, appearing in The Hindu, Chennai.

i. A recent study revealed that those who watched an

average six hours of TV per day would cut their life

expectancy by almost five years, as compared to the

group that didn’t watch TV.

ii. How is orange juice made?: Orange juice is not

‘natural’. It’s highly refined. “Not from

concentrate” orange juice is stored in giant tanks.

First the oxygen is removed (de-aeration) so it

doesn’t oxidize. Stripped of Oxygen, the juice

tastes like sugar water, so “Flavor Packs” made

from chemical oils and essences are added,

including Ethyl butyrate, for its fruity flavor.

XXIII. Vinegar test for Cervical Cancer (The Hindu,

Chennai, 9 June 2013): “…. Randomised study of

woman over 15 years found that the Vinegar test was

able to reduce Cervical Cancer deaths of 31%. The

Vinegar test, while not perfect offers an alternative to

the expensive Pap Smear Test. A woman’s cervix is

.

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol. XXX, 3 & 4, 2013. Private Circulation only 138

swabbed with Vinegar which causes pre-cancerous

tumors to turn white. The results show up a minute later

when a bright light is used to visually inspect the cervix.

In Maharashtra Primary Health Care Workers are to be

trained in this screening.

XXIV. How can I maintain a Healthy Prostate?

(Health Capsule, The Hindu, 25.7.2013): Maintain

healthy Vitamin D levels. Ideally 50mg/ml. Eat a

healthy diet of organic, unprocessed foods. Limit

sugars and grains. Manage your stress. Exercise

regularly. Drink enough water to flush wastes from

your system. Maintain a healthy sex life to “exercise”

your prostate.

XXV. Hypothyroidism. MERCADO, S.C.

(International press abstracts) (HOM. 91, 1/2002).

This paper discusses the homœopathic treatment of

Hypothyroidism. In the first part, the symptoms of the

clinical picture, arranged by frequency of presentation,

are converted into rubrics and repertorised. Six main

remedies emerge: Ars., Phos., Calc carb., Kali-c., Nat-

m., and Merc.

The second part consists of an evaluation of the

treatment of 21 women. 5 who were frankly

Hypothyroid, and 16 with subclinical hypothyroidism.

90% had a positive family history, and all had tiredness

and were overweight. Four cases are presented in

greater detail; two without thyroid antibodies, one with

autoimmunity, and one after treatment with radio-active

Iodine (which became Euthyroid). What was

remarkable about this study was that constitutional

treatment alone did not appear to reverse

Hypothyroidism, and so treatment was complemented

with Thyroidinum, in 6c-200c potencies, on a daily basis

for 20-45 days. In the subclinical cases, hormone levels

reverted to normal more readily, but this did not occur

in the other cases, probably reflecting irreversible

thyroid damage.

Finally, some of the proving symptoms of

Thyroidinum are discussed, and indications as to when

this remedy should be considered are outlined as

follows:

1. Subclinical hypothyroidism, when the

constitutional remedy cannot reverse the condition.

2. Family history of Thyroid disease (as a nosode).

3. Overweight and tired for no apparent reason.

4. The presentation involves the Materia Medica

symptoms of Thyroidinum..

Homeopatia 2000; 65: 451-457.

XXVI. Handwriting Changes after homœopathic

treatment R. PENNA, N.V. de Casale (HOM. 91,

1/2002).

This paper describes the case of a 20-year-old-man

with diarrhea of 1 year duration. It started after his

decision to drop out of university, which filled him with

anguish and anxiety, and made him feel like a failure.

The condition was diagnosed as Irritable Bowel

Syndrome and was treated with Calc carb. 30c, repeated

doses, followed by ascending potencies. He had a good

response, both at physical and emotional levels. He had

kept a diary of progress; there was a remarkable change

in his handwriting over the course of 8 months of

treatment.

Before Calc carb. the following features were

present:

 Letters were badly drawn and illegible

 Words were piled together with irregular spacing

 Margins were irregular

 The axis of the letters would lean inconsistently to

the right or the left

 Lines had a wavy baseline

 Writing was twisted, trembling and retouched

After treatment:

 Letters were drawn better and easier to read

 Words were well set out and with regular spacing

generally

 Writing was tidy

 Margins remain irregular

 The axis of the letters became stable

 Letters of regular height, width and baseline

 No words were twisted, trembling and retouched

It was concluded that the disequilibrium of the

Vital Force has its effects at all levels, including

spontaneous handwriting. These effects are not well

characterized in our Materia Medicas or repertories,

and further research is needed to understand the

significance of these changes in terms of remedy

choice and therapeutic progress. = [bold mine KSS].

Homeopatia 2000; 65: 425-428.

XXVII. Toward a Truly Integrated Healthcare

System NCH takes action in advocacy and

Education. GAHLES, Nancy (HT. 32, 4/2012).

NCH is a partner for Health with the Integrative

Health care Policy Consortium (IHPC). The task of

the author on this Committee is to ensure that

Homœopathy is represented and that it becomes an

integral part of the dialogue, definition and regulatory

language moving forward.

To further enhance Homœopathy’s presence and

voice, she has also been a member of IHPC’s Access

and Non-Discrimination Committee.

.

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol. XXX, 3 & 4, 2013. Private Circulation only 139

The Affordable Care Act has provisions to include

licenced complementary and alternative providers and

integrative healthcare practitioners. Homœopaths can

be identified in each of these categories.

XXVIII. Homœopathy in the News. Dermatologists

learn about Homœopathy (HT. 32, 4/2012).

“When practiced correctly, homœopathic medicine

can significantly help patients with skin diseases such as

acne, warts and eczema”. This was the take away

message from an article in Dermatology times, a news

analysis magazine reaching 14,000 dermatologists.

The article summarized research and experience of

dermatologist Robert J. Signore D.O. Illinois.

- Dermatology Times, Oct. 2012.

XXIX. Cuba markets natural anti-cancer drug.

At the 2012 LABIOFAM International Congress in

Havana on Sept. 26. Dr. Eva Solomon reported that

Vidatox 30CH (prepared from venom of Cuban

scorpion, Rhopalurus junceus) was given to 845 people

with Cancer in advanced stages (Breast, Lung, Colon,

Prostate and Cervix); After 6 months, 87% stopped

taking morphine because of decreased pain and

improved appetite.

The drug is administered in 5 sublingual drops

every 12 hours to those who have already concluded

traditional cancer therapy such as surgery,

Chemotherapy or Radiation. Researchers say it has

analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties; can

improve the quality of life and survival rates; and shows

efficacy against Tumors of epithelial origin but not

against Lymphomas or Leukemia.

Radio Cadena Agramonte, Sept. 26, 2012.

XXX. Lower your medical costs.

 Use CAM: A Dutch study found that large numbers

of patients with joint disease used Complementary

and Alternative Medicine (CAM). Manual

therapies, Acupuncture, and Homœopathy were

most frequently used. These people also lowered

their spending on Conventional Medicine.

 Use less Conventional Medicine.

On Sept. 25, PBS aired Money and Medicine, a

documentary about runaway spending in the U.S.

Health Care System. It focused heavily on the

dangers patients face from over diagnosis and over

treatment. Watch it online at

www.pbs.org/programs/money-medicine/. Also

recommended is the eye opening book

overdiagnosed: Making People Sick in pursuit of

Health by Dartmouth Professor H. Gilbert

WELCH, MD. MPH.

XXXI. Walk Right in, No appointment necessary! –

Holistic Walk-in Clinic brings Homœopathy to the

people BRAZELTON, Desiree (HT. 32, 4/2012).

BRAZELTON Desiree, a Graduate of North

Western Academy of Homœopathy wanted to make

Homœopathy available to the public in a way that was

familiar and accessible – A place where people could go

in the evenings and on weekends to receive treatments

for acute ailments – a place with talented, well trained

staff and an extensive pharmacy.

So she signed up lease in a New Wellness Centre in

Minneapolis neighbourhood in 2009.

It began with a staff of six homœopaths sharing

shifts a few nights a week and on Saturdays.

Appointments were scheduled for 30 minute slots. It

was gratifying when they could stop the cycle of illness

in a child – eg. with recurrent ear infection. Not

everyone walks in with acute illnesses only. Through

experience everyone gets treated with a homœopathic

remedy. In 2010, alongwith homœopathic care, we

offered Massage, Shiatsu, Acupuncture and Reiki which

complemented Homœopathy and allowed us to reach

more people.

On January 1, 2012, New walk-in-clinic, Wellness

center and Yoga studio with a special 108 saluation

class was started. Having Yoga on site with people

taking ongoing classes brings a certain vitality to the

center. Yoga provides balance and flexibility that

complements the positive mental and physical changes

that accompany homœopathic healing.

========================================

LIST OF JOURNALS

Full addresses of the Journals covered by this Quarterly Homœopathic Digest are given

below:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. AJHM: American Journal of Homeopathic Medicine, formerly Journal of the

American Institute of Homeopathy (JAIH). 101 South Whiting Street, Suite 16,

Alexandria, VA 22304. USA.

2. HH: Homœopathic Heritage, B. Jain Publishers Overseas, 1920, Street No.10, Chuna

Mandi, Paharganj, Post Box 5775, New Delhi - 110 055.

3. HOMEOPATHY: Formerly British Homeopathic Journal (BHJ), Homeopathy,

Faculty of Homeopathy, 29 Park Street West, Luton, Bedfordshire, LU13BE, UK.

4. HT: Homeopathy Today, National Center for Homeopathy, 101 South Whiting Street,

Suite 315, ALEXANDRIA, VA. 22304, USA.

5. IJHDR: International Journal of High Dilution Research, Romania.

6.

7. S&C: Science and Culture, Indian Science News Association, 92, Acharya Prafulla

Chandra Road, KOLKATA – 700 009.

8. THE HINDU: Newspaper, Chennai–600 002.

9. ZKH: Zeitschrift für Klassische Homöopathie, Karl F. Haug Verlag, Hüthig GmbH,

Im Weiher 10, D-69121 HEIDELBERG, GERMANY.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

.

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol. XXX, 3 & 4, 2013. Private Circulation only 140

PART II

(This section contains abstracts/extracts from selected articles; even the entire article in some cases)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Ontogenesis of the illness

SAMPAIO DE AZAMBUJA, Renato

(IJHDR. Vol. 3, No 9/ 2004)

Introduction

A constant and fundamental concern in the work of

HUMBERTO MATURANA is to provide a scientific

explanatory content about the human being in his

systemic dynamics as an operational unit in the

responsibility of his being. According to what he points

out in his work, in the living systems “autopoiese

implies subordination of all changes in the autopoietic

system to the maintenance of its autopoietic

organization... to the conservation of its unit”. (De

Máquinas e Seres Vivos, 1997, Ed. Artes Médicas, pg.

91) This concern is part of and bases all the

development of his Theory of Autopoiese. For

MATURANA, the Ontogenesis

1

of the living being, and

in particular the human being, is deeply linked to its

operational way of living in autopoiese, that means, in

its developing and individual dynamic configuration

that characterizes and distinguishes it from the medium

where it lives as an autonomous entity. This article aims

at explicating some central aspects of his theory,

developing along the body of the text some conceptual

purposes around a notion of illness that is congruent

with such essential aspects of this new biology of

knowing.

Traditionally, western medicine, mechanic-

biological, also known as Allopathy, has its vision

focused on the structural components of the organism.

From this perspective, the alterations of the cellular and

molecular components of the organism are directly

responsible for the falling ill phenomenon. All

technological development in the sciences of health,

concerning diagnosis and treatment, aims at discovering

a cause and an explanatory mechanism to the illness that

is noticeable to the medical observer in terms of

alterations in its cellular and molecular components. For

1

Ontogenesis - the life cycle of a single

organism;biological development of the individual:

distinguished from phylogeny.

(Webster’s Dictionary)

each illness name it is said to be an altered mechanism

directly associated, as well as a treatment that aims at

compensating the mechanism through prudent chemical

substances of local action. Strictly speaking, this is the

bearing principle of modern medicine, that tries to

scientifically substantiate the comprehension of the

chronic illness phenomenon and its treatment. For

infecting-contagious illnesses, the principle is similar,

adding that every phenomenology of symptoms is

understood as triggered basically from the pathogenic

properties of bacterium and viruses. They cause the

events in the domain of the illness, as if these entities

could specify the characteristics of falling ill in a subject

who lives his existence. From this point of view, the

phenomenon of feeling in the altered sensations and

functions of the organism along his life that, yet, always

occurs on the language and interaction between doctor

and patient, would hold a straight crossing with the

altered structure of the organism, one causing the other,

not bearing any other possibility of explanation for the

illness following the traditional medical concept.

We will see, in this short article, that these

traditional concepts of illness are not compatible with

the new Systemic Biology developed by MATURANA.

We will see that the physiologic domains of the

organism do not specify their behavior level with their

sensations and functions and that what occurs inside the

organism is determined exclusively by itself in an

operational cloister. Besides, we will also see that, to the

knowledge of the illness, both by the medical observer

and the patient, it is essential to understand the essence

of the human cognitive process that occurs in the

language and, as a result, develops a draft about a new

thesis of knowledge of the illness which goes beyond

the cause-effect linear concepts, nowadays, in

hegemony within the biological sciences. According to

Humberto MATURANA “it is in the center of the

modern man difficulties not to know his own knowing”

(A Árvore do Conhecimento, 1995, Ed Psy II, pg. 264).

Structural determination

Humberto MATURANA started the development

of his Theory of Autopoiese, nowadays accepted in

several segments of the biological sciences and

epistemology, studying the color perception on doves’

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retina. After many attempts to explain the color

perception through stimulus of lightning waves without

succeeding as expected, he could, through an

epistemologic turn, formulate a consistent thesis to

explain and demonstrate the phenomenon of color

perception. MATURANA concluded that the

specification of color perception as it occurs does not

depend, in any moment, on the frequency of lightning

wave. On the contrary, the perceptive phenomenon is

exclusively determined by the changes in the activity

relationships of the CNS structure in a global way. He

claims that any cognitive perceptions are, above all,

groups of states of neural activity and not lengths of

wave captured and decoded from an objective reality

itself. “We should focus on understanding that the color

experience corresponds to a specific configuration of

states of activity in the nervous system determined by

its structure” (A Árvore do Conhecimento, Ed Psy II,

1995, pg 65). He called this phenomenon structural

determinism.

It is important to point out that the structural

determinism is not directly related to the constituting

properties of each cerebral component involved in the

event, being them neurons or molecular substances, but

to the activity relationships as flow and movement of

cerebral patterns in a closed net of operations of

activities in its structure.

There are two main initial consequences of this

concept. The first one is the clear and definite stating of

the CNS

2

, operation, as of any biological cognitive

system

3

, as a net operational system, closed in itself. For

example,

“the immunologic system is mainly an operational

cloister to the lymphocyte and immunoglobuline, which

allows a somatic identity to the multicellular organism.

This net develops only secondarily, along the

course of its evolution, defensive capacities such as

immunologic response to infections... however, the

heart of the system running is constituted by a somatic

identity (De Máquinas e Seres Vivos, Ed Artes Médicas,

1997, pg.56). In other words, it characterizes the human

being as a system existing in the cognition, such as an

operational state of production of elements that

produces all the needed elements for self-production.

For a living being to keep alive, the only necessary

condition is that, in its historic, its structure is continual

dynamic modification, maintaining its internal

operational coherence towards the medium.

It is clear that, at the same time, the living systems

are obviously open structures from the thermodynamic

point of view, because of their constant or periodic need

for energetic apportion, essential condition for the

constitution of self-organizing structures. But on their

2

Nervous Central System.

3

The immune system for example.

way of operating in a medium, on perceiving and acting

on the consequences of distress, the living beings are

systems that operate closed in a relationship dynamics

of internal states that specify their domain of actions.

For Maturana, what distinguishes living beings from

their medium is that they have such organization that

their only product is themselves, there is no division

between producer and product, between being and

acting.

The second consequence, deriving from the first

one, is that given the condition of operational closing,

the living system that goes through interactions with the

medium is not instructed by the last one. This means

that the medium, that can be another organic system,

never specifies what happens with the living being who

suffered the distress. In fact, the distress of the medium

only triggers changes in the relationship of activities of

the internal states of the organism as a unit, these ones

structurally determined in their operational closing. In

Maturana’s words, “nothing can happen in the living

system that is not determined by the system itself ”

4

, or

yet, “The states of neural activity that are triggered by

the different distresses in each person, are determined

by their individual structure and not by the

characteristics of the distressing agent” (A Árvore do

Conhecimento, Ed Psy II, 1995, pg 65). Strictly, it is

the organism that specifies what it admits as interaction

and as a distress factor and not vice-versa, as we are

used to think. What happens after any interaction or

distress is entirely dependent on the structural dynamics

of the changes in the internal relationships of the

organism as a whole, and not only on its components

5

.

While the organism is the one to specify what

happens with it after being distressed by the

environment, this understanding opens a rich possibility

in the studies of human and individual susceptibility,

having in mind that not all beings fall ill with the same

pathogenic exposition. The proposal I present in this

article is that, within the autopoietic and dynamic

concept of the illness, the individual internal

susceptibility is the key question in its comprehension

and treatment. Susceptibility can be understood as the

condition of the structural dynamics of a living being

which specifies what can be considered a distressing

agent. It also specifies the operational way during a state

of illness.

In other words, it specifies the way the subject falls

ill, contrasting to the traditional point of view that

emphasizes the pathogen element as central in the

4

Maturana, 1997, Ontologia da Realidade, ed. UFMG,

pάg.60.

5

According to the reductional concepts in use in

modern biology.That can be the organism itself, in case

it has self-awareness.

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specification of the illness. On the other hand, it is

important to observe that this approach on the living

being in operational cloister, specifies and characterizes

a domain in the internal activity of the automatic

organism and not intentional in the emergency of action

domains in terms of behavior, that appears in terms of a

not soluble unit or totality of the being, already

identified several times in philosophy and science as a

kind of vital activity.

Structural coupling

No living being lives isolated. On the contrary, it

emerges in a medium in which it is distinguished,

although it lives adequately in this same medium. Every

system that operates in operational cloister exists in a

medium. The existence of this organism occurs and is

kept while its interactions with the medium trigger, in

the being itself, changes in the changes of dynamic

relationships of the structure that are congruent with the

transformations happening in the medium, being them

provoked by the organism itself or not. By such way,

this living system becomes able to live in this medium.

These interactions result in other interactions which

again trigger other changes of internal states of the

organism that must be congruent with the modifications

in the medium where they are distinguished from and

live. And so on. Maturana named this process dynamics

“Structural Coupling” of the organism with its medium.

For life to occur, this coupling must necessarily be

reciprocal and mutually generative, although the

medium never specifies what happens inside the

organism, because this is, as we have seen, determined

in the structural dynamics of its body as a whole.

Continually, every living being lives in movement,

always inserted in a medium, where it interferes all the

time in the way it operates in reciprocal structural

correspondence. Any external observer

6

would say that

such organism identified something in the reality when

associating its movement to the environmental

condition. But, it is important to point out that, for the

organism, in its operational closing, nothing else

happened than its vital activity of autopoiese

maintenance, according to its conditions for internal

structural dynamics. What, for an observer, can be

related to a learning process, for the organism that tries,

what happens is a dance of internal correlations with the

only automatic sense of keeping its self-production.

This medium, continually modified, created and

recreated by the domain of actions of the living being, is

called “niche”

7

. This is the closet environment where a

6

That can be the organism itself, in case it has self-

awareness.

7

Maturana, 1997,O.R. , pág. 87.

structurally determined system lives. According to

Maturana, “to live is to slide on the accomplishment of

a niche”.

From this operational congruency between a living

being and its niche, from this well-succeeded structural

coupling there are conditions for total accomplishment

of a living organism autopoiese. If an adequate coupling

does not occur, there are no conditions for this

accomplishment so the organism either falls ill or dies.

Under these conditions, if the changes in the changing

of relationships of internal states in their operational

closing are defective, the structural change ends up

compromising the natural homeostasis, emerging illness

phenomenon. On the other hand, if the organization of

the living structure itself is compromised, the death of

the organism may occur. In other words, all interactions

or physiological alterations that occur inside the living

being are subservient to its autopoiese in a closed net of

self-production of itself. Or yet, autopoiese is the only

condition of the path of its internal states, which

continually modify from the inside, of its structural

dynamics, in a reciprocal coupling and mutually

generative with the environment.

This medium does not specify, in any moment,

what happens to the organism in its operational cloister.

The structural coupling with the medium is a dynamic

condition of the existence and complementation

between the system and the environment. If this

complementation is lost there is illness and/or death.

The preservation of this coupling is the preservation of

the adapting process of the living being in its

environment, of its relationships with it, preventing the

harm of its autopoiese.

The behavior: action and illness

Every sensorial experience in the world is

inseparable from the phenomenon of knowing, and, for

Maturana, we can not separate our history of actions

from how the world seems to be. “Every act of knowing

produces a world”. (A Árvore do Conhecimento, Ed Psy

II, 1995, pg. 68) Knowing, perceptive action as

behavior, the cognitive act is an essential fundament in

the theory of Humberto Maturana.

According to what we have observed, a system that

is determined by its structural dynamics exists in

constant interaction with the medium, literally building

a niche from which it is distinguished, in a single act,

specifying what it admits as interaction in the meaning

of a structural coupling that allows its well-succeeded

autopoiese. This, besides being a developmental and

dynamic relationship between the organism and the

medium, is, also and mainly, a recursive relationship,

where the action happens over the products of the

previous action, continually.

Within this framework, when there is regularity or

coherence in the recursive action shown by the

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organism in its congruent operating and with structural

correspondence with the medium, an observer would

say that the mentioned living system perceived

something, established a cognitive process in its acting,

when associating the movement to the environmental

circumstance.

So, according to Maturana, “while the NS

8

experiences its closed dance of changes in the

relationships of activity, not paying any attention to the

environment we describe as medium, we see, as

observers, the organism in this same medium

experiencing state changes that we see as sense-effector

correlations that we describe as behavior”. (Maturana,

1997, O.R. pg. 91) or yet, “ we name behavior as the

changes in the posture or position of a living being, that

an observer describes as movements or actions, towards

a certain medium” (A Árvore do Conhecimento, Ed Psy

II, 1995, pg 167). That is, what is a behavior for an

observer, for the organism itself, in its closed dynamics

of relationships, is only an experience of life

relationships in the sense of keeping its autopoiese. For

the organism itself, “the behavior is not something the

living being really does, since only internal structural

changes happen in it, it is something that we [observers]

point out”. (A Árvore do Conhecimento, Ed Psy II,

1995, pg 167) We configure then, in these relationships,

a concept in which the cognitive act consists of the

constitution of a world of actions where its autopoiese is

kept. “Every to do is to know and every to know is to

do” (A Árvore do Conhecimento, Ed Psy II, 1995, pg

68).

Therefore, behavior or cognitive act is something

that, by definition, the observer

9

observes in the changes

of position or form of an organism, in a changing flow

of sense effector correlations in their sensations and

functions, which are disturbed by their interactions with

the medium (but not specified), or are generated as a

result of their internal structural dynamics. Behavior is

the distinction by the observer of pure movement and

action in the relationships of the living being, being

congruent or not with the medium in the sense of being

alive, healthy or ill, according to the efficiency of the

structural coupling with the medium.

The question which can not create any confusion is

that although the behavior is the result of these internal

state changes shown by the organism, and, this way,

dependent on its structural dynamics, these structural

changes themselves, while simply cellular and

molecular alterations, do not constitute or determine

their behavior on a linear relationship of cause and

effect as it could seem in the present common sense. It

means that the structural dynamics of an organism

8

Nervous System (Author’s Note).

9

That can be of himself.

occurs in a domain that we could call anatomo-

physiologic, because, being operationally closed in

itself, does not receive specifications from the outside

and, at the same time, does not directly specify any

behavior. This is the reason why there is no crossing

between these two domains of an organism existence:

nothing coming from the outside specifies what happens

in the internal structural dynamics of an organism. This

dynamics can only be altered according to its exclusive

operational mode level with its internal susceptibility;

this one able to specify what can disturb it. The opposite

is also true, that means, its structural dynamics does not

specify what happens in the observation of its life of

relationship. According to Maturana’s theory, there is

no way to reduce a phenomenon to another one without

missing the comprehension of unit and totality of the

system, so precious to the Theory of Autopoiese.

Actually, the necessity for anatomo-physiologic

phenomenon is obvious for the occurrence of mental

behavior or events, but those first ones do not specify

these last ones.

The operating of this structural dynamics, as seen

before, follows a contingent course with the behavior

domain and vice-versa. A domain generates the other

one, but they are not reducible between themselves.

They occur in a crossed net of non-linear recursive

processes, mutually generative, not directly specifying

or causing the observed alterations in their own

domains.

It is clear that an observer, who ignores the

operational closing as a basic characteristic of the living

being and who contemplates both domains at the same

time, can establish cause-effect relationships among the

phenomenon, as it occurs for the allopathic medicine

concept, but, this way, loses the capacity to observe the

indissoluble unit of being, translated into the huge

amount of medical specializations and into the endless

list of categories of illnesses that the human being

suffers from.

On the other hand, concerning the organism that

directly experiences life phenomenon, what this last one

perceives is only its behavior domain that, in the human

being, is based on the language and emotions. We will

see later on that this is the fundamental reason for the

increased value of the empiric experience of the sick

person, of the feeling of his alterations in language and

emotion, for the understanding of an illness inserted in

the dynamics of living and doing, instead of the

common understanding of the illness while pure and

simple alteration of the cellular or molecular structures

of the organism.

Within this framework, our understanding of falling

ill in the autopoietic process also occurs in two

phenomenal domains which do not cross out, despite

being mutually generative. The first domain is the one,

which happens at the operational closing of the

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organism in its structural dynamics. In this domain, the

sense-effective correlations are automatic and blind

concerning the domain of behavior relationships. That

is, in its physiology, the organism reacts automatically,

exclusively determined by its structural relationship

dynamics, not being specified, on its mode, by any

external distress, also not specifying, at the same time,

its way of behavior. The second domain is exactly the

one observed as a cognitive phenomenon that occurs

every time the observer

10

operates in the language for

the description of the way the action/behavior of the

organism occurs. Therefore, the symptoms and all the

alterations related to sensations and altered functions

told by the patient in the language are phenomenon

which occur, described by an attentive observer in the

domain of the action and the behavior as a cognitive act,

and not simply in the domain of its physiology. It is

impossible to reduce, from this point of view, a domain

of phenomenon to another one.

It means, for the autopoietic theory of life, that we

could not consider an observed and told symptom as a

straight reflex of a structural alteration, even if the

existence of an altered physiology is obvious, without

losing the notion of the dynamic whole. As we have

seen since the beginning of this work, Maturana’s

constant concern about the consideration of the dynamic

unit of the living being is a trademark of his

epistemology. So, the illness as an observable

phenomenon must be cognitive data because it is

distinguished in the language, both from the patient and

the medical observer, and all its understanding must

occur in the domain of actions and relationships for us

to know its dynamic and individual totality.

Behavior and mental states (the language, the

awareness and the emotions)

For any living animal, its existence only occurs in

the domain of its interactions, in its life of relationships,

and its internal states will only be noticed in this domain

of behavior. The animal physiology originates and

makes the life of relationship possible, but does not

specify its way of life. This way of life, characteristic of

each species or each individual, occurs in the operation

of the organism as totality and unit in the action, and not

in the pure and simple operating of its individual

components.

For Humberto MATURANA, in the emerging of

the psychic, in terms of structural dynamics, nothing in

the operating of the NS

11

directly and mechanically

represents what really happens in the life of relationship

of the organism in its medium. “In the nature there are

10

That can be of himself.

11

Nervous System.

radically emerging properties [such as the psychism and

the awareness] that come out from their base

components, but are not reduced to themselves”. (De

Máquinas e Seres Vivos, Ed. Artes Médicas, 1997, pg.

48) That means, for us, human beings, “the psychic life

is [only] our way of living our relational space as human

beings and this living of ours occurs for our talking, for

our living in the talking”

12

and “it has its own properties

such as system or totality, that are not properties of its

components” (De Máquinas e Seres Vivos, Ed Artes

Médicas, 1997, pg. 29).

The definition for the psychic in the Autopoiese

Theory is of a relational dynamics expressed by the

individual in the living and suffering, but it does not

belong to the cellular and molecular structure of the NS,

not being, therefore, treated as a material entity to be

found in the NS, exactly for belonging to a phenomic

domain different from the structural dynamics. This

way, any system that is determined in its closed

structural dynamics and that shows a kind of observable

behavior related to a structural coupling with the

medium can be said to be an animal that lives in a

psychic space.

In this psychic space, distinguished this way in the

domain of the human being relationships, the language

can be understood as a group of linked sequences of

state changes in the language, inside an agreed domain

of the species, in which the organism is able to maintain

its autopoiese. These linked regularities, as coordination

of coordination of actions in the language, may be

present in any living being having a NS, but, as spoken

language, are only characteristics of the humans in the

evolution of the species.

Even if it cannot be reduced to its physiology, the

language, which occurs in a psychic space, is an

expressive system of coordinated actions of the internal

state that experiences the organism, all the time, in its

structural coupling with the medium. This way,

different people, with different modulations of the

internal structural dynamics, generate and modalize,

mutually, different psychic spaces. We are in the body

what we are in the psychic, in being and living, in acting

and doing, in short, in the individual cognitive act.

“What we do is inseparable from our experience of the

world” (A Árvore do Conhecimento, Ed. Psy II, 1995,

pg 66). Although the psychic is manifested in the

dynamics of living beings relationships, especially of

the human beings, it is lived by each one in the

individual solitude, so the meaning impregnated in the

building of the existence only happens in the living of

each person, at every time, through the language in the

manifested dynamic totality.

The physiologic organism always takes along its

way of life both as a result of the totality modulation of

12 Maturana,1997,O.R., pág. 115.

.

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its structural dynamics and also as its relational domain

in moving in the interactions of the simple living in the

language, in a mutual generative relationship between

these two existential domains. From this point of view,

there is no body-mind interaction as it is traditionally

conceived. On the contrary, it is about an only

existential dynamics. It is a domain of cognitive actions

where the organism, in a single moment, specifies the

medium where it lives and is distinguished, engaging

itself dynamic and structurally in recursive actions,

coordinated and regular, which biggest example is the

language, in the single sense of maintaining its

autopoiese, that means, the production of productive

nets of itself. For us, humans, everything is born from

this come-to-be movement, from constituting itself

when constituting a world in the language.

The emotions have a crucial role in this framework.

According to Maturana, the human is lived in talking

and thrilling. All human actions, even the rational, are

based in thrilling. Any operation of the human organism

in the environment is a behavior that is based in the

emotions. The emotion is a space of the experience

when we move in the existence, in the flow of

congruent and recurrent actions coordination in the

language. It is a condition which modules our individual

living continual and contingently. So, every living

being, especially the human being, exists as a totalized

dynamic unit in continual relationship and change. For

us, this dynamic aspect is fundamental for the

understanding of the illness in the autopoiese theory.

The crossing of our emotions with our living in the

language follows a contingent course, mutually

generative, with our internal structural dynamics and its

balance, being able then, according to the

circumstances, to emerge a pattern of illness that

specifies, in the being and doing of the individual, a

domain of symptomatic totality in terms of emotions

and contingent psychic life to an individual clinical

state. Every falling ill process is a unit in movement that

cannot be separated or reduced to its cellular and

molecular components only, neither separated from the

thrilling and from the psychic life of the individual.

The mind, inserted in the Autopoiese Theory, as

well as the awareness and the self-awareness, is a

phenomenon, which is distinguished in its specification

in the human language. It is not a physiologic entity

that can be located in CNS as the biological science

taught so far tries to convince us. For Maturana, the

mind is a phenomenon that emerges from the

relationship life, and not a property of cerebral

molecular components. The experience of awareness,

when specified in the language, appears as an action

experience in the living, in an exclusively cognitive

domain, always keeping the structural coupling of the

organism with the medium for the maintenance of

autopoiese. Therefore, the study of mental phenomenon,

of the emotions, as well as sensations and altered

functions of the organism in the illness, specified in the

language of the one who self-observes, are fundamental

in the understanding of falling ill in the individual

dynamics.

According to Humberto MATURANA, what

happens and is special about the cognitive process of

awareness is that it “is a self-distinction experience...

and I claim that the awareness happens as a particular

relational dynamics [that can be with itself in the

example of self-awareness], when the organism operates

as a participant of a domain of recursive distinctions in

the language and that awareness is not an entity or a

property of an entity” (Maturana, 1997, O.R., pg. 214).

In other words, the mind is the way the NS operates

in us, humans, that uses the language as a dynamic

interaction, allowing us to live the experience of

awareness and self-awareness. It is because of this self-

distinction condition that we experience the ego as

located in our body as a whole. On the other hand, the

maintenance of our body as a whole is closely related to

the awareness and to the language as an experiencing

human mode. “What we do in our language and in our

awareness has consequences in our body dynamics and

what happens in our body dynamics has consequences

in our language” (Maturana, 1997, O.R. pg. 168).

Actually it is about a unit and totality conception of the

human being in the action, in the cognitive act we

execute all the time we distinguish anything in acting,

doing and speaking.

Life phenomenon, loaded with its entire blemish,

according to this systemic biology purpose, is the

distinction of a single existential dynamics, autopoietic

in a domain of cognitive actions. Everything is born

from this come-to-be movement of acting, constituting a

world when self-constituting.

So, from this point of view, the emerging of the

illness in the interior of our body as a whole is a

contingent and mutually generative phenomenon with

the totality of our existential dynamics, in the living of

the language and in the emotion as an expression of an

operationally closed structural dynamics, and any

attempt to reduce the illness phenomenon to the level of

the cellular and molecular components of the organism,

or separate what is physic and what is psychic, becomes

a perspective of losing this dynamic totality that is so

expensive and important for a living being unit in the

acting of its existence.

The ontology of the objectivity

According to Humberto Maturana, any observer

follows an explanatory way which depends, basically,

on his preferences, on his internal disposition to implicit

or explicitly accept and choose one of the following two

initial conditions in his observation of the reality: 1) the

.

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properties of the observer and of the reality are

independent data existing in themselves, not dependent

on the observer and 2) the occurrence of the observer’s

living in the language distinguishes and designs a reality

that depends on the observer’s experience. He calls the

first case “objectivity without parenthesis” and the

second one “objectivity in parenthesis”.

Our author adopts the defense of the second,

because he refers that “the reality we live in as a domain

of explanatory propositions always reflects, all the time,

the flow of our interpersonal relationships, a

characteristic that does not depend on us being aware of

it or not, while a constituent characteristic of our

operation in the human biology of observing”

(Maturana, 1997, O.R., pg 265).

Therefore, any cognitive domain represents a

behavioral domain of the organism, in genuine actions

of the individual in its praxis of living, and there are as

many domains as possible, either in the sphere of

behavioral patterns of the animal species or in the

sphere among humans. Every cognitive domain

generates an explanatory domain of the living and the

knowing of a world and every domain of reality is a

way of living, falling ill and dying. There is no

invariable reality itself which is independent from the

one who knows and builds it. Maturana discusses this

unmistakable objectivity of things we are used to and of

the thinking as a symbolic representative of this

supposed “independent” nature. He substitutes this for

his understanding that reality is constituted, all the time,

of the observer in his operation of the knowing. “We

cannot separate our history of actions from how [the

world] seems to be” (A Árvore do Conhecimento, Ed

Psy II, 1995, pg 66). The extreme regularity of

operations of the living being, with the continuity in

time, offers us the concrete impression of the existence

of ourselves and all the other things.

This also happens in the domain of human illness

according to the autopoietic concept of life. It is in the

essence of the illness knowledge from the observer, the

purpose that his genesis happens in the praxis of his

living and not as an isolated structural data, objective

and independent from the ones who live and build their

own state. What we do and feel, being healthy or ill, is

inseparable from our world experience.

MATURANA offers an explanation to show the

great stability that reality offers to the cognitive process.

In the movement of language communication, it is

possible to establish certain agreed domains of behavior,

giving agreement and regularity to reality, that supply

the unprepared observer with the impression of an

independent objectivity. This agreement is, in short, a

result from cognitive interactions, that are generated by

a system determined by its internal structural dynamics,

and whose sense-effective organization is common to

the species in their phylogenetic evolution. It is in the

recurrence of these generative recurrent interactions that

a regularity of the world seen and lived is intensified, so

that we can speak and experience this reality being

understood by the fellow creature. But for us, attentive

readers to the autopoietic theory of life, we never lose

the notion that the experience and constitution of reality

is unique for each living being to carry it out. It is the

pattern of recursive and agreed meetings that brings to

perception the stability of the created reality, being this

in health conditions in a structural coupling or not.

Conclusion

Our goal, with this article, was to show how recent

research in the biology of knowing and scientific

epistemology can support a concept of systemic illness

that differs from the one practiced by the medicine

accepted as scientific in our western world so far. We

fundamentally are able to characterize eight basic

principles, which could establish this conceptual

difference of the illness:

It is clear that living systems are systems

determined by their structural dynamics in operational

cloister. We characterize, this way, a kind of “internal

command” that, inside its operational closing that

produces the elements which produce themselves, is

blind and automatic towards the behavior. That is, its

operating is autonomous, despite being contingent, from

the living being behavior. This so called internal

command is characterized by changes in the relationship

changes between the totality of components of the

organism in a closed net of relationships which produce

themselves. “The characterization of the minimum

living unit can not happen only over the base of material

components. The description of the organization of the

living as a configuration or pattern is also essential.”

(De Máquinas e Seres Vivos, Ed Artes Médicas, 1997,

pg 47) Patterns, operational cloister, autonomy and

totality are fundamental characteristics of the

autopoietic concept of life.

That behavior, by definition, is something that is

observed by an observer in the relationship changes as

a way of acting of an organism facing a distress. This

distress does not specify anything happening inside the

organism, since this one operates in operational cloister.

The behavior, then, is characterized by an observer’s

description of the changes of position/action and of

sensation/function of the organism facing such distress.

The notion of illness as an observable phenomenon, can

therefore be fit very well in this concept of behavior:

while altered sensations and functions, observed by the

ill person himself, his relatives and the attentive doctor.

From this point of view, it is the acting while behavior

in the illness that characterizes the illness, in a domain

of structural coupling with the partially well succeeded

medium, reported in the language by the patient and not

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its reduction and exclusive physiologic manifestation

level with its material components.

It is clear that the illness needs a physiology in

order to happen, but the organism in its operational

cloister does not admit any kind of exterior information

that determines its operation, even if this is in the

illness, because its operation is determined by its

condition of autopoietic internal structural dynamics.

What is important to understand about this dynamic

concept, is that the illness as an observable event is only

possible to happen level with the behavior, the

individual action in illness and as such has to be

considered in the individual language, and not as a

direct consequence of the molecular alterations of its

structure. At the moment we use the language to express

any event we are already in the domain of the behavior.

Thinking, language, emotions are all phenomenon of the

human behavior in the reality acting and it is for them,

while observable events, that the conditions of the

internal structural dynamics are expressed.

That, therefore, these two phenomenal domains,

structural determination and behavior, cannot be

reduced to each other. That means, what occurs level

with the behavior does not have as the cause factor the

local alteration of the components of its physiology,

even if it needs this one to happen. Such domains have a

contingent relationship and are mutually generative in

their happenings in the praxis of living, while an

indissoluble unit in the dynamic observation. There is

no way how to separate the illness from the living, the

speaking and the thrilling of each unit in the living

being as totality, placing it as a pure and simple

manifestation of the physiologic.

That the perception of the altered states of the

internal economy of the organism during an illness can

only be perceived in the domain of the behavior, where

the language and the thrilling are emerging

phenomenon. In this domain of behavior, the events are

expressed in terms of the living being unit. Therefore,

developing medical practices that give value and

operate the indissoluble totality of the individual’s

symptoms, clinic and at the same time psychic, both

from the points of view of semiology and therapeutics,

exactly the way they occur in the individual’s language,

match the most modern theories of the living beings

organization.

That, in the operating of human beings, the

language is their main existential mode at the behavior

level. For us humans, all reality is distinguished in the

language. Therefore, the way of reporting what the ill

person feels altered in his sensations and functions is,

for the autopoiese theory, the main investigative method

for the distinction of an illness state and it is on it that

we have to base, mainly, any therapeutic form.

That the language occurs in a relational psychic

space, as well as the mind, the awareness (and the

selfawareness) and the emotions. All this cognitive

phenomenon group is a unit of come-to-be, in constant

dynamics and movement. In this case, there is no

interaction between mind and body; there is, on the

contrary, a unit in permanent action in the existence,

where every behavior is distinguished through the

observer’s language, that can be his own. This means

that, despite all the technological benefits modern

medicine has to offer in diagnosis and treatment of

alterations in the biological components of the human

body, in the autopoiese theory, it is still in the language,

through the reporting of the direct and empiric

experience of the sick person with his illness, that we

find the real vitality and meaning of the illness

dynamics in the individual who lives his own praxis.

That, at last, the approach of the illness as

objectivity in itself does not depend on the subject,

disguises and mixes up the understanding of the

dynamic totality of being and doing, in the domains of

behavior and language. As Maturana questions the

notion of reality itself, objective and not variable, we

can also question the illness as infallible and exclusive

data of the cellular and molecular objective alterations,

since its distinction occurs in the language, even when

we face information considered to be objective, because

even these ones are distinguished in the language. This

way, the illness can, in every moment, be modulated by

the individual experience of the subject who lives his

blemish. The epistemological development of an illness

understanding linked to the subject in his direct

experience of the living and falling ill is, therefore,

more and more necessary.

I believe, so, that such definitions are not only

theoretical and epistemological. They surely can, along

with the practices which involve the modern systemic

theory of medicine and biology, practiced by doctors

and having experimental systems established within this

systemic framework, lead the scientific thinking of the

21st century about the living systems to unusual

practical consequences, either in the individual or the

collective health field, representing a turning in the

paradigms of the understanding of what we call illness.

This way, we are before two paths to follow, two

systems of medical thinking: the traditional one that we

call medicine of the biological components and this new

and revolutionary one that I call medicine of the

dynamic unit of the living being.

=======================================

2. Some remarks concerning homeopathic symptoms

ROSENBAUM, Paulo & WAISSE DE PRIVEN

Silvia I (IJHDR. VOL. 3, No. 9/2004)

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Within the lack of a consensus regarding most of

homeopathic theory and practice, there’s a feature of

absolute agreement: our essential working tool are

symptoms. Clinical interview is designed as to harvest

the patient’s symptoms. The effects of potentially

medicinal substances are assessed through the

symptoms they elicit in healthy provers. The choice of

the most suitable remedy for a particular case is

grounded on the comparison of the patient’s symptoms

and pathogenetic symptoms.

Yet, our clinical and teaching experience taught us

that it’s quite difficult to interpret symptoms. Since

Hahnemann’s times, it is axiomatic that the symptoms

of the highest value are those that individualize the

patients, the so-called “rare, peculiar and characteristic

symptoms”.

What is it so hard to grasp? To Biomedicine, the

value of symptoms is clear-cut: symptoms are valuable

as they point to their underlying pathological cause. No

problem here. To Homeopathy, as mentioned above, the

most valuable symptoms are, on the opposite, those to

point to the patient’s uniqueness. Now things are not so

clear. What does “individualization” precisely mean?

It seems we have inherited Boenninghausen’s

worries. Aware that HAHNEMANN hadn’t set criteria

to define a symptom as characteristic, he launched a

prize-question to solve the problem. As he received

absolutely no answers, he felt he had the duty to provide

a solution, which he did by invoking a medieval classic

notion: Quis? Quid? Ubi? Quibus auxiliis? Cur?

Quomodo? Quando? - Who? What? Where? Under

what circumstances? Why? How? When?

(BOENNINGHAUSEN, 1860).

Thus, a symptom was to be qualified regarding its

localization, sensations, modalities of amelioration and

aggravation, and concomitant features.

The problem seemed to be basically solved until

James T. KENT entered the homeopathic scene. His

new proposals were extremely seductive and elicited a

true revolution in homeopathic thinking. Grounded on

his peculiar anthropologic framework - which drew

heavily from Immanuel Swedenborg’s ideas - KENT

reduced the whole of human experience to the powers

of Understanding and Will. The necessary consequence

was the hermeneutic priority of mental symptoms.

As an example, Boenninghausen might have taken

into account “conscientious, at twilight, sitting

ameliorates, accompanied by palpitations”. KENT

would have picked merely “conscientious”, if it were

an essential character trait of the patient’s.

This approach leads, once again, to the same age-

old question: when may we be sure that “conscientious”

is a “symptom”? Is it a trait that ought to disappear, as

all symptoms are according to Hahnemann? If it’s the

symptom of some disease: what would be such disease?

How can we know if someone is “pathologically

conscientious”?

This mode of reflection applies to each and every

characteristic rubric in the repertories: “sympathetic”,

“dictatorial”, “docile” etc., and to most general rubrics,

especially desires and aversions and the modalities of

amelioration and aggravation.

All issues above are very far from being perfectly

elucidated, as every practicing homeopath knows, and

are the cause of heated debate in any homeopathic

community. Paraphrasing a well-known joke, “Two

homeopaths, three different opinions concerning the

value of a given symptom”.

Moreover, the lack of sound criteria to establish

what a homeopathic symptom is may constitute the

main cause of the prevalence of subjectivity when

symptoms and remedies are to be selected. It seems that

the building up of the Inbegriff - the minimal

semiologic picture that holographically represents the

patient as a whole (HAHNEMANN) - will always

remain a hostage of the arbitrary preferences of each

homeopathic practitioner.

“Intuition” is even more controversial than the

status of the homeopathic symptom. Moreover,

“intuition” cannot be taught nor learned. No instructor

aims to teach intuition. What the 21st century

homeopath looks for is to teach and practice a scientific

medicine, grounded on sound knowledge and ruled by

precise technical principles.

Grounded on these considerations, we led a series

of debates at Escola de Homeopatia in order to try to

establish consensual bases concerning the value of

symptoms in Homeopathy and objective criteria to

define a symptom as “characteristic”.

To our general amazement - even more surprising

as participants were all very experienced practitioners -

it was immediately evident that no two physicians

shared the same notion regarding what it is that

individualizes patients. Obviously, everybody had some

vague hunches, but no one was able to formulate them

in objective terms.

Yet, this led to a first positive result: the polisemy

of the term “symptom” became evident to everyone.

Homeopathy - and any other kind of Medicine - has no

reason to be able to account for all its epistemological

dilemmas. An extensive bibliographical survey showed

that no single homeopathic author has ever been able to

evade some degree of subjectivity concerning the value

of symptoms2.This is the reason why we searched also

in non homeopathic sources for methodological and

theoretical tools that may help us to build a univocal

meaning for the term “homeopathic symptom”.

The symptom according to Hahnemann

HAHNEMANN established a clear-cut

demarcation between “healthy states” and “diseased

states”. The aim of Therapeutics was to heal acute and

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chronic diseases, turning them into perfect health

(HAHNEMANN, 1995, #1).3

How can the physician distinguish between health

and disease? Exclusively through symptoms:

manifestations available to sense-perception (the

patient’s, his/her friends and relatives’, the doctor’s).

In this context, HAHNEMANN states that he’s not

interested in discovering the ultimate cause of disease,

moreover, that the latter is absolutely unknowable.

We’d like to emphasize the following notion:

Hahnemann didn’t state that the cause of disease was

inaccessible due to the state of knowledge at his time.

But he said that the “how” and “what” are eternally

concealed (ewig verborgnen). (HAHNEMANN, 1995,

note to #12 ).

The same principle applies to remedies: “... the

curative essence of remedies isn’t recognizable by itself

(an sich). (HAHNEMANN, 1995, #20).

In short: to Hahnemann, diseased states may only

be distinguished through manifestations perceived by

the senses, which represent deviations from the usual

condition.

This brings up a problem: how could

HAHNEMANN be so positive when stating that we’ll

never be able to transcend the plane of sense-

perception?

We have a hint. Hahnemann distinguishes between

(unknowable) essences and (perceptible, knowable)

manifestations. What did Hahnemann’s environment

had to say about essences, manifestations and

knowledge?

Actually, these were the main subjects discussed at

the time. And it’s Hahnemann himself who provides us

with the next clue: the answer lies in Immanuel KANT.

(apud HAEHL, 1993).

In his Critique of Pure Reason, KANT states that:

* Things have actual existence in reality.

* All human knowledge begins by and through

experience.

* Yet, sense-perception (which he calls “intuition”)

is not enough: “Intuitions without concepts are

blind”.

* Human reason is unable to reach realities other

than the sensible ones: to know is to know

something. Besides the objects of this world, our

concepts can’t grasp anything: “Concepts without

contents are empty”.

* Things as we know them: phenomena.

* Things as the are in themselves (an Sich4):

noumena

* Thus, knowledge depends on the structure of the

human spirit. Spirits built otherwise would know a

whole different world.

This to say: things as we perceive them are not in

themselves as we perceive them. If blue lenses covered

our eyes, we would perceive everything blue. Sense-

perception doesn’t elicit any knowledge of things as

they are in themselves. This is the reason why, no

matter how much experience may advance, it will

NEVER allow us to transcend its limits. What does

advance is our knowledge of phenomena, but we’ll

never be able to bridge the gap between phenomena and

noumena. No microscope, no telescope will ever bring

us any near of things as they are in themselves.

In Kantian terms, a symptom is a phenomenon. As

such, it represents all we can know. HAHNEMANN

words.

The symptom in Medicine

Broadly speaking, a symptom is:

* All feelings interpreted as discomfort.

* All sensations that express a function’s alterations.

* All and every discomfort.

* The result of disease.

* Manifestations of organic anatomic injury.

According to Italian semiotician Umberto Eco,

medical symptoms belong to the class of natural

inferences, that is to say, the sign as signal. An evident

allusion from which deductions may be inferred

regarding something that is latent. A surface element

that lets us to infer something not immediately evident.

In this context, the sign may be a part, an aspect or

manifestation of something that doesn’t show itself

completely (“the iceberg’s tip”).

If it is so: who is it that actualizes the significance

bond? Charles A. Peirce - one of the founders of

modern Semiotics - explains that “Something becomes a

sign only when it is interpreted as a signal of something

by an interpreter” (apud Chandler, p. 2).

So, although symptoms manifest themselves

phenomenally, they also have a meaning, they hide

meanings. And the only agency capable of interpreting

the meaning of a particular symptom is its author: the

patient.

Meanings aren’t noumena, but merely reflect the

significance that a definite individual ascribes to signs.

This is essential to homeopathic practice: a symptom is

not valuable inasmuch it denotes the underlying

pathological condition that originated it, but inasmuch it

reveals the presence or absence of an individualizing

factor.

Individualization

A useful learning technique is to teach students to

distinguish between “symptoms of the disease” (as an

example, symptoms that allow to diagnose pharyngitis)

and “symptoms of the diseased” (the symptoms of the

real, actual patient suffering from pharyngitis).

But we need to be wary: students may mistakenly

conclude that such a dichotomy is real. Actually,

nothing exists that is called “pharyngitis”. What only

exists is an individual suffering from pharyngitis and

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who will always express his/her personal “signature”.

Pharyngitis - and any other pathologic class - is a

medical abstraction, a rational construct, a useful

fiction.

For instance, let’s think of muscular weakness in

anemia. Muscular weakness is a common symptom in

anemic patients. Moreover, it may very well be the case

that the blood lab tests that establish the diagnosis were

ordered precisely because the main complain of the

patient was muscular weakness. Yet, it’s never plain

“weakness”: it is “weakness at 3 a.m.”, “weakness after

eating tomatoes” etc. A common symptom, via

modalities, becomes less common, even rare - in any

case: individualizing. And the finer the modalities, the

highest the value of the symptoms as indicator of the

patient’s individuality.

Categories: Marker symptoms vs. Constitutive

symptoms

In the example above we may distinguish two

elements: “weakness” and its modality. In other words,

the problem we hope to heal and a kind of descriptive

element, an adjective. What we expect to heal is

“weakness”... what are our expectations concerning

“worse at 3 a.m.” or “eating tomatoes, aggravates”?

Let’s make it harder: “weakness, ameliorates at the sea-

side”. What should happen to this “sea-side

amelioration”?

Nothing.

We call the first element “marker symptom” and

the second, “constitutive symptom”. The former is what

marks the patient’s clinical evolution. The latter inheres

to the patient’s individual constitution; it has no

explanation besides idiosyncrasy. A constitutive

symptom is what expresses the essential nature of the

phenomenal manifestation of the individual.

Why did we choose the term “constitutive”?

Although we are aware that it may suggest some

confusion with the French school that focuses on

morphologic constitution, we had to stay with it, as it

denotes “That which constitutes; essential;

indispensable; characteristic; distinctive; part of an

organism”.5 No other word has the same meaning.

Shortly: it’s that which belongs to the individual, is

peculiar to him/her, is an integral part of him/her – no

matter that it only manifests itself under specific

circumstances, in our example, anemia.

A child was afraid of the sea. Later in life, he

dropped out of college and went to live at the beach. His

parents threatened to cut his allowance if he didn’t go

back to school. He complied. But the walls at his

bedroom are full of posters with sea-images. All his

notebooks covers are pictures of the sea. Even his

computer screensaver and background show pictures of

the sea. No wonder that his asthma attacks improve at

the sea-side.

How are we to apply these notions into practice?

The most suitable remedy ought to be similar to the

patient’s constitutive symptoms, his/her clinical

evolution should be assessed through the marker

symptoms. Why? Because the constitutive element, in

our example, the sea, means something very special in

the deepest recesses of the patient’s being. We don’t

know what it means. But we know that it expresses

somehow the context of his authenticity. If the chosen

remedy not only makes bronchitis improve but also

erases all allusion of the sea, we have strong reasons to

suspect that its effect was suppressive instead of

curative. This is because the individual lost an aspect of

his/herself. What does it remain of the individual if we

deprive him/her of his/her personal susceptibilities?

Nothing, or almost nothing.

The story above is no fairy tale: it’s something that

may be found in every patient, provided our anamneses

are carefully performed. We don’t know - and never

will - why this young man is so attached to the image of

the sea. In fact, neither he knows. This is because it’s a

noumenon and as such, inaccessible to our knowing

faculties. All we have is a general phenomenon: the

attribution of meaning to an object, and different ways

of relating to it, equally phenomenal.

Hermeneutic Totality

The homeopathic symptom distinguishes itself from

other kinds of medical symptoms by its lack of any a

priori fixed value. A symptom doesn’t become

“homeopathic” just because it presents some modalities.

“One-sided throbbing headache, light and noise

aggravate, lying in the dark ameliorates, accompanied

by vertigo and visual hallucinations” is a symptom that

presents all of Boenninghausen’s requirements. Yet, it’s

not individualizing: it belongs to the symptomatic

picture characteristic of migraine.

And neither a symptom becomes individualizing

just because it is mental, very old and very intense. To

be “greedy” is nobody’s individualizing characteristic

trait, it merely constitutes a way of reacting to a deeper

subject, that represents the true susceptibility of the

individual. We may not even state a priori that this

subject is “money” - he/she may indeed be greedy

because he/she loves money. But it may be also due to

an idea that money buys love, or protection against

future unknown threats. Interpretative possibilities are

almost infinite.

The value of any symptom depends exclusively on

the interpretation performed by the particular

interpreter. The example above, “greedy”, is obviously

not a desirable character trait. But what must we say

about “conscientious”? To be careful when performing

a task: is it a symptom? Should it be “healed” in the

course of treatment? It may be answered: It should, if it

is “excessive”, “too intense”. Well, there are some

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professions that demand this kind of skill: air-traffic

controllers, neurosurgeons, manipulation of gametes

and embryos etc.

There’s no way how to evaluate a symptom without

its context. This is the true “totality” we deal with, the

totality of a text and its context. The value of a symptom

depends on the interpretation performed here-and-now

by the only agent enabled to do it: the interpreter. In our

case, the patient.

\Heuristics

It may be objected that a procedure such as the one

we advance is more of a craft than technical. It’s partly

true. Since Aristotle, “There’s only science of the

generic, there’s no science of the particular”. But what

Homeopathy precisely introduced as a revolution in

Medicine is a way of technical approach what is

singular and unique. Yes, Homeopathy has a technique,

but it ought to be applied as an art or a craft. A craft

developed specifically in order to deal with individuals,

instead of collections.

In order to grasp a symptom in its full and real

meaning, the first we need is a text and a context. The

text is the symptom - the complaint patient brings. The

context is the individual’s larger life-story, which is

available through an anamnesis performed according to

Hahnemann’s guidelines.

The same holds true for proving. Our available

Materia Medica usually doesn’t supply the contexts that

bring meaning to symptoms. “Aversion to her own

children” - what may we infer from a symptom like this,

absolutely deprived of its context?

This flaw is the reason why many authors tried to

formulate methods to explain the meaning of symptoms:

“homeopathic personalities”, “Divine attributes” and so.

Yet, it is only the prover/patient who can explain what

does a definite term or expression mean, elucidating the

context and the life experiences where it appears.

Conclusion

Many aspects - practical and theoretical - are still

problematic in Homeopathy. This doesn’t put into

question its efficacy as a therapeutical approach. Yet,

they need to be elucidated, in order to establish a dialog

with contemporary sciences and culture.

Symptoms are the key-building blocks of the

homeopathic epistemologic model. This is the reason

why their perspectives, opacities and asymmetries ought

to be explored.

In this article we tried to summarize our position, in

the hope that it will awake a productive discussion in

the homeopathic community.

========================================

3. Homœopathy is the individual’s therapeutics

GALHARDOM E.M., Typ. SONDERMANN,

Henrique (IJHDR. 5, 16/2006)

Dr. Leon VANNIER, intelligent and cultured

Parisian homeopath, director of “L’Homoeopathie

Française”, one of the most remarkable homeopathic

magazines, in a recent article, under the title “La

function humaine”, has written:

“Homeopathy is the individual’s therapeutics,

which personal reactions constitute the remedies

indication. These reactions are expressed by the

diseased. The homeopathic doctor recognizes them and,

after a hierarchical classification, attributing to each one

the importance and value it deserves, determines the

useful therapeutics, the one that is exclusively adapted

to the individual, diseased, in gratitude. A scrupulous

investigation will conduct it to a deep knowledge about

the Individual that is under one’s care”.

In this transcription, the reader will find what

Hahnemannian Homeopathy is, where the cases, being

unique as they are, don’t repeat themselves, besides

very rare exceptions. It’s a therapeutic of individual

specificity. Each case is always unique in its kind.

The Classical Medicine nosotaxy, imposed by an

international convention, does not express the true of

the facts. It is an artificial arrangement that does not

define absolutely what happens in the diseased

individual morbidity. Each diseased is a specific

morbid, dependent on a pathological function that is not

proper of it exclusively, and cannot be found, in the

exactly same way, in other diseased, except for very

particular cases, despite suffering of identical sickness,

under the same denomination of traditional nosology.

Between two sick people of a same pathological

manifestation, there is pronounced and very accentuate

distinctions that obstruct confusions, since they are

faced according to hahnemannian conception. Taking

care of the diseased that really exists, and not of the

disease that we ignore was what Hahnemann exclaimed

when he said: We know the diseased, not the diseases.

This phrase suffered, however, the influence of a

reduction and was established in this other: There are

diseased people, not diseases. The thought of

Homeopathy’s creator was not well translated here. He

didn’t deny the existence of disease. He only denied the

possibility of knowing it. He affirmed that we know the

diseased people, but ignore the diseases. And since

Homeopathy is like that, the homeopathic doctor focus

and care about the individual knowledge of each

diseased, denying the possibility of designating it by an

artificial name, formed by Greek and Latin radicals,

with endings like ite, ia, rhéa, omã, ose, etc. Such

denominations are hold in the hypothesis of knowing

the disease, localizing them. In such a way, it classifies

perfectly distinct diseased people, under the same

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rubric, subordinated to the organ, the viscus

denomination, in which the supposed symptoms of the

disease are more evident. It despises, therefore, the

diseased, known, to use the disease, unknown.

This notion, incompatible with what really occurs

in the organic intimacy of the individual, drags

traditional medicine, in its exact altruism to the

Humanity, to researches almost impossible to succeed,

intending to discover what doesn’t exist, a specific

remedy to each disease.

Wise men all over the world, including Brazil,

helped materially by the money of states, associations

and private ventures devote themselves to research, the

more extensive and delicate ones, hoping gloriously to

find a remedy to cancer, to leprosy, to tuberculosis etc.

On June 26th, of this year, with the presence of

Mrs. Lebrun, French president, Luiz Renault, Public

Health Minister, Senator Strauss, president of

Foundation for Cancer Institute Development, the

inauguration of the new buildings of this Institute took

place in Paris, increased the resources to the

investigation that they are promoting since 4 years ago,

on the elevated objective of solving one of the most

interesting problems on therapeutics. Other exists in

Germany, England, United States etc. All of them

worried about this laudable and noble objective of a

solution to the human suffering. Among us, some have

been searching and still look for a solution to the

problem. No resource should be denied. On the

contrary. We should proportionate them generous

material resources in order to, devoted to the glorious

objective that passionates them, striving the relief of

millions of suffering individuals, they could be sure of

the truths proclaimed by wise Hahnemann, over a

century ago. On their orientation, they won’t find a

solution to the problem. They will only be able to solve

it when they face each case as individually specific.

They will have to search for an individual specific

medicine and not a specific to cancer.

The same attention and support deserves a Mr. that

has just announced the discovery of a medicine able to

cure Hansen’s disease, according to what the press in

this city has published and that it will be presented to

medical associations.

The discovery author, zealous industrial, has

gathered good results with his “Antarpel”, in shots made

in hansenian carriers, in an infirmary of Curupaity

hospital, in Jacarepaguá.

Unfortunately, supported by the hahnemannian

conception of which I am a conscious and impassioned

adherent, I deny that the rumorous medicine is the

remedy to Hansen’s disease. It will cure, I affirm, the

cases that have similarity. But only these ones.

It doesn’t prevent, however, that all the resources

need be offered to the industrial man for him to continue

its investigations. He shouldn’t be denied material or

moral support.

Speaking about the similarity, a distinguished

colleague has drawn my attention to an observation in

the page 376 of “Pediatria Pratica”, published last

August, where I’ve read that Heine-Medin disease can

be treated by antibotulinic serum, due to the fact that

“the botulinic toxin has particular preference to the

nervous tissue and to determine equal lesions to the

ones made by poliomyelitis virus”. In the 50 cases

treated, however, in some of them the effect was

controversial, but in “others it seems evident the

favorable action of antibotulinic serum”.

The cases cured were the ones with similarity.

Despite the manifestations produced by botulinic toxin

seem to be identical, they are very distinct from one

individual to the other. Each one reacts to external and

internal excitements with a specific activity, properly

individual. Only the experiment in man has the ability

to reveal the indispensable knowledge to select the

remedy, this is the individualization. Without this

previous investigation it will not be possible to apply

the Law of Similarity. It will be useless, therefore,

according to Hahnemann’s doctrine, to research the

discovery of a specific remedy. Specific is the diseased,

not the disease.

64 Last October 31st I was reached by Mrs. C. J., who

lives at Buenos Aires Street, in this city. She declared

that “for more than 20 years I’ve been suffering of a

terrible headache. I thought, however, this migraine was

incurable and, because of that, I ask your attention only

to the swelling of my legs, what I’ve been suffering of

for six years. In the beginning the swelling was only in

the ankles and only during summer. Nowadays,

however, it extended to the legs in every season. I felt

also an annoying determined pain in the low third of

right leg. The headache used to happen at night, I sleep

with migraine and wake up always worse”…

The diseased woman described thoroughly her

sufferings, by the way, her multiple sufferings. Her

description, from start to end, revealed the pathogenesy

of Lachesis muta. The clinical exams manifested the

existence of edema on both legs, specially on left, and

hyperphonesis of second rumble in the aortic focus.

I prescribed Lachesis muta 200. She came back to

the chamber, respectively, on November 16th and 29th,

and December 12th. Doses were elevated to 500 and

1000.

Since the beginning of the treatment, the migraine,

that persisted for more than 20 years, disappeared and

the edema in the legs has been receding satisfactorily.

It’s now almost not visible. I hope to see her soon

completely cured, without any of the subjective or

objective symptoms that bother her so much.

I can affirm that all the homeopaths would

prescribe Lachesis muta, once surucucu’s virus the

.

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol. XXX, 3 & 4, 2013. Private Circulation only 153

remedy similar to the case, the remedy of the considered

diseased woman and not the disease revealed by that

hyperphonesis or edema.

The choice of the remedy is made for the diseased,

known by subjective and objective symptoms and not

for the disease, completely ignored.

========================================

4. A pilot study of the influence of Natrum

muriaticum 6cH and 30cH in a standardized

culture of Phaseolus vulgaris L.

LENSI, Mariana Moreira; SIQUEIRA Tatiana

Jürgensen; SILVA Gustavo Henrique

(IJHDR. 9, 30/2010)

The use of highly diluted and agitated solutions is

widespread. Its use extends to all living beings

including plants, acting effectively in the latter’s

primary and secondary metabolism.

Aims: this is a pilot study designed to assess the action

of Natrum muriaticum in dilutions 6 CH and 30 CH in

comparison to the action of 5.0% NaCl solution

administered separately to a population of Phaseolus

vulgaris L. (common bean).

Materials and methods: it was determined the relative

growth rate (RGR) of the bean population treated for 6

weeks and subdivided into 4 groups (5 vases each): P1

(control) treated with 30% alcohol solution only; P2,

treated with aqueous 5.0% NaCl solution; P3, treated

with Nat-m 6 CH; P4, treated with Nat-m 30 CH.

Results: it was seen an increase in the salinity of the

soil that caused the inhibition of the development of the

bean population P2. In addition, the use of Nat-m

promoted a significant increase in vegetable growth,

chiefly in dilution 6 CH (P3), causing a significant

increase in the RGR of the bean population.

Conclusion: high dilutions of Nat-m showed to be

efficient to stimulate the growth of common bean.

Keywords: High dilutions, Phaseolus vulgaris L,

Relative growth rate, Natrum muriaticum.

1. Introduction

The use of highly diluted and agitated solutions is

widespread and efficient in the treatment of human

beings. In time, the use of these preparations was

extended to all living beings, as well as soil and water.

In plants, it is believed that high dilutions act on the

metabolism, resulting in the increased formation of

secondary metabolic products related to the mechanisms

of defense of plants [1, 2] or in the decreased formation

of these products [3]. In some cases, these preparations

may influence the primary plant metabolism provoking

a response in their growth and vitality. For this reason,

farmers from various locations in Brazil and from other

countries have been using these solutions in plants,

achieving positive results regarding resistance to

parasites and diseases, unfavorable physical conditions,

efflorescence, breaking seed dormancy and production

of healthy seedlings [4].

Diverse preparations have been used in plants,

including Arnica montana, Sulphur, Nux vomica,

Natrum muriaticum, Phosphorus, Thuja occidentalis,

Carbo vegetabilis, Calcarea carbonica, Medohrrinum,

Staphisagria, Mercurius solubilis, Kalium iodatum, and

others [5]. Int J High Dilution Res 2010; 9(30): 43-50

44

Natrum muriaticum improves plant acclimatization

in locations that are inappropriate for growth and

development. It is also indicated for plants that are

under stress due to drought and frost. This medication is

prepared from sea salt and employed according to the

principle of similarity and minimum doses. From the

perspective of the principle of similarity, a high salinity

of the soil, mainly caused by sodium salts, sodium

chloride (NaCl) in particular, has a damaging effect on

plants [6].

According to Greenway and Munns [7], plants

exposed to high salinity levels usually respond by

osmoregulation inside the cell due to an increase in ion

absorption. Plant adaptation to these conditions may

depend on an increased amount of specific organic

solutes or an ability to prevent the accumulation of salts

in the cytoplasm. Studies suggest that high salt contents

induce alterations in protein metabolism (hydrolysis)

[6]. According to Távora [8], the most remarkable effect

of salinity in plants, besides the alteration of the osmotic

potential, is toxicity and a lack of balance in nutrient

absorption, provoking a generalized decrease in plant

growth.

The response of plants to salinity conditions is

related to the expression of various genes [9] and each

species has a tolerance level to salt that depends on the

concentration and nature of the dissolved salts, climatic

factors, water absorption and vegetable nutrition [10].

The present pilot study was aimed at assessing the

action of Natrum muriaticum at 6 CH and 30 CH

potencies, compared to the action of a 5.0% NaCl when

separately administered to Phaseolus vulgaris L.

(common bean) populations.

Materials and Methods

Phaseolus vulgaris L. was chosen due to easy

cultivation and short life cycle. Furthermore, bean

culture is considered to be very sensitive to salinity [11,

12].

For planting, seeds from a same lot were used to

reduce genetic variability and thus produce a more

uniform result. The experiment was conducted in a

greenhouse at Pontifícia Universidade Católica de

Campinas, in Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil. The climate

of the city is classified as tropical according to altitude,

with an average annual temperature of 22.3ºC.

.

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol. XXX, 3 & 4, 2013. Private Circulation only 154

The populations of beans were treated for 6 weeks,

from September to November 2009. Each of the 4

populations was composed of 25 plants in 5 vases, with

5 plants in each vase. Such numbers were justified by

culture standardization with seed selection and

cultivation in a greenhouse decreasing potential

interferences. Moreover, the results were analyzed by

paired t test and this configuration was sufficient to

perform the study. The first population (P1), named

control group, was treated only with water added to 5

drops of 30% ethanol. The second population (P2) was

treated with an aqueous solution of 5.0% sodium

chloride. The third population (P3) was treated with

homeopathic preparation Natrum muriaticum 6 CH, and

the fourth population (P4) was treated with Natrum

muriaticum 30 CH.

Highly diluted solutions were prepared according to

the Brazilian Homeopathic Pharmacopeia – 2nd Edition

[13] and thus the 6 cH and 30 cH dilutions were

prepared in 30% ethanol.

The solutions were administered to the 4

populations for a total period of 6 weeks, 5 days a week.

In the control population (P1), each vase received 5

drops of 30% alcohol solution diluted in 50ml of water.

P2 was treated with 50 ml of an aqueous solution of a

5.0% sodium chloride (each vase). P3 received Natrum

muriaticum 6 cH and P4 received Natrum muriaticum

30 cH. For both groups, 5 drops of the respective high

dilution were diluted in 50ml of water and administered

to each vase. None of the populations had been

previously intoxicated with sodium chloride solution

and therefore P2 was used as positive control. Int J High

Dilution Res 2010; 9(30): 43-50 45.

Each week an individual plant from each

population of Phaseolus vulgaris L. was randomly

removed from each vase and submitted to drying in a

sterilizer at a temperature of 100 to 105 ºC until a

constant mass was obtained (for approximately 1 hour).

Subsequently, the samples were cooled in a desiccator

for time sufficient to achieve room temperature. After

drying, the samples were weighed on an analytical

balance. The values obtained were used for calculation

of the relative growth rate (RGR), which represents the

relation between the assimilative efficiency of vegetable

leaves and foliage (number of leaves/plant and leaf size)

of the plant itself, used to observe mean growth velocity

throughout the observation time period [14]. This

parameter is calculated [15] by the ratio between the

natural logarithm of the total dry mass obtained from

two successive samplings (P2 and P1) and time interval

(t2 and t1) between these two samplings, therefore

ln𝑃2−𝑙𝑛𝑃1

RGR= --------------

(𝑡2−𝑡1)

After calculation of the RGR, the results were

statistically treated by analysis of variance, ANOVA,

with repeated measures, and the difference between

groups was analyzed by paired t test, which compared 2

populations at a time.

In addition to determining the RGR during the

experimental period, characteristics such as leaf

depigmentation and desiccation were observed and

recorded. However, no attempt was made to quantify

these observations. All experimental procedures were

conducted in a double blind manner.

Results

In agreement with reports in the literature [6, 15],

the plant population that received a 5.0% NaCl solution

manifested signs of intoxication, as shown in figures 1

and 2.

Figure 1: Petri dishes containing individual plants from

population P2 (5.0% NaCl) and population P3 (Natrum

muriaticum at 6cH), respectively, collected on the fifth

week of treatment, before drying, showing a significant

difference between the growth and development of

those groups. Int J High Dilution Res 2010; 9(30): 43-

50 46

.

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol. XXX, 3 & 4, 2013. Private Circulation only 155

Figure 2: Population P3 (Natrum muriaticum at 6cH)

and population P2 (5.0% NaCl), respectively. It may be

observed that leaves referring to individuals from

population P2 showed signs of toxicity (arrows).

Figure 3: Graphic representation of the evolution of

Relative Growth Rate (RGR) of four bean populations

(control, NaCl 5.0%, Natrum muriaticum at 6 cH and

Natrum muriaticum at 30 cH) during 42 days of

experiment. The results were analyzed by Analysis of

Variance (ANOVA with repeated measures) and there

was a significant difference between groups (p<0.05).

Two populations were compared simultaneously by the

paired t test. There was a significant difference (***)

(p<0.05) in relation to the control population (P1) and a

5.0% NaCl population (P2), (**) a significant difference

(p<0.05) in relation to a 5.0% NaCl population (P2) and

(*) a significant difference (p<0.05) in comparison to

the control population (P1). Int J High Dilution Res

2010; 9(30): 43-50 47

In this population (P2), premature plant

development of a yellowish color occurred, lower

development of green mass (expressed by the RGR) and

significant leaf desiccation were observed. In contrast,

the population that received Nat-m 6 cH showed visibly

greater development of the green mass compared to the

control populations and those treated with Nat-m 30 cH.

Furthermore, the same population preserved the

greenish pigment for a longer period of time.

.

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol. XXX, 3 & 4, 2013. Private Circulation only 156

Characteristics of the plant population that received

Nat-m 30 cH were very similar to those observed in the

control population, i.e. pattern of pigmentation,

development of green mass and leaf desiccation were

similar in both groups. These observations were

confirmed after analyzing the results of the Relative

Growth Rate (figure 3), in which there was significant

difference among the 4 groups analyzed by ANOVA

and significant difference between P3 (Nat-m 6 cH) and

P1 (control group) when the paired t test was applied.

Discussion

Highly diluted and agitated solutions have been

employed with success in human beings, animals,

plants, soil and even microorganisms [16]. In various

vegetable studies, experimentation has proved that

vegetables are sensitive to these solutions, while are

exempt from an important interfering factor: the placebo

effect. The data obtained thus becomes more concrete,

since it deals with the measurement of physiological and

not psychological alterations.

In agriculture, highly diluted solutions may be used

for the control of pests, diseases, improving culture

productivity and natural plant defense. They may also

be used directly on soils with excellent results [5].

It is important to highlight the advantages of

experiments in vegetables similar to ours. There is a

great diversity in research: studies can vary from

perennial cultures to cultures of a very short cycle. It is

possible to study large plant populations. Furthermore,

some plants propagate non-sexually, meaning that it is

easy to do research with genetically identical clone

individuals [16].

The present study corroborates previous reports,

confirming the effectiveness of high dilutions in

vegetables, more specifically in beans (Phaseolus

vulgaris L), in which a positive influence of dilutions 6

CH and 30 CH has been observed. The hypothesis

formulated to carry out this experimental model was

based on the well-known immediate effects of salinity

on vegetables, e.g. physiological drought, originating in

a decrease in osmotic potential, nutritional imbalance,

due to a high ionic concentration, inhibiting the

absorption of other nutrients [15].

The results obtained confirmed the hypothesis that

the addition of 5.0% NaCl to the culture globally

affected the growth of the Phaseolus vulgaris L.

population evaluated, mainly in terms of individual

height, formation of new leaves, yellowish leaves and

completely necrotized leaves. In contrast, populations

treated with Natrum muriaticum 6 cH and 30 cH

responded to treatment in a positive manner and did not

present signs of toxicity during growth. A better

development occurred throughout the 6 weeks of

treatment with Natrum muriaticum. Natrum muriaticum

6cH presented higher RGR when compared to the

control group, unquestionably demonstrating a

significant difference. Dilution 6 cH proved to be more

effective than dilution 30 cH, which failed to provoke

significant results when compared to the control group.

To justify the lack of a significant effect of dilution

30 cH, it is suggested that this solution might have

produced mild pathogenetic effects. This is a

phenomenon observed in clinical practice, when the use

of inadequate dilutions may cause the appearance of

symptoms characteristic of the primary action of a drug.

It is evident that this dilution did not have the same

effects as those caused by the 5.0% NaCl solution.

However, it is an indication of a borderline dilution.

Dilutions above this concentration could possibly have

an inhibitory effect rather than a stimulating action on

vegetable growth.

These results corroborate those obtained by

Carvalho [17], who observed the effect of Natrum

muriaticum 2cH in artemisia plants (Tanacetum

parthenium (L.) Sch. Bip.) considered healthy, where it

increased the proline content of leaves, and in the same

plants submitted to water deficiency where it presented

an immediate reduction in leaf proline content. These

results also corroborate those obtained by Grisa et al.

[18], who observed an increase in the dry matter weight

of cultivated lettuce treated with Arnica montana 6 cH

and 12 cH. The same result was not found when dilution

30 cH was used. Furthermore, Luis and Moreno [19]

studied the effect of a highly diluted solution based on

Calcarea 30 cH on the vegetative growth of scallions,

and observed that Calcarea fluorica 30 cH increased the

production of fresh weight by approximately 45%

compared to the control group.

A different result was obtained by Carvalho et al

[4] in the cultivation of artemisia treated with Arnica

montana in high dilutions, in which the height and fresh

mass of the plants did not suffer changes after the

application of these solutions, and observed that the

content of parthenolide decreased, especially with

dilutions 3 cH and 5 cH.

From the results obtained in the experimental

model defined for the present study, it was concluded

that the use of Natrum muriaticum in high dilutions

promoted a significant increase in vegetable growth,

especially in dilution 6 cH, which caused a significant

increase in the RGR of the bean population.

References

[1] Andrade FMC. Homeopatia no Crescimento e na

Produção de Cumarina em Chambá Justicia

pectoralis Jacq. Viçosa: Universidade Federal de

Viçosa; 2000. [Portuguese].

[2] Castro DM, Casali VWD, Armond C, Duarte

ESM, Henriques H, Arruda VM, Silva CV,

Almeida AA. Utilização de soluções

homeopáticas em hortelã (Mentha spicata). In:

Proceeding of the seminário brasileiro sobre

.

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol. XXX, 3 & 4, 2013. Private Circulation only 157

homeopatia na agropecuária orgânica. 2001;

Espírito Santo do Pinha (Brazil). Viçosa:2001. p.

187-197. [Portuguese]

[3] Carvalho LM, Casali VWD, Lisboa SP, Souza

MA, Cecon PR. Efeito da homeopatia Arnica

montana, nas potências centesimais, sobre

plantas de Artemísia. Revista Brasileira de

Plantas Medicinais. 2005; 7: 33-6. [Portuguese]

[4] Almeida MAZ. Resposta do Manjericão

(Ocimum basilicum L.) à aplicação de

preparações homeopáticas.Viçosa: Universidade

Federal de Viçosa; 2002. [Portuguese]

[5] Centro de Apoio ao Pequeno Agricultor (CAPA),

Grupo de Estudos de Homeopatia na Agricultura

Alternativa. Homeopatia Simples – Alternativa

para pequenos produtores. Maringá, PR:UEL.

2004. Universidade Estadual de Londrina,

Maringá. [Portuguese]

[6] Chandrashekar KR, Sandhyarani S. Salinity

induced chemical changes in Crotalaria striata

dc. plants. Indian Journal Plant Physiology. 1996;

1: 44-48.

[7] Greenway H, Munns R. Mechanisms of salt

tolerance in nonhalophytes. Annu Rev Plant

Physiol. 1980; 31: 149-190.

[8] Tavora FJAF, Ferreira RG, Hernandez FFF.

Crescimento e relações hídricas em plantas de

goiabeira submetidas a estresse salino com NaCl.

Rev. Bras. Frutic. 2001; 23: 441-446.

[Portuguese]

[9] Zhu, J. Plant salt tolerance. Trends in Plant

Science. 2001; 6: 66-71. Int J High Dilution Res

2010; 9(30): 43-50 49

[10] Moura GED, Bento DM, Martins K, Macedo

CEC, Aloufa MAI. Efeito do NaCl sobre a

multiplicação in vitro de bananeiras da variedade

Grand naine. In: Proceedings of the V Encontro

Nacional de Biólogos; 2003; Natal, Brazil. p74-

74. [Portuguese].

[11] Broetto F, Lima GPP, Brazil OG. Tolerância à

salinidade em feijão (Phaseolus vulgaris L). Sci.

Agric. 1995; 52: 164-6. [Portuguese]

[12] De Paula SV, Ruiz HA, Mantovani-Alvarenga E.

Avaliação de plântulas de feijão (Phaseolus

vulgaris) como critério para seleção de cultivares

tolerantes à salinidade. Revista Brasileira de

Sementes. 1994; 16; 220-224. [Portuguese]

[13] Farmacopéia Homeopática Brasileira. 2ª ed. São

Paulo: Atheneu, 1997. [Portuguese]

[14] Gomide CAM, Gomide JA, Alexandrino E.

Índices Morfogênicos e de Crescimento durante o

Estabelecimento e a Rebrotação do Capim-

Mombaça (Panicum maximum Jacq.). R. Bras.

Zootec. 2003; 32: 795-803. [Portuguese]

[15] Santana JM, Carvalho JA, Andrade MJB,

Gervásio GG, Braga JC, Lepri EB. Viabilidade

técnica e econômica da aplicação de água na

cultura do feijoeiro comum (Phaseolus vulgaris

L.). Ciênc. agrotec. 2009; 33: 532-8. [Portuguese]

[16] Rossi F, Ambrosano EJ, Melo PCT, Guirado N,

Mendes PCD. Experiências básicas de

homeopatia em vegetais - Contribuição da

pesquisa com vegetais para a consolidação da

ciência homeopática. Cultura Homeopática.

2004; 7: 12-3. [Portuguese]

[17] Carvalho, LM. Disponibilidade de água,

irradiância e homeopatia no crescimento e teor de

partenolídeo em artemísia.Viçosa: Universidade

Federal de Viçosa; 2001. [Portuguese]

[18] Grisa S, Toledo MV, Oliveira LC, Holz L,

Marine D. Crescimento e produtividade de alface

sob diferentes potências do medicamento

homeopático arnica Montana. Rev. Bras. de

Agroecologia. 2007; 2: 1050-3. [Portuguese]

[19] Luis SJ, Moreno NM. Efecto de Cinco

Medicamentos Homeopaticos en la Producción

de Peso Fresco, en Cebollín (Allium fistolosum);

cited 2010 March 01. Available from:

http://www.comenius.edu.mx/Cinco_medicamentos_ho

meop_ticos_en_Ceboll_n.pdf.

=======================================

5. Similarities among differences!

ZACHARIAS Carlos Renato

(IJHDR. 9, 31/2010)

Some time ago I read an article entitled “Small

differences”, published by Nature [1] whose author

(Chris Tourney) pointed out some differences between

nanotechnology and homeopathy. My first reaction was

fear, because a text about homeopathy in Nature

immediately brought me back to the “memory of water

affair” with its entire context, polemics and scarring.

But also surprise, since I had never before heard of

homeopathy as an application of nanontechnology. The

author was impartial in his presentation of

homeopathy’s principles and the comparison with

nanomedicine. Furthermore, since his tone was direct

and polite, it was not needed to dive too deep in analysis

in order to conclude that medical nanoparticles have no

relation to homeopathy.

At that time I did not understand Nature’s reasons

to publish that article, especially because its explicit

premise was false, namely, that homeopathy can be

compared to nanomedicine, as the author himself stated:

“nanomedicine and homeopathy both involve very small

amounts of material, but that is where the similarity

ends”. My first reaction was to pass over this article, but

for a subconscious reason I cannot explain, I left it in

the “to-do tray” of my computer. And indeed, one year

.

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol. XXX, 3 & 4, 2013. Private Circulation only 158

later I could not let it go, so I thought better to read it

attentively before deleting it once and for all from my

archives.

And thus, I was able to detect deeper motives lying

behind the apparently obvious text. Nanotechnology is

one of the top-of-the-wave subjects in current science

and technology. It is both significant and highly

fashionable to work with nanodevices, nanostructures,

nanosolutions… Nanoscience is truly a very wide field!

Being so, why would anyone think on correlating it with

homeopathy?

To remind, there is still no plausible explanation for

the biological evidence of the effects of high dilutions

and homeopathy. As many authors have declared with

different expressions, the “art of cure” is running

satisfactorily well whereas the “science of cure” is still

crawling. The science of high dilution is still an

emergent field of research requiring strict definitions of

boundaries, concepts, models, reasoning and

explanations. For this reason, each and every attempt at

understanding such unconventional phenomena are

valid, as long as they employ rigorous methods in

observing, measuring, describing and recording their

properties and consistent models of analysis leading to

valid conclusions. Therefore, it is almost natural that

many models have been applied for this goal, as e.g.

quantum mechanics, non-equilibrium thermodynamics,

dynamic systems models and … nanoscience.

As I have stated in several opportunities in these

editorials [2-5], it is the search for creative explanations

to extraordinary experimental or theoretical data that

pushes science forwards. However, with the proviso that

scientific standards of practice are strictly taken into

account and more particularly whenever already

sanctioned concepts are challenged. Shortly, this, I

suspect, was the reason behind the author’s and the

editor’s decision to publish the article mentioned at the

beginning.

In their zeal to explain the biological action of high

dilutions, many authors trespass the domain of validity

of some concepts, sometimes sounding dilettante.

Quantum mechanics is not intellectual entertainment,

but one of the engines behind the development of

technology in the 20th century. Dynamic systems are

not a mathematical way to produce beautiful pictures

but a powerful tool to preview global climate changes.

Analogy and conceptual transposition can be useful to

open our mind and teach us different ways of reasoning,

but their limits must be observed and respected. On the

other hand, research in high dilutions has its own

specificities, and this also must be systematically taken

into account.

All in all, in the end I do understand and

furthermore, agree with Tourney when he calls on to

avoid confounding matters, “Nanomedicine […] is an

exciting field for which researchers are justifiably

optimistic. It is also a remarkably challenging field, as

scientists, physicians and engineers attempt to navigate

the biochemical intricacies of the human body. To see

its strengths and weakness clearly, it is important that

we do not confuse it with another field of theory or

practice”.

If one replaces the word “nanomedicine” by “high

dilution” this conclusion also holds, but for “scale

factor”, namely the number of researchers and

institutions involved and the amount of resources

available to each field. I still believe that the

minimization of these differences is a matter of time,

and not of grounds, and that sooner or later they will be

placed in equal footing.

While I am not an expert in the history of science, I

have read and heard many times that Max PLANCK

proposed quantization of energy as a “desperate

attempt” to explain the experimental results of thermal

emission of blackbody radiators [6]. This is how

quantum mechanics was born! PLANCK and other

scientists must have exhausted the resources of

contemporary science in their attempts at explaining

that unconventional phenomenon of emission of light.

Many competing theories must have been proposed to

explain the experimental data, some of them interesting,

others more limited and a further group untenable.

However, such a diversity of ideas must have been

highly influential to stimulate debate, refine concepts,

and open new possibilities. It is common knowledge

that only the accepted theories make history while the

defeated ones are left aside and erased from the syllabus

of education in the sciences. This is to say, the new

generations of scientists only learn about the manifest

successes of science. Subliminally, they are also taught

that a serious researcher never opposes the mainstream

of “progress”. And what is the greatest danger, they

learn not to doubt the mainstream, even when it shows

slight errors or anomalies that cannot be explained.

Students then become partially blind researchers, who

cannot see past some boundaries, and feel threatened,

instead of encouraged, by unusual phenomena and

models.

In emergent fields, be nanoscience or high dilutions

research, supports and skeptics have both an important

role to play towards the all-important goal of doing

good science in order to make the world a better place.

And this is not a political or ideological war, but the

mission of genuine science. A dogmatic or prejudiced

researcher, be a supporter or a skeptic, will not

accomplish his or her task.

Yes, Mr Tourney, nanomedicine and high dilution

cannot be confused because they are really different!

But maybe, not at all!!

References

[1] Tourney C, Nature Nanotechnology. 2009 May; vol

4: p275

.

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[2] Zacharias CR. Publishing: why and whom to?

[editorial]. Int J High Dilution Res [online]. 2008

[cited 2010 June 15]; 7(22): 1-2. Available from:

http://www.feg.unesp.br/~ojs/index.php/ijhdr/articl

e/view/263/323. Int J High Dilution Res 2010;

9(31): 58-60 60

[3] Zacharias CR. The High Dilution phenomenon,

Yours to Discover. [editorial]. Int J High Dilution

Res [online]. 2009 [cited 2010 June 15]; 8(26): 1-2.

Available from:

http://www.feg.unesp.br/~ojs/index.php/ijhdr/articl

e/view/331/378.

[4] Zacharias CR. Where we are going to? [editorial].

Int J High Dilution Res [online]. 2009 [cited 2010

June 15]; 8(28): 80-81. Available from:

http://www.feg.unesp.br/~ojs/index.php/ijhdr/articl

e/view/355/398.

[5] Zacharias CR. “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who in

the land is the wisest of all?" [editorial]. Int J High

Dilution Res [online]. 2010 [cited 2010 June 15];

9(30): 1-2. Available from:

http://www.feg.unesp.br/~ojs/index.php/ijhdr/articl

e/view/382/418

[6] Brandes T. The Radiation Laws and the Birth of

Quantum Mechanics; [cited 2010 June 10].

Available from:

http://wwwitp.physik.tuberlin.de/brandes/public_ht

ml/qm/umist_qm/node3.html.

========================================

6. We don’t need another hero!

Carlos Renato Zacharias

(IJHDR. 9, 33/2010)

"We Don't Need Another Hero” [1] was the hit

theme song [2] performed by Tina Turner [3] in Mad

Max Beyond Thunderdome [4], a 1985 sci-fi movie. The

story was about a post-apocalyptical world representing

the timeless and mythical struggle between Good and

Evil [5] and the hope for a better future. Children waited

for a messiah, who would lead them back to a peaceful

civilization! But the world changed, there was no guide

and not even the intended place existed any longer!

“So, what to do with our lives?

We leave only a mark!

Will our story shine like a light?

Or end in the dark?

Give it all or nothing!

We don’t need another hero…” [2]

Personally, I do not like this sort of futuristic

movies. In my opinion, the future will be better than the

present, at least for those who currently work for that!

Difficulties and falls are not problems, but features of a

real world! Not to deal with them is not to be alive

either, thus, “honor life” [6,7].

Recently, someone asked me who the “heroes” of

High Dilution research are. This person was not

referring to an apocalyptic world, but to the scientific

status of this area. Certainly, he did not use the word

“hero”, but asked about leaders, methods, theoretical

backgrounds, aims, etc. Shortly, he was being gently

ironic… or quite sarcastic, indeed!

My answer was that the High Dilution community

is building an emergent scientific field and to do so, it

designs methods, theoretical models, defines working

concepts, etc. as an attempt to explain the clinical and

experimental evidence. There are many shortcomings

and in particular it still lacks a sound framework to

explain phenomena. However, this is nothing but

making science, with the standard devices and tools

science employs to build knowledge. By proceeding in

this careful, painstaking and sober manner, sooner or

later, it will be found the Archimedes’ lever that will

rescue it from the backyard of science.

Science is a particular way to conceive of reality

and as such, a highly successful one. This, in part is due

to the methods and standards it uses. In any scientific

field, it is needed a large number of practitioners to

suggest, discuss and refine concepts, methods and

theories. Science is a collective enterprise carefully built

on very sound grounds. After much discussion about the

respective weight of reason and experience, it was

eventually agreed on that experimental methods,

theoretical models, concepts and techniques develop all

together as in nonlinear systems. However, timing in

science is unpredictable.

It is reasonable to ask: how can HD research be an

emergent scientific field, when it lacks a minimum of

sound and reliable notions and methods? When it does

away with basic concepts, such as Avogadro’s limit?

Why its community of practitioners is so small and the

number of high-quality publications so insignificant?

What are the grounds for the expectation of a brighter

future? And what can its relation to current science

might possibly be? How one might say that, conversely,

it is not doomed to disappear?

It must be openly acknowledged that researchers in

HD and homeopathy are still unable to give straight

answers to the questions posed by science. No wonder,

then, that science is not only skeptical, but also

dismisses the full project of HD research. Conversely,

the HD community wants to be a part of science, it

agrees to play by the same rules and hopes to enter in a

dialogue, transcending differences. In a way, the HD

community is like the orphaned children forsaken by

their heroes but who are still hopeful that they will be

rescued, even when they do not know the place where

they will be taken. Who can be our hero?

.

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol. XXX, 3 & 4, 2013. Private Circulation only 160

“And I wonder when we are ever gonna

change it

Living under the fear 'till nothing else remains

All the children say:

We don´t need another hero

We don't need to know the way home

All we want is life beyond, the Thunderdome”

[2]

Science does not belong to anyone. And the timely

evolution of science is unpredictable. It is an ever-

changing kaleidoscope of frameworks. One cannot

predict when Avogadro’s Wall will fall, freeing

ourselves to cross to a new world. As a fact, I must

confess that I am not fully sure that it is an actual

barrier, rather than a simple misunderstanding.

HDs seem in contradiction with science. The reason

is that the level of dilutions achieved is so high that the

notion of matter loses all sense. From a material point of

view, a HD is just inert solvent. For this reason, a line of

researchers sought to study the properties of the solvent.

Alternatively, the focus has been placed on structural

features, dynamic behavior and eventually, on

hypothetical new quantum effects. All the models

proposed until now share two features with standard

science: 1) the positing of matter as the ultimate active

agent; 2) the inability to explain even the basics of the

HD phenomena.

“So, what to do with our lives?” [2]

As a fact, the problem in HD research is to try to

cross Avogadro’s limit without giving up the notion of

matter as active agent, primary cause and the reason

behind any effect. Avogadro’s limit, as all in science,

depends on this notion of matter as the basic underlying

fact, a kind of self-sufficient element out of which

everything is made, shaped, modeled, understood,

foreseen and controlled. For most phenomena, indeed,

the approach grounded on this concept of matter is

highly successful. We do not need to search too far for

examples, since current technology is the best example

and is everywhere to be found. On the other hand, that

notion of matter becomes a true obstacle when matter

itself loses all sense. Certainly, on the grounds of

“matter” there cannot be any difference between a

homeopathic dilution 30cH and another 100cH. This

cannot be conceived of in the terms of amounts of

matter.

Furthermore, HDs are strongly related from its own

inception to the sciences of living beings. The

complexity of living beings does not lend itself easily to

approaches grounded on the behavior of matter. At a

first and basic level, life is a context-dependent system,

where meaningful interactions or relations are the

essential components [8,9]. Therefore, we must be ready

and open to new approaches when dealing with HD

research.

A starting point could be to deflect our attention

from matter and focus it on interactions. In this way,

rather than dressing the tight clothes of contemporary

science, we can try to make them more flexible and

expand their boundaries; rather than forcing HD

research to adapt to current scientific standards, we can

look at science from the perspective of the world of

HDs. Perhaps a new panorama of science itself will

emerge.

Maybe we do need a new hero. But not to lead us

back to the world of matter, but to show us new paths to

thread. Such paths might already exist, but if they do,

they are hidden to us. Signs are vain when one is blind

and closed to new opportunities and possibilities.

Perhaps this is one further barrier to acknowledge and

overcome in order to be ready and able to recognize and

interpret new signs. Maybe we, ourselves, are our own

awaited hero!

Give it all or nothing! And prepare yourself for the

next battle! See you in 2011!

References:

[1] YouTube. Mad Max “We don’t need another hero”

Tina Turner. [online]. Cited 2010 Dec 14]

Avaliable from:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8W4DEMUSe

M&feature=related

[2] Letras.mus.br. We don’t need another hero [online].

Cited 2010 Dec 14] Avaliable from:

http://letras.terra.com.br/tina-

turner/41060/traducao.html

[3] Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia. Tina Turner

[online] Cited 2010 Dec 14] Avaliable from:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tina_Turner

[4] Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia. Mad Max

beyond Thunderdome [online] Cited 2010 Dec 14]

Avaliable from:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mad_Max_Beyond_Th

underdome

[5] Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia.Conflict

between good and evil [online] Cited 2010 Dec 14]

Avaliable from:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conflict_between_goo

d_and_evil

[6] YouTube. Mercedes Sosa “Honrar la Vida”

[online]. Cited 2010 Dec 14] Avaliable from:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZLDJXwiyms

[7] Mercedes Sosa Website oficial [online]. Cited 2010

Dec 14] Avaliable from:

http://www.mercedessosa.com.ar/cancionero/letras/

honrar.htm

[8] Schrödinger W. What is life? The physical aspect

of the living cell. Cambridge (UK): University

Press; 1944 [Cited 2010 Dec 14]. Available from:

.

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol. XXX, 3 & 4, 2013. Private Circulation only 161

http://whatislife.stanford.edu/LoCo_files/What-is-

Life.pdf

[9] Murphy MP, O’Neill LAJ, ed. What is life? The

next fifty years: speculations on the future of

biology. Cambridge (UK): Cambridge University

Press; 1995.

=====================================

7. An Inadvertent Proving of Ammonium Hydroxide

WILLIAMS, Henry (JAIH. 87, 1/1994)

In a day when provings are not appearing in our

literature they still are constantly going on, though

unplanned, by lay people with OTC products, drugs,

and prescription drugs.

A.V.S., a jeweler, came to me five years ago at the

age of fifty-three because of hypertension diagnosed

when he was seen in the hospital emergency room for a

clutching pain in the center of the chest and dizziness.

With this, breathing was difficult, his abdomen was

bloated, and his mind was like “a runaway train.” His

abdomen was obese and pendulous. Various remedies

were tried in higher attenuations with no clear results.

Finally, Equisetum D6 q.i.d. lowered the elevated

diastolic, so his pressure 140-200/84-120 was reduced

to 90-100, but no consistent weight reduction was

achieved from his 260 pounds.

Four-and-a-half years later, he had what he called

“the flu,” lost 45 pounds over a month and was found to

have 4+ urine sugar. Laboratory tests showed a fasting

blood sugar of 317, cholesterol 711 and triglycerides of

3695, with a borderline anemia. On a diabetic diet and

insulin, his fasting sugar was 100 on 65 U. of insulin

within ten days. The cholesterol was 234, triglycerides

203.

Once the diabetes was regulated he became

conscious that his breathing was worse in his shop

where household ammonia was in an open vat for

cleaning jewelry. He had used this for years. He then

realized that other solutions in jewelers’ catalogues

noted, “contains no ammonia,” and after inquiring of

other jewelers found that many were found to have

symptoms of hypertension and tachycardia on slight

exertion, from ammonia. When he covered the

ammonia vat he began to have fewer problems and two

weeks later got rid of it altogether. Since then, all his

symptoms have abated or disappeared. He can walk

three times as far without a rapid pulse. Sex is no

longer “life-threatening.” His nocturia has been reduced

from four to two times. Before he was too weak on

returning to bed to pull up the bed clothing. Now he

can cover up and go back to sleep. His insulin needs are

dropping-----now at 20. He can eat comfortably longer

has a lump in the throat or a chronic, usually dry, cough.

Further progress in his case is instructive.

Gradually the blood sugar was controlled with less and

less insulin, and five years after the diagnosis his blood

sugar was normal without insulin or oral medication.

Bradford’s Index does not list Ammonium

bromatum hydronata. (1) Ammonium bromatum has

the belching and epigastric distress and also constrictive

chest pains. Ammonium carbonicum has epigastric

pressure and pain and nocturia, diabetes, dyspnea on

exertion and palpitations. Ammonium muriaticum has

eructations, frequency of urination, nocturia and

dyspnea---all these from Hering’s Guiding Symptoms.

(2) Hahnemann’s Chronic Diseases, pp.249, 490, 493,

has tightness of chest and dyspnea, under Ammonium

carbonicum, pp. 250, 517 palpitation. (3)

References

1. BRADFORD, T.L. Index to Homeopathic

Provings, B & T 1901.

2. HERING, C. The Guiding Symptoms of Our

Materia Medica, Vol. I.

3. HAHNEMANN, S. The Chronic Diseases, Their

Peculiar Nature and Their Homeopathic Cure, B

& T 1896.

========================================

8. Intractable Vomiting of Pregnancy

BERNOVILLE, Fortier

(Revue Française D’Homœopathie, July 1933)

(HEAL THYSELF, LXIX, 817/1934)

On December 12th, 1927, I was urgently asked by

Mrs. D. to visit her daughter, who had been pregnant for

seven weeks and who suffered from the most terrible

attacks of vomiting. I found the patient in bed. She was

vomiting unceasingly, had the most painful spasms and

there was profuse salivation which amounted to two

pints in twenty-four hours. During the last fortnight

everything had been tried to stop these attacks. A

doctor and two gynæcologists had tried everything,

complete isolation in the dark, psychological treatment,

numerous drugs, bandaging of the abdomen, etc. At last

the gynæcologist had advised that, unless there was

immediate improvement, artificial abortion would be

required. The young woman was indeed in a very

serious condition, she looked drawn and haggard, eyes

deep in their sockets with black rings, was totally

exhausted, had a pulse of 115 per minute, which was

soft, small and weak. She had lost a great deal of flesh

and she begged me to produce an abortion. I gave her

in succession Tabacum 6, Nux vomica 6, Arsenicum 6,

Cocculus indicus 6, Veratrum album 30, Sepia 30,

China 30, remedies which were indicated by her

weakness, pallor, nausea, vertigo, cold sweats and

.

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol. XXX, 3 & 4, 2013. Private Circulation only 162

exhaustion, but none of them proved helpful.

Ipecacuanha 30 did a little good, but only during twelve

hours. On the sixth day, feeling desperate, I prescribed

Mercurius solubilis, because of the stringy salivation

and the heavily coated tongue with imprints of the teeth.

That medicine made her condition worse.

On the seventh day of my treatment the

gynæcologist came back. I discussed the position with

him and we agreed that abortion should be produced on

the next afternoon. When my colleague had gone I

stayed behind to comfort the poor woman. Besides, I

hoped to think of a remedy which would allay her

anxiety and her fear of the projected surgical

intervention. I thought of Ignatia, which seemed to be

suitable to the lady because, when experimentally taken,

it has produced symptoms which the patient had before

she became pregnant, for she had always been very

nervous, changeable, emotional and could not stand

tobacco smoke. I had a kind of inspiration that possibly

Ignatia might succeed in saving the life of the coming

child. In order to be sure that it would act deeply, I

prescribed that remedy in the thousandth potency and

she was to take it as soon as it arrived. I left the house

and returned next morning, feeling certain that the dose

of Ignatia also had failed. To my amazement I heard

that the patient had not vomited a single time since

waking up, that she had breakfasted, having taken milky

coffee, bread and butter and bananas. Besides, she had

declared that she was cured and that the gynæcologist

need not operate on her. Two hours after having taken

the dose of Ignatia, there was a severe aggravation of

vomiting and salivation which lasted until evening. She

passed a good night, and on waking felt a totally

different woman. While I was told of this wonderful

recovery the gynæcologist arrived. When told of the

wonderful improvement he expressed the opinion that

the patient had been cured not by the medicine I had

given, but by the dread of the planned operation. I felt

inclined to agree with him, and production of an

abortion was adjourned for a later date.

Improvement from the single dose of Ignatia lasted

six days. There was no longer any vomiting or

salivation. The young woman had an excellent appetite,

looked better, gained weight. On the seventh day the

husband telephoned me to come at once because the

terrible vomiting bouts had recommenced. I gave

another dose of Ignatia in the thousandth potency,

which produced pronounced relief. I then gave the

patient a dose of Ignatia in the thousandth potency

every week during three months. Then we were able to

leave off that medicine and the lady was given Sulphur

in the thousandth potency, Calcarea fluorica in the 30th

potency and Arsenicum in the 30th potency to prepare

the mother for childbirth and to strengthen the child in

her womb.

I have found that Ignatia in high potencies,

particularly in the thousandth potency, is of the greatest

value not only in the vomiting of pregnancy, but also in

other troubles occurring at that time, such as nausea,

salivation, etc. When given by me in the 30th potency

Ignatia has failed to do good. I have found that Ignatia

acts during about a week (Dr. CLARKE gives nine

days.-Ed., “H.T.”) while Lachesis, Sulphur, Lycopodium

in the thousandth potency act during two or three weeks

and longer, Ignatia in the thousandth potency has

become my favourite in similar cases. It does not

always cure, but it relieves nearly always and seems to

act better than Sepia, Cocculus, Nux vomica, Mercurius.

ANOTHER IGNATIA CASE

A stockbroker, a Mons. S., was extremely nervous,

and lived at high tension. He suffered from high blood

pressure, living in an atmosphere of rush, anxiety,

worry, and he was very emotional. I treated him

successfully during three months for sleeplessness,

depression and colitis with violent diarrhœas. Blood

pressure remained normal, and he was rapidly cured

with the help of Thuja 1,000th potency, Lycopodium

200th potency, Argentum nitricum and Ignatia 30th

potency.

Eight months later he telephoned me that he was

terrified by an attack of giddiness, palpitation and

anxiety, and asked for an immediate appointment. He

told me that when stooping at his desk to lift up some

papers he had dropped on the floor he had been attacked

by terrible vertigo, the pulses in his temples started

beating violently, there were noises in his ears and the

heart seemed to jump out of his chest. He had had

similar attacks several times, but his chronic diarrhea

had not reappeared. On the contrary he had been

constipated for a month, and he told me it was his own

fault because he was too busy to go to the lavatory. His

sleeplessness had returned and he took for it Passiflora

3x which I had prescribed for him in the past. He told

me he was very tired and felt weak, and he imagined

that he suffered from too low a blood pressure. He was

very depressed and worried, his daughter was ill and

going to bring an action for divorce and Stock Exchange

business gave him much anxiety.

When I examined him I found to my amazement

that his blood pressure had very greatly increased. I

told him that he need not worry about his blood

pressure, but gave him Sulphur in the 1,000th potency,

Glonoin and Argentum nitricum in the 1,000th potency

and told him that the blood pressure would rapidly go

down.

A fortnight after my patient returned. He told me

he was no better. His blood pressure was practically

unchanged. I then prescribed Ignatia, 1,000th potency, a

dose once a week, and Aconite and Spigelia 30. After a

fortnight of this treatment blood pressure had

.

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol. XXX, 3 & 4, 2013. Private Circulation only 163

diminished greatly, sleeplessness and palpitations had

disappeared and his constipation was gone. This case

illustrates the usefulness of Ignatia in all physical

troubles due to sorrow, worry, excitement, especially in

town people who lead a life at high tension, and that

medicine seems to be particularly suitable for

speculators and stockbrokers. Ignatia seems to be an

excellent medicine for clearing the brain of patients and

freeing them of fears and thoughts which poison mind

and body and cause disease.

========================================

9. HOW TO CURE LEUCORRHOEA (Whites)

HOYLE, Peter

(HEAL THYSELF, LXIX, 2/1934)

I OFFER this article first to any or all allopathic

doctors, being quite sure that the subject has never been

treated thus in any of their medical schools. If they

refuse this information, then, my dear unknown lay

readers, you seize it as being of untold value to

yourselves. Homœopathic knowledge may be added to

from time to time, but the basic truth of Homœopathy

never changes, cannot change, as it is a law of nature,

just as much as is “gravity”. I have been asked by your

Editor to treat this subject briefly to show the

homœopathic way of natural cure. I approach this

ailment with the greatest sympathy for all those who

suffer from the trouble.

It is to be understood that hardly any trouble of

woman is more common, more distressing and more

depleting to general health than leucorrhœa. In one

form or another, slight or serious, the majority of

females suffer thus at some period of life. It is manifest

in the nursery, it is acute at puberty, and more persistent

at the change of life.

From its very nature, it is generally kept secret by

the sufferers. So the trouble is likely to get more or less

chronic. A false delicacy of feeling causes this form of

ill-health to be unspoken of to the old family physician.

Many have heard of and fear a “curetting” (scraping of

the womb). Others know of caustic applications which

really make the ailment worse and deeper-seated; whilst

many others know full well that operations will be

ordered by those doctors who don’t know their

medicines well or by those orthodox men who “don’t

believe in any medicine at all”. The average social

acquaintance douches of which she has not the slightest

idea as to their ultimate effects, but all of which, we

assert, are highly detrimental to the general health in the

long run. Before long the secret sufferer becomes

frantic, morbid, and thinks she is set apart for life-long

invalidism.

This is just where Homœopathy brings

encouragement and actual help to all these sufferers-in-

secret. Generally speaking, the homœopathic cure can

be accomplished without any local examination, by our

method of prescribing, based solely on the “personal

symptoms”, they being as “nature speaking”. Most

certainly Homœopathy restores to health in a natural

way, by stimulating nature to repair the diseased

conditions from within-outwards. Just a word as to

sundry “popular” chemical sprays, astringent douches

and caustics, etc.

Whenever there is a leucorrhoea, it is because

nature is trying to throw off inflammatory and waste

products. It is a terminal symptom. The discharge is

never the actual cause. Venereal infection is another

matter, not to be considered in this article.

Leucorrhœa may be deeply constitutional or more

or less local. But it is always beyond the reach of any

chemical douche, astringent or caustics, all of which

actually aim to dry up and seal the surface glands, along

with their secretions, which but show that nature is

kindly trying to aid. The sealed-up inflammation then

works deeper, to be heard of later, for the cure of which

some kind doctor not well versed in medicines is bound

to suggest an operation. Rest assured that any man or

woman who prescribes douches, etc., seeking to dry up

the discharge whose outlet is the vagina, is actually

working a grave injury on the patient.

Orthodox procedure is full of such treatments.

Thousands of pounds sterling are spent annually in

foisting such douches and other local measures on the

medical profession and the public. The growing crop of

advertisements is everlastingly proving that great

numbers of doctors and sufferers are employing such

methods, or it would not pay the advertisers to continue,

and they would disappear from point.

I now place before you the alternative. Try the

homœopathic internal stimulation which will cure from

within-outwards, and which is saner and safer. Which

strikes you as being the more sensible? I implore your

earnest thought. Ask yourself how a local wash can

cure a constitutional weakness! Such may arise from a

profusely depleting, an arrested, or a very irregular

menstruation, or some inherited cause. Leucorrhœa can

follow any acute illness or can accompany any chronic

ailment that enfeebles the general health. There are still

more delicate causes of a leucorrhœa, most often found

in those whose minds are disordered by many mundane

things, etc. All such nerve strains must be corrected and

avoided before beginning medication if a cure is

desired. Hahnemann, our founder, said many years ago:

“Remove the cause”, which applies yet.

A most common acute cause of leucorrhœa may

come from a chilling, from getting the feet wet, or by

wearing paper-thin shoe soles, just at, or before,

menstruation, when the period is, or can be, arrested for

a shorter or longer time, thus rudely upsetting the

health.

.

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol. XXX, 3 & 4, 2013. Private Circulation only 164

I must give a warning of a very delicate nature.

There are a variety of sexual irritations to be avoided

and also certain marital malpractices to thwart and

prevent conception, and here remember it is always the

woman who will suffer and pay for such doings. There

is no escape for her. These practices are most harmful

and will sooner or later create a chronic discharge, or

very much worse. Hence, I repeat: the woman will pay,

and the sum total of it may be cancerous erosions.

When there is a recent (acute) leucorrhœa, all

injections will tend to turn a temporary discharge into a

stubborn or chronic trouble. So take warning.

The vagina, as arranged by nature, is self-cleansing

from within-outwards. If any secretion is offensive or

noticeable in any way, rest assured that it calls

imperatively for some homœopathic correction at once.

It is quite another thing to bathe the external parts, but

do avoid allowing even soap lather and any chemical

wash entering the vagina, as it will injure that most

delicate and sensitive mucous membrane.

If leucorrhœa is seen in the nursery, suspect worms,

which, causing vaginal irritation, may lead to some

discharge. In later life rectal irritation from piles often

causes vaginal irritation with a following leucorrhœa.

Again I remind my readers that the following drug-

pictures are not personal opinions. They are most

carefully compiled from about 140 years of world-wide

homœopathic practice. Thus they are of proven value

and great exactitude. The sufferer must choose her drug

most nearly corresponding to her own particular and

very delicate symptoms, taking note of general body-

types and general departures from normal health as well

as of the local symptoms. Then, by taking the

homœopathic drug stimulation, it will cure the disease

symptoms by working from within-outwards. It cannot

fail if the choice be right.

The few drug-pictures following are to be regarded

only as a brief introduction to a subject of vital

importance to every woman and girl. Many of our

homœopathic medicines are quite unknown to orthodox

literature, but this is clearly not our fault or of our

seeking. Our books have been open pages to all

medical men for 140 years. They will not study our

methods, and you, the public, this subject to buy Dr.

Ruddock’s Lady’s Manual of Homœopathic

Treatment, 12th edition, of any homœopathic chemist,

or of the Homœopathic Publishing Co., of 12 Warwick

Lane, E.C.4. It is you I am thinking of. I have no

financial interest in this book, but a twelfth edition

conveys its own message. As a book for fuller

reference to the manual named I advise Dr. Wm.

Boericke’s Homœopathic Materia Medica (I volume).

Make your family a fascinating and valuable present

and study each drug intensively as we homœopathic

doctors have to. This advice is good for any orthodox

doctor, I guarantee.

(I) Pulsatilla (3x, 6x or 30) cures leucorrhœa when

symptoms are closely as follows:- At first the discharge

is bland (non-excoriating), thick, creamy or milky.

Later it gives rise to a burning sensation as the discharge

changes to become thin and acrid; and later there may

be some swelling of the outer parts (labia). Pulsatilla

patients always have leucorrhœa worse during the

menses or at the time when the normal menses should

occur (compare Sepia which is worse before menses).

The Pulsatilla type of patient often has delayed or

suppressed menstrual flow. This irregularity occurs

chiefly at about puberty or at any time when due to

getting the feet wet, or thoroughly chilled, just as the

period is due (this conveys the hint that you should

protect the feet). Pulsatilla will re-establish the normal

flow if general symptoms agree. Many have leucorrhœa

in place of normal periods which this remedy will make

normal again. The Pulsatilla patients are,

constitutionally, sad to tearful. They are very chilly

individuals and rather undecided in character, and are

subject to indigestion from any fatty foods with

pronounced thirstlessness and some anæmia, though

many find some of their symptoms rapidly change from

day to day. They are always better in the open air, they

are generally of a blonde and fair type. Leucorrhœa in

the nursery responds well to this remedy. Such is the

range and drug-picture of the Pulsatilla patient.

(II) Calcarea carbonica (6x, 12x, or 30). Here, as

everywhere, the general personal symptoms are of the

highest importance. The constitutional type of all

patients is ever to be considered. The leucorrhœa is

milky and at times profuse, but the type of patient

leaves no doubt as to which drug to employ. This type

is prone to flabby fat, to enlarged glands, acidity, very

cold and damp feet and with fingers cold and waxy-

white which go dead half-way up the elbow or knee.

They may have profuse local sweats over the body, but

especially about the head and nape of neck. They are

pale, over-plump, too fat, and have very soft tissues.

The menses are generally very profuse to flooding

and they also occur at too short an interval between

periods. This leucorrhœa is worse just before the

menses (Pulsatilla during menses), and it is often

accompanied with itching and burning or shooting pains

through the parts. Hahnemann said, “If menses are on

time and flow normal Calcarea carbonica will do no

good.” Very often the body odour is sour (which shows

the folly of trying to cure symptoms with local

chemicals). Nature speaks thus with peculiar symptoms

to suggest the internal curative remedy. Can anyone,

professional or lay, mistake these two remedies?

(III) Iodum (6x, 12x or 30). This is better for chronic

leucorrhœa which stains the linen yellow; the flow is

abundant and so corrosive as to eat holes in the

garments; the type of patient is pale, cachetic (waxy-

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white to greenish-yellow skin), the breasts often waste

away with the general bodily emaciation. The

leucorrhœa is yellow, thick and so acrid as to excoriate

the limbs and is worse at time of menses, which it does

not displace. It is sometimes thin and very offensive,

with swelling of the deeper structures, even to a

hardening of various deeper structures behind the

mucous membranes. Both these conditions will be

known by the sensation of local fullness. Patients are

generally ravenously hungry, yet remain thin or are

getting thinner all the time, and they generally feel

better whilst eating or when the stomach is full. Such is

the curative drug-picture of Iodum, but only very minute

quantities of this drug will cure. Large orthodox doses

which are to be tasted and which can be seen will end in

making symptoms worse every time.

(IV) Kreosotum (6x, 12x or 30). Here is another

corrosive type of drug for comparison. Kreosotum has

won many laurels for Homœopathy when used in our

minute dosage. The leucorrhœa is worse between

menses (Iodium worse during menses). This leucorrhœa

is acrid, corrosive and very offensive. The type of

patients are dark-skinned, poorly nourished, ill-

developed, whilst children and young people are

overgrown, and they look old and with some wrinkles.

In these leucorrhœas there is violent itching of outer

parts and in vagina, all symptoms are worse in open air

(Pulsatilla better in open air), all symptoms worse from

cold weather, from washing or bathing with cold water

and are worse at rest and especially when lying down.

(V) Mercurius solubilis (6x, 12x or 30). This

leucorrhœa is yellowish with great local soreness and

itching, at first it is thin, unhealthy-looking, excoriating,

later becoming thicker and less irritating. All symptoms

are worse at night, in chronic cases the discharge may

turn green and corrosive to the parts it touches, when

there will be tiny ulcerations on internal and external

parts of the vagina; breath has bad odour as of old

cheese, great weariness, sallow complexion, general

coldness. Such is this distinctive drug-picture of this

valuable remedy if used in minute doses.

(VI) Sepia (6x, 12x or 30). No list of remedies for

leucorrhœa would be perfect without this drug, which is

quite unknown to orthodoxy. It cures venous

congestions. The discharge is yellowish-green and

often very offensive, milky at first, it is worse before

menses. Uterus enlarged and cervix hardened

(indurated), just the sort of thing a surgeon would call

“ripe for operation”. You may know that the womb is

enlarged because you are aware of it and it feels as if it

would fall out and you are more comfortable when you

cross your legs, which pressure supports the womb in

place. When an organ is healthy, you never think of it,

or know you have it.

There is much irritability of the bladder, with

frequent urging to pass water in a great hurry. There

may be many discolorations of the skin, especially just

over the bridge of the nose, called butterfly-wings

because of the symmetry, there may be very dark rings

round the eyes and even patches of brown on chest and

abdomen and generally discolorations in the flexures of

the big joints; great backache low down (sacro-lumbar

region); much sadness and inclination to weep, yet

dreads to be alone; empty all-gone sensation round

stomach; tongue foul but becomes clear at each

menstrual period to become foul after menses; urine

deposits a reddish clay-coloured sediment, which

adheres to the vessel and which is very fœtid, even so

offensive that it must be removed from the room, urine

often rottenly offensive after standing. The periods are

painful.

This gives a brief but comprehensive disease-

picture of what Sepia will cure, but one need not have

all the symptoms before beginning this drug, which has

the power to cheat many a surgeon of a contemplated

operation. In fact all homœopathic help will reduce the

chances of operations. Nothing like this was ever

written in an allopathic standard work to guide their

men and to save womanhood. All medicines

enumerated above certainly go deeper than can be

reached by any local douche. How can such things be

cured by injections?

VII. Stannum 6x must be in trituration form made into

tablets; 12x to 30 in liquid or in pill form; if the 6x

trituration is used as a tablet, place one or two tablets

dry under the tongue and forget them there. Repeat as

for other medicines.

Leucorrhœa cured by this remedy is clear,

transparent or tinged yellow, and at times even watery,

with great bearing down sensation; menses too early and

too profuse. This type of patient complains of terrible

weakness and an empty sensation proceeding as from

the stomach or chest, so weak she cannot walk, so weak

that “she drops into a chair” whenever possible.

Sensations of, or actual falling of, the womb

(prolapsed).

Some of these patients declare that they have great

weakness in the chest. She says she is more fatigued on

going downstairs than when ascending. She says she is

very sad and wants to cry all the time and any odours

from the kitchen cause desire to vomit. With this

leucorrhœa there are generally cramping pains round the

navel, made temporarily better by strong pressure. Face

pale, with dark circles round the eyes. Headaches worse

in forehead and temples. Practically all these sensations

are related voluntarily by these patients, often using the

exact words given above and such women have

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generally some actual womb displacements with this

leucorrhœa. Can any vivisectionists obtain such word-

pictures from their super-science?

VIII. Xanthoxylum fraxinum (1x, 3x to 30). This type

of patient is a bunch of fighting nerves and she will

fight hysterically at times. Leucorrhœa takes the place

of menses, at first like serum from wounds, being

slightly sticky, or like meat scrapings and washings.

The leucorrhœa is variable but not excoriating. The

guiding-key-note for this remedy is the terribly

neuralgic pains proceed from the ovaries, going down

the front of the thighs to the knees; the neuralgic pain is

stated to be terrible, pain so severe as to end in pure

hysterical symptoms and general loss of self-control,

fighting the family and throwing things about, as I have

actually seen and cured thus.

IX. Actea racemosa. Also named Cimicifuga racemosa

(3x, 6x to 30) with preference for the lower strengths in

acute attacks. The Leucorrhœa here is chiefly bland and

thin, but the guide for this remedy is a rheumatic-

neuralgic base or subject. With the leucorrhœa there is

bearing down and sensation of weight in the womb

region; great pain in one or both ovaries, shivers,

nervous shuddering, menses tend to being delayed or

suppressed, some hysterical spasm at time of menses,

but not nearly as violently so, and nerves out of control,

as with Xanthoxylum.

For this remedy to be of use we find that the womb

pains fly transversely across the body from hip-joint to

hip-joint; patients often complain of severe pains under

the left breast, they fearing that it is the heart which is

diseased, headaches are worse above the nape of neck,

alternating with top of head, which feels as if would fly

open often with lightning-like pains in upper part of

spine, sudden great flow of water-clear urine, with mind

very disturbed during sleep. Again I challenge any

vivisectionist to trot out their “dog-symptoms” and

relate their “dog-sensations.” Have the vivisectionists

ever recorded one subjective dog symptom? All the

above knowledge would have been lost to the world had

but vivisectionists been working with this remedy on

their dogs.

X. Hydrastis Canadensis (3x to 6x). This is a very

different picture of trouble, though the diagnosis is

identical. This leucorrhœa is profuse, yellow, of an

extremely tenacious character; frequently it contains

long shreds, it hangs down from the vagina in long

strings, hard to detach (you will note the same character

of discharge as in coughs with much phlegm (see article

(“Coughs”). The type of the mucus decides the choice

of the drug. Sometimes the leucorrhœa has a strong

odour; all such patients will be weak and faint with,

oftener than not, some digestive trouble; skin has

usually a yellow tinge. Such cases have some

ulcerations of mouth of womb (cervix), and in the

vagina, but Hydrastis cures this disease-picture.

XI. Helonias dioica (1x, 3x to 6x). Here again we

have another clearly defined disease-picture, so clear

that any lay reader cannot fail in a decision. For this

remedy to be indicated the leucorrhœa will be dark

offensive and constant; it flows more profusely with

every exertion. Outer parts are swollen, red and feel hot

even to burning at times; local irritation very great

caused by superficial ulcerations; will scratch or rub

until parts become raw. There is much curdy secretion

noted. Abdomen bloats up every evening when clothes

feel too tight. The great keynote of this remedy is----the

consciousness of a womb because of its weight and

soreness (if your womb or any other organ is normal

you practically don’t know of its existence).

There is very often some prolapsed (sagging) of the

womb from atony of the muscular ligaments holding it

in position; menses of such subjects are too frequent and

too profuse and the breasts often swell with nipples

painful and tender (this is uterine reflex irritation), urine

generally in excess of normal amount and overcharged

with waste products, but don’t worry too much about its

analysis at this time, though analyses have their uses.

Helonias will cure many matters along with the

leucorrhœa. Anyhow, the urinary analysis changes

from day today, nay from meal to meal, and I have seen

people kept ill and nervous by too frequent urinary

analysis. These patients can outline their kidneys

melancholy with great general debility and anæmia very

marked, pains in the back are very low down, the patient

always feels better when hard at work, or fully

occupied, shall I say. For such cases cleared pictured,

Helonias is a direct womb nerve tonic, but it does not

follow that all the symptoms enumerated must be

present.

Get these “friends of women” clearly in your mind,

they will save many from an operation. The foregoing

are clear, concise homœopathic indications for these

special and particular remedies. No wonder our

methods are styled “the New Art of Healing,” though

we have had these helps for over 140 years. These

special ailments are all called leucorrhœa, but note how

they differ in character. You cannot think that any one

drug will fit and cure all these types. Any school girl

can make a choice of the correct remedy and so can you,

my unknown lay reader. They are presented to you

because orthodox practitioners won’t study same. This

is your distinct loss.

Also note well that the German Government has

commanded that this New Art of Healing,

Homœopathy, shall be taught in two of their

universities, at Berlin and at Frankfurt. So in the words

of H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, I say, “Wake up John

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Bull.” I am sure that the laity can arouse public opinion

so that Great Britain does not lag behind Germany in

this endeavour to give the best treatment to all sufferers.

I suggest that you follow the German idea a step

further by establishing lay societies for the propaganda

of Homœopathy. In that country they have two main

societies which have some hundreds of branch societies,

holding public meetings regularly when speakers

instruct the members in the simpler rudiments of this

safe and exact method of dealing with sickness. Why

cannot Great Britain follow so good a lead? I am sure

that there will be a rush for Homœopathy sooner or

later. “HEAL THYSELF” is giving you the helping

hand. The rest lies with you!

This journal, “HEAL THYSELF”, is fighting your

battle. With Homœopathy we are trying to save you

from operations and even worse, for in private practice I

have heard confessions which proved to me that many

intercepted conceptions have ended in diseased

conditions which were classed as malignant and

inoperable, being so diagnosed by the many well-known

instruments of precision known to all the profession. So

it is that poor woman has to pay with compounded

interest, the end of which is a terrible death.

Homœopathy can save many, but it cannot mend the

unmendable and utterly doomed. God puts a limit to

every man’s skill. Employ Homœopathy in time.

========================================

10. INCONTINENCE OF THE BLADDER AN

ARNICA MIRACLE

M.D., B.Sc. (HEAL THYSELF, LXIX, 3/1934)

In the December issue of “HEAL THYSELF,” pp.

646-7-8 I read two most instructive cures made by

Arnica which also told of the fear which orthodox

medicine has of this remedy.

When studying any drug, it is wise to examine as

many cures as possible to better understand the wide

range of action such a drug has in homœopathic hands.

The value of any drug depends on a person’s

knowledge of how and when to use it. It is nothing to

homœopaths to be told by orthodox doctors that a

certain drug is dangerous, which it may be to them, if

not properly prepared, and if used in wrong dosage and

on faulty application.

It appears from the orthodox official pharmacy that

four great countries make their Arnica from the root and

flowers, other four countries employ root, flowers and

leaves and nine countries may employ only the flowers.

It is moreover officially correct in many of the above

countries to use the root alone; it is even officially in

order if the drug be made from dried plant material

when all the balsams and aromatics which nature stored

in it, must be lost. So the variations of orthodox Arnica

must be enormous and so much the worse for the

patients.

Homœopathy has only one world formula in which

fixed proportions of the absolutely freshly gathered

plant are used—at flowering time---to be macerated in

dilute alcohol before there is time for any wilting to take

place. Thus Homœopathy imprisons and preserves all

the plant balsams, aromatics and medical virtue, etc., as

incorporated by nature. Orthodox medicine has very

little to say about its medical value, but it warns that

Arnica has caused eczema and erysipelas, that equally

good results are produced by applications of spirit and

water and that it is a “popular” remedy, used externally

for bruises.

Evidently orthodox medicine is not particularly

interested in Arnica. It is, in their estimation, too much

“an old woman’s remedy.” On the other hand all

homœopaths are wonderfully impressed by the value of

Arnica for both external and internal use. The reason is

simple. We study our drugs intensively. “HEAL

THYSELF” (December, p.646), which I hope you have

read, explains the value of Arnica in a throat trauma

(singing strain); on p.648 it teaches you that Arnica in a

throat trauma (singing strain); on p.648 it teaches you

that Arnica can cure Erysipelas. But allopaths say “it

can cause this disease.” Well! There you have a first-

class proof of likes curing likes.

The following remarkable cure by Arnica must

impress you. I translate this case of “Post-operative

Incontinence of Urine of Seven Years’ Duration” from

La Matière Médicale Pratique, pp. 71-2, by Dr.

CHARETTE of Nantes. The case is taken from his own

practice. CHARETTE wrote:

“Being at Marseilles in the last year of the War, I

was called to attend Mme de B., whom I found in bed.

Her husband, placing himself at the head of the bed,

monocle in eye, informed me in detail of the following

ghastly history. Seven years ago, said he, my wife was

operated upon for a uterine Polypus. Incontinence of

urine immediately followed the operation which

necessitated the constant use of very thick absorbent

pads which had to be renewed very frequently day and

night. The surgeon made minute examinations and tests

but could find absolutely nothing to explain this

incontinence. He finally declared it to be of ‘reflex

origin’, and prescribed bromides and douches, but

without any benefit, and Mme de B. left the private

hospital with this terrible infliction.

Numerous doctors were consulted without any

success, particularly Professor GRASSET of

Montpellier and Professor BERNHEIM of Nancy, who

employed auto-suggestion without affording the

slightest relief.

After that, said M. de B., we had recourse to

electricity, then visited various Spas and then took

climatic cures, but nothing availed. Next we tried

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sorcerers, hypnotists, “wise women” who had “secrets

and cures which cured” and now we have come to

Homœopathy.

Little flattered to find myself in the last category of

therapeutics and above all annoyed by the tone of

raillery M. de B. employed, I had the impulse to take

my hat and leave, but I had an inspiration that I could

achieve a victory for Homœopathy. So I stayed with the

firm intention of being as disagreeable as possible. I

succeeded.

I refused to examine the patient although invited to

do so and I said with an air of its being unimportant and

of not giving it any thought: ‘Place one drop of Arnica

in a glass of water, stir well for some time, so that the

mixture is homogeneous, and drink a coffeespoonful

three times a day which must be before meals.’ ‘Is that

all?’ asked he. ‘It is all’, said I. ‘And you believe it

will cure?’ ‘It is possible, but I promise nothing’, said I

and left laughing heartily at the amazed air of those

people whom I never expected to see again.

Eight days later, M. de B. arrived at my house, rue

de Palud. ‘Doctor’, cried he, ‘my wife is cured.’ ‘I am

glad of it.’ ‘But she is cured I tell you, cured of that

frightful infirmity which has tortured her for seven

years. It is a miracle that you have performed and you

do not appear astonished.’ Replied I: ‘Not at all. It was

simple and easy. Any beginner in Homœopathy could

have done it’, and opening Dr.Wm. Boericke’s Materia

Medica I made M. de B. read, which he could do easily:

‘Arnica is especially suited to cases when an injury,

however remote, seems to have caused the present

trouble.’

But this Homœopathy is marvelous. Cure me also

of a Psoriasis with which I am afflicted.’ Replied I:

‘One moment, M. de B., there is in this street, almost in

front of my house, a cobbler who has a great reputation

for treating skin diseases. Consult him at once I beg of

you if you have not already done so. It will be time

afterwards to come to Homœopathy.’ M. de B.

understood my lesson, and I was able to cure him also,

but it was not so easy.”

The time has come to talk of many things to the

rank and file of the medical profession. I ask: “Are

these cures not fascinating?” They are true, whatever

your medical leaders may say. You can do the same

and more, if necessary. I advise you to break away

from the orthodox leaders who have blinded and

betrayed you. Revolt! Think and act for yourselves as

the French doctors are doing.

[See in Vol. XXVI, 3 & 4, 2009 QHD in which you will

read of Plastic Surgeon using Arnica with remarkable

results. This in the 21st Century! = KSS]

========================================

11. A Case of Partial Complex Seizures in a Ten-Year-

Old Girl

CHIPKIN, Peggy.

International Foundation for Homeopathy(IFH)

Proceedings of the 1993

Professional Case Conference

Initial visit:

Female, Age 10. March 15, 1991.

Medical History:

Age 15 Months: This child became ill with alternating

lethargy and irritability for nine days. She had no fever,

just a few episodes of mild vomiting. Finally, the

pediatrician saw papilledema (edema and inflammation

of the optic disk). A rare and highly malignant

cancerous brain tumour was found in the right frontal

lobe.

The patient developed Hydrocephalus, which was

surgically treated with the insertion of shunts to draw

off fluid from the brain to the abdomen. Four days

later, she had surgery for the Tumor. Only 50 percent

could be removed because it was so close to the

Hypothalamus and Pituitary gland. The patient’s post-

operative convalescence was complicated by Anemia,

and she was given blood. She was released from the

hospital ten days after surgery.

She was further treated with high-dose Radiation

and oral Chemotherapy. The agents used in

Chemotherapy were Hydroxyurea and Procarbazine.

Both are antineoplastics. According to the Physicians’

Desk Reference, the method of action for hydroxyurea

“cannot, at present, be described,” and, for

procarbazine, the “precise mode… has not been clearly

defined.” Both agents may act by inhibiting DNA

synthesis.

She got better, and was put on Decadron and

prophylactic Phenobarbital for a year to prevent

seizures.

Age Four: She had become quite an angry child and

was placed in Psychotherapy.

Age Seven: She was diagnosed with learning disorders.

It was hard for her to express herself. She would get

angry, say “never mind,” and give up. She also had

difficulty reading; she could read, but slowly and with

much struggling. She began to develop breasts, and

axillary and pubic hair. She had been a lean child; now

feminine curves began to appear. For example, her hips

widened. It was felt that this early puberty was possibly

due to damage to her Pituitary from the radiation she

had received for her tumor. Her growth hormone and

thyroid hormone levels were low, also probably from

damage to the Pituitary.

She entered public school (in the second grade at

age seven), which she liked very much. But, most

significantly, her seizures began. Six months before, a

baby sister had been born. She also had a brother who

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©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol. XXX, 3 & 4, 2013. Private Circulation only 169

was 2½ years younger than she. She had done well

when her brother was born, but showed some jealousy

toward this new sister.

Growth and Development:

 Walked at age 12 months.

 Started talking slightly late (1).

 Did not speak in sentences until age three (2).

Description of Seizures:

 “Partial complex seizures.”

 As if daydreaming (2).

 Vacant look (2).

 Doesn’t respond (2).

 Stares off to the right and raises her head (1).

 Sometimes has Hystagmus, then laughs loudly (2).

 Smacks her lips (1).

 Picks at her clothes (1).

 Plays with her mother’s fingers (1).

 Runs to another room sometimes.

 Often has the seizures in the morning about an hour

after rising (1).

 Seizures last as long as one minute.

 Feels drowsy (1), dizzy (2), and confused (1)

afterward.

 Doesn’t remember where she was and gets edgy,

irritable (1).

 At first, would sleep for 15 to 20 minutes after a

seizure (2).

Her EEG is abnormal.

History of Drug Therapy for Seizures:

 Tegretol (carabamazepine), an anticonvulsant,

masked her seizure symptoms for six months.

 Depakote (valproic acid), rendered her seizure-free

for one year.

 Now, drugs do not completely control her seizures.

Description of Seizures Since on Depakote:

 Stares (1), then laughs loudly (2) or experiences the

symptoms just described for the pre-Depakote

seizures (except for the raising of the head).

 Experiences confusion afterwards (2); does not

remember where she was (2).

 The confusion makes her edgy and irritable (2).

 Becomes belligerent sometimes (1).

 Has the seizures two to four times a day; may be

having more at school that the parents don’t know

about.

Her learning has reached a plateau; she is not

learning new things (2).

Her stamina and energy (2) have been low since she

started taking seizure medications.

She has no interest in physical activity (2).

Fears:

 Afraid to learn to ride a bike (2); fears falling and

getting injured (2).

 Afraid to skip (2); also fears falling (2).

 Afraid to learn to swim (2); likes the water only if

she is standing up (2).

 Afraid to float (2).

 Afraid of needles (2).

 Afraid of the dark; has to have a night-light (2).

 Is not afraid of animals, but does not have any

connection with the family pets.

 No history of a big fright.

Socially, does not connect with other children (2).

She goes to bed alone fine and falls asleep quickly. She

sleeps well----like a log---and always has. She has

never walked in her sleep.

No history of night terrors.

Averse to being alone (1), except to got to sleep.

She is not claustrophobic, but hates being squeezed in

the carpool (2).

She has never masturbated or been at all interested in

genitals.

She doesn’t have a lot of curiosity about anything (2).

She is irritable (2) and hits (2), but usually doesn’t

throw things.

Desires noodles (2), bread and butter (2), rice (3), salt

(1), and sweets (1). Her desire for sweets was stronger

before she started taking Depakote.

Other Medical History:

 A couple of ear infections.

 Many plantar warts last year; very successfully

treated topically.

 No respiratory illnesses.

Family History:

 Maternal Grandmother: Heart disease and

hypertension.

 Maternal Grandfather: Died of a brain tumor at age

70.

 Paternal Grandmother: Severe anemia and

hypertension.

 Paternal Grandfather: Hypertension; died of a

stroke in his 60s.

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Current Medications and Supplements:

 Depakote; 625mg in the morning, and 750mg at

bedtime.

 L-carnitine (an amino acid), to counteract depletion

caused by Depakote.

 Depo Lupron (a research drug to counteract

precocious puberty); 10mg intramuscularly every

28 days (which is apparently effective).

 Protropin (growth hormone); three times a week

since patient was age nine.

 Vitamin E, selenium, and multivitamins.

At this point in the interview the patient had a seizure:

 Stared (1).

 Laughed loudly (2).

 Became destructive and tore the book in her hand

(2).

 Sang (2).

 Napped later (2).

Sometimes she claps her hands during a seizure (1).

Sometimes she is irritable before a seizure (2).

She sings a lot (2). This is a problem in school (2).

She sleeps covered (2), on her side (1), and

drools(1).

No perspiration (1).

She is chilly (1) and loves to be bundled up (2).

She is awkward physically (2), especially since

starting to take seizure drugs.

Evaluating the Vital Force

In a recent seminar, Jeremy SHERR said, “Health

is the ability to adapt to the environment without

needing symptoms!” How many of us exemplify this?

I assessed the health of this patient using the

following criteria: age at the time of symptoms, center

of gravity of the symptoms, degree of limitation/lack of

freedom, family history and external influences such as

stresses and drugs. This is from the mnemonic

“FORCE” that Bill GRAY taught us years ago.

“FORCE” stands for Freedom (degree of), Onset (age

of), Relatives, Center of gravity, and Excitement

(external stresses).

A brain tumor at such a young age is the first “red

flag” that alerted me to the weakness of her Vital Force.

She has had few acute illnesses, which is another red

flag. This shows that her vital force is too weak to

respond to viruses in the environment. (A very healthy

person may be strong enough to just fight the virus off

without developing symptoms. But this patient is

obviously not healthy.)

Her learning is delayed. This shows that her

symptoms are deep, affecting the mental level. Her

seizures reflect a brain and central nervous system

disorder. Her endocrine system is also disordered. She

is physically limited. This limitation is probably due, at

least partially, to her anticonvulsant therapy. She is

physically awkward. She does not feel competent

enough, and is afraid to attempt the developmental

milestones of her peers, such as riding a bicycle,

skipping, and swimming.

Emotionally and socially, she has some limitations.

Her family history includes a brain tumor (although at a

much later age), a stroke (also affecting the brain), and

cardiovascular disease. She has had a lot of allopathic

therapy; its impact has probably been quite significant.

The easy suppression of her warts is another sign of a

weak vital force. She shows little creativity, which is

another measure of health.

Thus, her symptomatology began as an infant and

has affected the deepest physical levels (brain and

central nervous system), as well as the emotional and

mental levels. Her symptoms have significantly limited

her. External stresses, such as the drugs surgery, have

had an impact on her. Most significantly, the drugs, and

possibly the brain tumor and subsequent surgery, have

left her with a kind of deadness as you can see in the

photograph of her. [Editors’ Note: The photograph was

projected onto a screen at the conference.] in my office,

she shows little personality, no liveliness. For all these

reasons, I would assess her vital force at about a “2” to

“3” on scale of “1” to “10”.

A few weeks ago, I woke at 4:30 in the morning to

the sound of rain. This would normally not be

significant, except for the fact that it rarely rains that

late in the spring in the San Francisco Bay area. More

importantly, I realized as my brain suddenly clicked into

functioning mode, that my new skylight had been left off

its hole in the roof the day before!

I jumped out of bed, setting my plan of action as I

threw on some warm clothes. The thoughts ticked off

one by one: “Let’s see, there is an extra plastic drop

cloth in the living room. How will I secure it over the

opening in the roof? Oh, what about the rocks lining

my garden? But it’s a clean new roof, and the rocks are

probably muddy now from the rain. Plastic bags! Yes,

they will keep the mud from soiling my new roof.

Where is the ladder? Thank goodness. The carpenter

left it alongside the house.”

I collected everything in a matter of minutes. And,

with rocks and drop cloth in hand, I started up the

ladder. The roof was slippery. I crouched low and

managed, with some difficulty for it was windy, to get

the plastic secured in place. Finished, I sat down on the

roof to rest. I was hopping mad that the skylight had

not been replaced. (I guess the carpenter took it off for

air circulation as he worked. But rain had been forecast

for that night.)

As I slowly caught my breath and calmed down, it

occurred to me how grateful I was that had the mental

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capacity and physical agility---along with enough fear

to be cautious on the slippery roof---to carry out this

task. I thought about this patient. She was fresh in my

mind because I had been working on this presentation

the evening before. How impossible it would have been

for her to react in this situation, not just due to her

young age but also because of her limitations and lack

of mental and physical flexibility.

This rigidity, or lack of movement, is a lack of

health. Jeremy reminded us of this in his last Seminar.

In the Organon, paragraph nine, Hahnemann’s

“dynamis,” which animates the organism in the healthy

condition, refers to movement. And the less movement

there is, the less healthy the person is.

Mosche FELDENKRAIS, originator of the

Feldenkrais Method, also captured this idea when he

said, “Movement is life; without movement, there is no

life.” I think of this when I see elderly people sitting

around a lot, gradually losing function---and “life”.

(And I have seen them “come to life” when encouraged

to do Feldenkrais movements, or to dance!)

I’d like to talk more about her Vital Force. It is of

interest that this child’s seizures were at first suppressed

by the Tegretol. When that stopped working, Depakote

rendered her seizure-free for a time. It is good sign that

her Vital Force was strong enough to bring out the

seizures even though she was on the drugs. However,

note that her post ictal drowsiness changed to greater

confusion. This is a subtle change. It indicates a deeper

level of symptomatology and increased symptoms on

the mental level. This is not a good sign.

Learning that the Pediatrician had seen Papilledema

in this child provided a good diagnostic lesson for me.

Who looks in the eyes of an infant on routine physical

examination, except to see the red reflex? And

sometimes even that is hard (for me) to see. But, a full

neurological exam was indicated because of the lethargy

without other obvious pathology such as an ear

infection. Frankly, I wonder if I would have thought

along those lines. Certainly, now I would. Although I

would prefer to have begun homœopathic treatment for

this child when she was much younger, I definitely

heaved a sigh of relief that I had not been the one seeing

this patient at the onset of her brain tumor.

By the time she came to me, she was experiencing

what HAHNEMANN in the Organon calls the “results

of the disease”. It is always advantageous to treat a

person closer to the onset of symptomatology or, even

better, preventively. But certainly we prefer to treat

before pathology sets in---before the person has suffered

so much and has become so limited in life. Jeremy

SHERR described it graphically as discovering “the

little grain of sand that has found its way into an engine

before it begins to “muck up” the engine, not after the

engine is already smoking!”

Another factor in the management of this child was

that her mother was a nurse. She was very educated

about the sophisticated details of the patient’s condition,

not to mention about all the medications the child was

taking. My immediate feeling was that she was more

educated about the medications than I was, especially

about the newer anticonvulsive drugs. She was

interested in, but a little skeptical about, Homœopathy.

These factors, plus the seriousness of the child’s

situation, made me quite nervous!

Her seizures were labeled “partial complex

seizures.” Partial (or focal) seizures are usually limited

to one extremity, or part of the extremity. They can be

unilateral. They are different from petit mal seizures,

which are generalized rather than focal.

Peter Bennett: Ignoring the history of the

patient and just considering the description

of her actions, I was struck by her rapid

transition of states in a short time. The

remedy that fits this symptom is Crocus

sativa. It has the singing. It is listed only in

plain type under convulsions, but it is

described as a remedy for Chorea and

Hysteria.

Chipkin: The warts are a kind of eruption,

but not particularly Cuprum-type eruptions.

Durr Elmore: We have to think of Cicuta,

because it’s such a big remedy for

convulsions and it is listed in italics under

singing. The singing is such a strong

element. I think that’s the most striking

element in the case. Whatever remedy is

given, I would certainly want it to include

the singing.

Annemarie Monahan: I had to think of

Hyoscyamus, because of the picking at the

clothes, the striking, the singing, the

clapping of hands, the early onset of

puberty, and the possible etiology of

jealousy.

Chipkin: Yes. Hyoscyamus was definitely

one of my considerations. You are getting

into my ballpark. When I present these

cases, I always learn how other people think

and then I wish I could have a whole room

full of homœopaths when I am analyzing

difficult cases.

Jennifer Jacobs: It’s probably not a

Helleborus case, because you presented one

at this conference a couple of years ago. But

I would have to mention Helleborus,

because of the picking at the clothes, the

smacking of the lips, the staring, and lack of

expression in the face.

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©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol. XXX, 3 & 4, 2013. Private Circulation only 172

Nick Nossaman: Most of the seizure

symptoms seem within the range that is

common for the pathology. The two striking

elements are the laughing with the seizures

and her tendency to sing otherwise.

Assuming the completeness of the rubrics,

the remedy has to be under both of these

elements. I thought of Belladonna, although

there is not a great amount of support for it.

Judith Pruzzo: I have a feeling it’s

probably not Stramonium. However, this

remedy did come up a lot with her fear of

water and of being alone, although she

didn’t have night frights when she was little.

With the pricking at the bedclothes, the

laughing during the convulsions, and the

other symptoms, Hyoscyamus comes up a

very close second. Yet, as you questioned

her, you found that she didn’t have a

problem with masturbation. So, it doesn’t

look good for a Hyoscyamus prescription.

Chipkin: You’re doing just about what I

did.

Michael Traub: Opium covers the totality

fairly well. I like it because of her

expression of deadness and her kind of a

stupor, and I feel that the remedy prescribed

has to capture that essence.

Case Analysis and First Prescription

Looking at the essential characteristics of the case,

I examined the following symptoms in MacRepertory:

 JEALOUSY (toward her baby sister, who was

born before the seizures began).

 CONVULSIONS in the morning.

The convulsions in the morning are a clear

modality. Jeremy says, “A good modality is worth its

weight in gold.” We like to see the Vital Force

expressing at specific times of the day, because this

demonstrates a certain strength, an ability to adapt. It

also provides clear information. It would be even more

illuminating if the seizures occurred at a given hour, for

example, at 7 a.m. every day. This narrows it down

more. The rubric, CONVULSIONS in the morning, is

a good size. It is not too small, yet it does not contain

too many remedies to consider. This helps to

individualize the remedy to the patient, an important

factor in homœopathic treatment.

I also looked at the concomitant symptom of early

puberty. It is listed in the repertory as

GENERALITIES, Convulsions, puberty, at, and, molre

specifically, as GENERALITIES, Convulsions,

puberty, at, girls, in. I was not bold enough to begin the

case with the remedy I thought of for this rubric.

I used the following rubrics to complete the list:

 MIND, Gestures, makes, clapping the hands.

 MIND, Gestures, makes grasping or reaching at

something, picks at bedclothes.

 MIND, Irritability, convulsion, before.

 MIND, Singing (a problem in school).

 MIND, Laughing, convulsions, before, during or

after.

 MIND, fear, alone, of being.

I used two combinations of these rubrics. With

MacRepertory, I could look at different analyses,

including totality of symptoms with all remedies and

with small remedies emphasized (Figures 1, 2 and 3).

(I always check “Number of Rubrics.”)

I looked at Hyoscyamus, which has the symptoms

of singing, striking, hand gestures, and picking at her

clothes. It also has a fear of being injured, but this fear

may not be pathological in this patient. Because of her

awkwardness, this fear is probably normal (although I

have another patient who is awakward, who trips all the

time, and who doesn’t seem to be the least bit afraid). I

could have used awkwardness as a symptom. But it

could be due to the drugs she was taking. So, I didn’t.

The remedy I decided to give was Stramonium. It

is a big remedy for seizures. It also fits the hitting and

irritability (anger had been her first presenting symptom

after the brain tumor surgery), the laughing during

convulsions, the hand gestures, the picking with and

clapping of the hands, and the fear of being alone. Yet,

she was not afraid of being alone at night, which is the

common time for this Stramonium fear. I gave a 30c

potency (Quinn pharmacy) to be taken once a week.

Both the potency and frequency of the dose were

because the patient was on allopathic drugs. Artemisia

was the “backup” remedy in my mind.

Plan: Stramonium 30c, once per week.

Follow-Up on the First Prescription: Stramonium

Has an Effect

April 3, 1991

She came in for a follow-up three weeks after

taking the remedy.

Before the remedy, she was having up to three or

more seizures a day. After the remedy, the seizures

decreased in frequency to one per day; however, they

lasted longer(2).

Now her head tilts to the left more during the

seizures (2). Also, her eyes roll back. (This usually

didn’t happen before.)

During a routine check on April 1, her Depakote

level was suddenly found to be high. So, it was

lowered to three 125-mg capsules twice a day.

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Then, she had four seizures yesterday, but only one

today so far (by 4:30 p.m.).

She still laughs (1) during the milder seizures.

She has no new fears. She doesn’t fear the dark

but uses a night-light every night (1).

She still hits (1). (No change).

She still claps her hands with seizures and at other

times, such as when she is unhappy about what she is

doing (1).

She is fine alone in bed because she falls asleep so

fast.

No nightmares.

She likes to jump during her seizures (1) and play

with her mother’s fingers (1). (She has not run to

another room for years.)

She definitely has seizures in the morning after she

rises(2).

She is chilly(2), but she has an intolerance and

aversion to bright sun and heat (2). Loses energy.

However, she likes to stand near the heater in the

morning.

Her stamina is still low(1), but she did walk a long

distance at day camp yesterday.

She is intolerant of noise(1), such as in a bowling

alley.

Desires noodles (2), bread (2), salt (2), and butter

(2).

Thirstless.

Sleeps well; prefers covers; on the side; slight

drooling.

She is still physically awkward (2) and cautious

(2).

Sometimes she gets irritable before a seizure (1).

Observation: She now hits her younger sister on the

head and grabs toys from her (2). Her mother says the

patient does this when she’s tired.

She gets a spacey, vacant look before her seizures

(1).

Assessment: Stramonium touched the case. Before

the remedy, her seizures had been increasing in

frequency to three a day. This is a good sign.

However, they were longer in duration, and stronger.

This is not a good sign. Suddenly, her Depakote level

was high. When a remedy is acting curatively, we often

see allopathic drugs suddenly having a much stronger

effect; the patient becomes more sensitive to the drugs.

This must be monitored, so that the dosage of the

allopathic drug can be decreased accordingly.

The patient was still hitting. I would like to have

seen Stramonium decrease her aggressive symptoms,

because anger is such a strong feature of this remedy.

But, because there were some positive signs, I

recommended that the patient continue taking

Stromonium 30c once a week. (The patient’s mother did

not give the remedy exactly once a week.)

In retrospect, Stromonium was not the simillimum.

This was probably because the anger in the case was

not the violent anger of Stromonium. Also missing was

a great fear of the dark, a symptom we like to see when

prescribing Stromonium. She had some fear of the

dark, but perhaps not enough. She had no history of

night terrors. This is a symptom that I might expect to

come up, especially because I have seen this in children

after hospitalization and surgery as a way of dealing

with those traumas. This could have been explained by

the fact that her pathology was deeper. She also lacked

the Stramonium fear of dogs. Interesting, too, was her

lack of fever with the brain tumor. Stramonium is

often a remedy for exceedingly high fevers, much like

Belladonna.

So, there were definite changes from Stramonium,

but the patient was not getting better. Her energy did

not improve, as can be seen in the next follow-up.

Plan: Stramonium 30c, once per week.

April 17, 1991

She came in for a follow-up one month after first

taking the remedy.

She is still having one or two seizures each day (2) on

the decreased dosage of Depakote.

The seizures are worse (2):

 Head really turns to the left and jerks (2).

 Left eye blinks fast (2).

 Left arm jerks (2).

She used to have these symptoms when her

seizures began.

Her mother repeated the remedy yesterday, and the

patient has had one worse seizure since (2).

She gags easily on solids, unless they are cut up in

small pieces (2). (This is not a new symptom.)

She is still aggressive (2). (No change.)

Assessment: She was having stronger seizures after

repeated doses of the remedy. The old symptom of the

head turning to the left, the left eye blinking, and the

left arm jerking during the seizures would have been

favorable signs (return of old symptoms) if the patient

had been getting better in general. But she was not.

Her emotional state remained the same. (I did not note

it in this follow-up, but her energy and her mental state

had not improved.) Therefore, this remedy was

probably disruptive. It was close enough to affect the

Vital Force, but it was not “on the mark” enough to

ameliorate. However, because the new symptoms fit

Stramonium, I held on to hope (though fainter) that

Stramonium would help.

Plan: Stramonium 200c (Quinn), single dose.

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©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol. XXX, 3 & 4, 2013. Private Circulation only 174

April 26, 1991

She came in for a follow-up 1½ months after first

taking the remedy.

She had two doses of the remedy.

Seizures:

 One in the morning after waking, before school (1);

almost fell down (2).

 One in the late afternoon or early evening (1).

 Head jerks to the left (2).

 Left eye blinks (2)

 Turns in a circle to the left (2).

 Last longer; one to two minutes (2).

 More sleepy afterwards (2).

 Has one strong seizure (2), usually in the morning

(2).

 With the milder ones, has laughter (1), confusion

(1), and staring (1).

Her temperament is the same.

She sleeps well and very quietly.

Further Analysis: Time for a New Remedy

The seizures were clearly worse. At this point, the

modality of seizures in the morning became more clear,

whether from Stramonium or just from the strength of

the patient’s Vital Force. This was fortunate. In

disruptions the case is often “spoiled” because clarity is

lost. In Kent’s repertory, under GENERALITIES,

Convulsions, morning, was the other remedy I had been

considering: Artemisia vulgaris. The concomitant

symptom of her seizures occurring “at puberty” had led

me to think of it in the beginning. And she was more

sleepy after the seizures, which also is a symptom of

Artemisia.

The results of using the analysis mode in

MacRepertory, Small Remedies, excluding the 15 most

frequently occurring polycrests.

Known as mugwort, Artemisia vulgaris is a cousin

of the seasoning herb, tarragon (Artemisia

dracunculus). Artemisia is the name of a large genus,

consisting of aromatic and bitter plants that are grown

for ornamental, medicinal, and culinary uses. Some of

the plants are even used as insect repellents.

Specifically, they have the ability to repel flea beetles

and cabbage butterflies in the garden!

I thanked Reference Works and its creator, David

WARKENTIN, a thousand times as I was writing this

paper. Switching back and forth from MacRepertory to

Reference Works made my job much easier not to

mention more enjoyable. Clipping and pasting quotes

from Reference Works, I watched the picture of

Artemisia unfold. What a difference this new

technology has made in our work and our teaching!

From reference works, we see that Artemisia

vulgaris, a small remedy, is listed only in the book.

Allen shows the following:

 A. vulgaris.

 Natural order: Compositae.

 Common names: wormwood, mugwort, beifuss,

and others.

 Preparation: Tincture of the root.

 Increase of epileptic paroxysms.

 Irritation of the nervous system.

It was Boericke’s discussion of Artemisia vulgaris

that first caught my eye, because of the seizures at

puberty, in this case, with onset of early puberty

the same year as the onset of the seizures.

BOERICKE says:

… has some reputation as a remedy for

epileptic conditions, and convulsive diseases of

childhood and girls at puberty.

PHATAK continues:

It has a prominent place in convulsive diseases

of childhood and girls at puberty. The patient is

irritable and excitable before the attack of

epilepsy. Epilepsy; without aura; after fright or

grief; after a blow on the head; with menstrual

disturbances… Walks in the street, suddenly

stops, stares into space, often mumbles a few

words, becomes normal and remembers nothing.

CLARKE in his “Clinical” heading says:

“Convulsions. Dysmenorrheal. Epilepsy.

Hydrocephalus.”

It is interesting that the patient went so quickly into

hydrocephalus in her early phases and that surgical

treatment for the hydrocephalus preceded removal of

the tumor. A Reference Works search shows us that

there are 79 references to this condition for Artemisia!

In CLARKE, under “Causation” we find, “Blow on

head.”

CLARKE also says:

Like the other Artemisias this remedy has a

prominent place in convulsive diseases. It is

indicated where the patient is excitable and irritable

before an attack of epilepsy. Epilepsy after fright

or grief, after a blow on the head…

Brain surgery is certainly akin to a blow on the

head.

HERING and CLARKE compare Artemisia to such

remedies as Cina, Stramonium, Cicuta, Chamomilla,

and Apis.

A search of convulsions in Reference Works

allows us to compare Artemisia to any of the other main

remedies for this condition.

The Complete Repertory (Kent’s repertory plus

many additions), which is found in MacRepertory, does

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©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol. XXX, 3 & 4, 2013. Private Circulation only 175

not list Artemisia vulgaris under HEAD, Tumors of the

brain. But through Reference Works I was able to find,

in the “recesses” of the homœopathic literature, that

Knerr’s Repertory lists “CANCER: encephaloma”

under Artemisia.

This and the Hydrocephalus bring up the

possibility that Artemisia was indicated early in this

case.

HERING, under “Nerves,” mentions the

convulsions in the morning that I had found in Kent’s

repertory. HERING talks about the head “bent

backward.” (The patient raises her head during the

seizures.)

Perhaps the most individualizing symptom was her

hand movements during the seizures. I was delighted to

find the following in HERING, under the “Mind”

section: “Picking of bed covers, making a fold of skin

on the back of her mother’s hand….”

Her sleepiness after the remedy was mentioned by

FARRINGTON and HERING, among others.

Her failing mental powers are listed in Hering

(MIND, Mental power become gradually extinct;

Epilepsy) and in Knerr’s repertory (MIND, Imbecility,

epilepsy, in.)

Notice that Artemisia vulgaris did not cover the

(seemingly good) rubrics of singing and laughing

associated with the seizures. But it did fit her

irritability before a seizure.

As I said earlier, the only thing I knew about

Artemisia was that it covered convulsions at puberty.

Before I go on, I would like to mention a few other

symptoms, not in this case, that were found in a search

of ReferenceWorks:

 BOERICKE

 Locally and internally is injurious to the

eyes.

 COLORED LIGHT PRODUCES

DIZZINESS. Pain and burning of vision;

better, rubbing; worse, using eyes.

 Somnambulism. Gets up at night and

works, remembers nothing in the morning.

 BOENNINGHAUSEN

 PROPER: Strabismus: convergent.

 HERING

 Gets up every night and does her daily

work as a house servant, with closed eyes,

lies down again and cannot remember

anything next morning.

 Inclination to steal. Boy with epilepsy.

 Strong, full-blooded, well-fed children,

during dentition; eclampsia

 Piercing shriek, turns, eyes, with violent

clonic spasms of limbs. Child with

eclampsia.

 PHATAK

 Attacks are accompanied or followed by

profuse offensive sweat of garlicky odor.

 WORMS: complaints.

 STAUFFER

 WORMS: complaints, nerves and eyes.

Plan: Artemisia vulgaris 200c (Quinn), single dose on

April 26, 1991.

Follow-Up on the Second Prescription

April 29, 1991

Her seizures were less intense and less frequent

(1):

 Two seizures two days ago; not intense (1).

 One seizure yesterday (1).

 No seizures this morning, but a brief spell of

confusion as if one had just occurred (1).

Her disposition has been “a little lighter.” She is

more agreeable.

She is more energetic.

She is more attentive and focused.

She has fewer episodes of frustration.

Observation: Her mother notes that she attentively

and calmly plays with a water toy in the office to

reinforce the point that the patient is more attentive and

less frustrated.

Sleeps quietly.

She is worse in the sun (3). Her energy drops (3),

and she gets really hot (3) and flushed (3).

She is still on Depakote, 500mg twice daily.

Assessment: The patient’s mother reported that the

seizures were “less but not gone.” The mother had

been understandably quite anxious. She called me

frequently up to this point, and she wanted to make sure

I realized that the seizures were not gone. But now

there was early amelioration of her energy, her mental

state, and her chief complaint. I was very hopeful.

I consulted with Roger MORRISON about

decreasing the anticonvulsant. He said to wait six

months before even trying. He had seen seizures

“rebound” with earlier attempts in his patients. Also,

he had seen patients do well on a remedy despite being

on allopathic drugs.

Plan:

1. Wait.

2. Instructed her mother to repeat a dose of the

remedy if there was a relapse.

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May 6, 1991

Telephone consultation.

She had been much better until three days ago

(May 3).

Then, she had a strong seizure in the morning (2),

and lighter ones in the evenings (1).

Her mother repeated the remedy on May 4.

She had a seizure the next morning (yesterday), but

it was slightly less strong (1).

She had a strong seizure again this morning (2).

Plan: Wait.

May 15, 1991

Telephone consultation.

Seizures:

 Two seizures a day, but slightly less strong (1).

 Less drawing to the left (1).

 Now, a bit of grunting.

 On two occasions, ran out of the house during the

seizure (an old symptom from the first seizures

she had).

 Confused afterward (1).

Her teachers said she had a better week at school.

Assessment: The symptoms from the past were

returning, along with a lessening in the intensity of the

seizures. This is a very good prognostic sign. I

continued to be hopeful. And her teachers at school

said that she had a better week. My analysis was that

she had been better, and then relapsed. And perhaps the

strong seizure had been an aggravation of her

symptoms. The relapse could certainly be explained by

the allopathic drugs.

Plan: Wait.

June 16, 1991

Telephone consultation.

She’s had a dramatic change for the better in the

past two weeks!

No seizures.

She had been having two seizures a day until then.

Also, she experienced a remarkable change in her

behavior! She is happier, more flexible, and more

cooperative.

She has a little more energy.

She is showing interest in projects she hasn’t

touched in months.

She has developed an allergy to mosquito bites.

They swell, get red and hot, and last for a week (2).

Assessment: She was definitely showing signs of

improvement on all levels. Her creativity was

returning. And she had the added progress of a

symptom on the skin level, a curative direction of

symptoms.

Plan: Wait.

November 4, 1991

I did not hear from the mother for several months.

Then, on November 4, her mother called the clinic

while I was out of town. The chart read: “Seizures

were much better after remedy; now return. Plan:

Artemisia vulgaris 200c, one dose.” Under this note

was written, “good job,” and signed “Morrison.”

In September 1991 I was having lunch with a

friend I hadn’t seen in a year, and she told me what had

happened. (Apparently, unbeknownst to me, my friend

had known this patient for years from a summer camp.)

“She is a different child.” I stared at her in utter

amazement! I was amazed that she knew the child and

that there had been such marked improvement.

Because I had not heard from the mother, I worried that

the patient had relapsed and the mother had decided to

discontinue homœopathy. “She has grown a lot, is

more alive, and she relates more fully.” Apparently the

patient’s mother had raved about the results of

homœopathic treatment to my friend!

Plan: Artemisia vulgaris 200c, single dose.

October 7, 1992

The patient is now 11½ years old.

She was seizure-free until about six weeks ago.

Then, she began having brief and less intense

seizures:

 Less than one minute long (1).

 Stares off to the right side (1).

 Sometimes with movement of the hands.

 Alert afterwards; not confused.

 Last less than one minute, except for a couple that

were longer and were accompanied with giggling

(1) and flapping of the arms(1).

 Three to four seizures observed in one week,

always between 7 and 8 a.m. (2).

The level of Depakote in her blood was very low,

so the dosage was increased from four to five capsules

twice a day, without any effect on the seizures.

December 1991, her thyroid function was found to

be low and she was started on thyroid supplements.

She is still on Lupron to stop puberty; this will be

discontinued this year.

She is still on growth hormone to supplement her

intrinsic low levels.

She is growing.

She learned to ride a bike and is learning to swim.

She is doing well academically.

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She still can be irritable (1), tired, and grumpy (2)

on waking, until she has the seizure. Then, she “wakes

up.”

She sleeps well, covered to her chin (1). No bad

dreams.

No aura. She once seemed fearful before a seizure.

She said something was chasing her, and then didn’t

remember this.

She is afraid that the fire alarm will ring when she

is alone in her room and no one is in the next room (1).

She is cautious with dogs.

She is worse in the sun; gets flushed (3). Averse to

sun all her life (3).

Sometimes she naps, more often since the seizures

started again. She doesn’t have seizures when she

wakes from her naps.

Sedentary (2).

She is normal about company, but prefers adults to

children (1).

There were no stresses or changes before the

seizures recurred.

Assessment: Now we see a more precise aggravation

time. This shows that the Vital Force is even stronger,

in light of the earlier discussion on clarity of modalities.

My assessment was that she had a relapse, although not

as severe. She was progressing nicely on the

emotional, mental, and physical levels.

Plan: Artemisia vulgaris 200c, single dose.

October 20, 1992

Telephone consultation.

She had stronger seizures this morning (2). They

lasted longer (2), like before the remedy, with post ictal

confusion and sleepiness (1).

She has had an upper respiratory infection for one

week (2), which is starting to get better.

Assessment: I was not sure how to assess this

breakthrough of seizure activity, unless it was related to

the severity of the acute illness. There were no known

antidotes or other stresses. I decided to wait and

observe. The next day she was better and had no

seizures. But she was not quite as perky as she had

been on waking in the mornings. I continued to

observe.

Plan: Wait.

December 7, 1992

Telephone consultation.

She has had no seizures for two or three weeks, but

they did continue until then.

For the past six weeks she has been having

frequent upper respiratory infections (2).

Assessment: The patient was definitely better. She

was now having acute illnesses. Her symptomatology

was moving in a good direction-----from within

outward and from more severe/critical levels. The Vital

Force was now putting out symptoms on the mucous

membranes and upper respiratory system, instead of the

(deeper) brain and central nervous system. The

immune system was now able to rouse a healthier

response to environmental viruses. I counseled the

mother about this and waited.

Plan: Wait.

Long-Term Follow-up

The patient continued to do well. This spring I

asked the mother to send me photographs from before

and after treatment with Artemisia vulgaris. You see

how much more alive the patient looks in the second

photograph. In the first one, there is almost a hint of

retardation; or at least mental dullness. [Editors’ Note:

The difference was striking.]

We saw earlier that the Materia Medica mention

imbecility. Actual mental retardation in Artemisia may

be confirmed by a second child I recently treated who is

showing a possible early response to Artemisia

vulgaris. This child is much more obviously retarded,

also with seizures that began around the time of early

puberty. On her second visit to the office, she was

more alert and played more normally. This clearly

shows the aspect of mental retardation in the remedy.

In the case I just presented the mental dullness could

have been explained by the drugs she was taking. But

in the case I just mentioned the mother is adamantly

against allopathic treatment, so the child has not been

treated with anticonvulsants.

The most recent follow-up (just two days ago on

June 9, 1993) shows another level of progress. She has

had no seizure activity since our last contact in

December 1992, until a fire alarm triggered a seizure

one week ago. Instead of being stuporous after this one

and only seizure, she remembered it! So, her mental

state is still improving.

This child had been labeled “learning disabled.”

Her case is another example of Homœopathy’s

effectiveness for this problem.

An Update on the Learning Disability Case I

Presented in 1990

Some of you may remember the case of the

adolescent boy with learning disabilities that I

presented in 1990. Stephen (King) was worried

because the boy, although dramatically improved on

Helleborus, was on the remedy for only nine months by

the time of the conference, and only a brief five months

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when we decided I should present the case. That gave

us lots of time for things to go wrong.

I respect Stephen’s high standards, which have

made this case conference so valuable and such a

success. So, I want him, and all of you, to rest assured

that this boy continues to do well. He got his pilot’s

license within a year after the remedy. He did well

academically throughout the rest of high school and

became very independent and social. He developed

confidence. He has pursued many interests and

developed deep friendships. Currently, he is taking

time off to work before he goes on to college. But he

reads constantly. His mother says his car is always full

of books!

========================================

12. A CASE OF PERENNIAL ALLERGIC RHINITIS

SOMMERMANN, Eric

(Proceedings of the Professional Case Conference

1993)

Introduction

This case isn’t as dramatic, perhaps, as the

Lymphoma case I presented at last year’s conference.

However, it provides interesting and useful information

about a lesser-known remedy that you might be missing

in your practice.

It is a case of long-standing rhinitis, a condition that

we see quite frequently in our practices. Although it’s

not considered to be a “deep” pathology, it often takes

years to improve. But this patient improved quickly

from the remedy, demonstrating that rhinitis does not

always require long-term treatment.

I will also present some preliminary information on

a case (in progress) of hemorrhagic fibroids that seems

to be responding well to the same remedy.

Initial Visit: March 10, 1991

Female, age 23

She is a single mother who had brought her son in

earlier for eczema and behavioral problems. The son

responded nicely to Sulphur.

She is an attractive, mild-mannered blonde woman

of medium build and fair complexion who has an air of

naiveté or vulnerability.

Chief Complaint: Allergies (2), mostly affecting

her nose.

Cold air (2) or a change of temperature (2) hurts the

inside of her nose.

There’s pain behind her eyes, a sharp pain (2).

She has a stuffy nose with nasal obstruction, which

is worse when she’s lying down (2).

She suffers from sneezing, watery eyes, and an

itchy throat (2), which are worse when she’s around cats

(2) and damp places (2).

She has always had allergies. She had sneezing,

stuffiness, and weepy eyes even as a baby.

She had asthma once.

Her symptoms were worse with pregnancy, and she

has taken a lot of antihistamines.

She can get irritable and grouchy. Things can drive

her “nuts,” and she loses patience. At other times she

can be depressed and serious.

She has poor self-confidence.

She has been very indecisive and can’t decide

where to go to school.

She wants a serious relationship in order to have

more children. She used to live with her child’s father

in Hawaii (he is a native there). He started bossing her

around. He was violent, very physically violent, and

took drugs. He beat her a lot. She did not fight back.

She knew the abuse was wrong but did not leave. She

felt lonely. To end the relationship she had her friend

call the police. She got away and came back to

California. She would like her son to see his father, but

she is afraid if she goes to Hawaii this man will talk her

into staying and she won’t able to get away.

She is not assertive. She internalizes instead. She

gets angry with herself because she doesn’t fight back.

She couldn’t disagree with her father. She never

got anywhere with him. She can’t say “no” to men. As

a teenager it was horrible for her, with ongoing fights

with her father. When she was angry she wouldn’t

speak to him. He thought she was a devil worshipper.

She was molested by her uncle.

She was raped by a baby sitter. She wants to kill

this person and is absorbed with a murder plan. She

wants it to be the most painful way possible.

She keeps all her feelings inside.

She wants to be alone when she’s depressed.

She has low-to-average sexual interest, which

increases with good conversation.

She’s a deep sleeper. She sleeps on her abdomen

(2) and clenches her jaw at night (2). She gets a stiff

neck and headache from the clenching (1).

Fears snakes (3). She tapes together the pages in

her biology book that show pictures of snakes so she

won’t see them by accident. Seeing a picture of snake

makes her clench her teeth. She used to have

nightmares of snakes and still has recurring dreams of

snakes.

Fears spiders (2) and insects (2).

Claustrophobic (2).

Fears being attacked (3). Starts to perspire walking

to her car at night. Needs to look in the back seat for

attacks. (She lives in a small town where such attacks

are extremely rare.)

She gets chilly (2) when it’s cold.

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Her feet perspire (2).

She is always thirsty (3), for juice and tea, and has

dry, chapped lips (2).

Her teeth are sensitive; worse in the cold (2).

Her ears hurt in the cold (2).

Regular menses.

Judyth Reichenberg-Ullman: When I thought about

this person, two remedies came to mind: Baryta

carbonica, because she is so naïve and because of the

nasal obstruction, and Staphysagria, for obvious

reasons. So, I came up with the idea of Baryta

muriatica, which has the nasal obstruction, the

Eustachian catarrh, and the perspiring feet. These are

many of the characteristics of Baryta carbonica. And

my notes indicate that Baryta carbonica can be

confused with Staphysagria.

Louise Edwards: A couple of us thought of

Anacardium, which has the lack of self-confidence, the

low self-esteem, the fear of someone behind him, and

the fear or delusion of being pursued. Roger

MORRISON, in his Desktop Guide, notes that

Anacardium can often be confused with Staphysagria.

Also, Boericke’s Materia Medica mentions coryza and

frequent sneezing under Anacardium.

Karl Robinson: I would assume that the rape and other

abuse have caused a lot of fright, so we might take

ailments from fright as a useful rubric, although the

chronology of events and symptoms is not completely

clear. There certainly could be a strong element of fear.

I was also interested in the fact that she is a deep

sleeper, so I immediately began to think of Opium.

Opium is in bold type under irresolution. It also is

under desire to kill, making plans, and under aversion to

bring alone, and delusion of snakes here and there. So I

thought of Opium.

Teresa Salvadore: I thought of Hepar sulphuris

because of Steve Olsen’s presentation earlier today. He

compared Baryta carbonica to Hepar sulphuris, which

has the sensitivity to cold in the nose, the chilliness in

the ears, the fear of snakes, and the irritability that she

expresses.

Peggy Chipkin: I also thought of Hepar sulphuris. The

way she stayed in a situation that’s not good for her may

have been out of a need for protection, until it got so

bad that she had to extricate herself. In Boericke, Hepar

sulphuris is listed in italics for hay fever and sensitive

teeth. Boericke also says, “…blondes with sluggish

character and weak muscles.”

Bob Ullman: Hepar sulphuris also a very strong desire

to kill, which I think covers the coryza quite well.

Sommermann: Yes, there is a pretty strong case for

Hepar sulphuris.

Laurie Dack: What I find interesting about the case is

that she seems really sympathetic and sweet, yet there is

also this incredible obsession with revenge. It seems as

if the intense fear of snakes is somehow involved with

the feeling of revenge. This is a striking combination of

elements.

Case Analysis and First Prescription

Looking over the case, I was perplexed by the

inability of one remedy to cover the main fetures of the

whole case. More importantly, I saw a tremendous

amount of suppressed anger in a mild, non-assertive

person who has a history of abuse and inability to

escape a relationship. This fits Staphysagria well for

the most part. But she had quite a strong desire for

revenge expressed toward the baby sitter, which does

not fit the remedy so well.

On the other hand, a number of symptoms aren’t

characteristic of Staphysagria, such as the fears, low sex

drive, and some of the allergy symptoms. The fear of

snakes was particularly strong. But the remedies in that

rubric are not known for this type of emotional picture,

nor were there any good confirmatory symptoms. I felt

that the emotional picture was strong and fairly clear.

So, after pondering the case for a while, I gave

Staphysagria, thinking that the other symptoms could be

from an earlier layer.

Plan: Staphysagria 1M (Quinn), single dose.

First Follow-Up: April 30, 1991

She is quite positive. She says she can tell she’s

getting better.

Although her allergies still flare up on bad days, her

sinuses are less plugged up. She still has pain behind

her eyes. When I really pressed her, she said her allergy

symptoms were only 20 percent better.

She gets a dark red, blotchy face from using the hot

tub.

Her lips are less chapped.

Her thirst is less.

Her teeth are less sensitive.

Her mood is good.

She is less chilly, and her feet are warmer.

She clenches her jaw less often.

She is more assertive with her ex-boyfriend. She is

trying to stay away from him and not have sex. (She

did not mention in the initial visit that she has a more

recent boyfriend, with whom she is breaking up. This

symptom refers to the recent boyfriend. She is having a

very difficult time getting out of the relationship.)

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She had an intense dream about snakes a few nights

ago, with the “full range of snake encounters.” In the

dream she was sitting on a barstool and the snakes were

on the floor trying to get her.

She is always hungry (2), but she is not gaining

weight.

Assessment: She has experienced some general

improvement.

Plan: Wait.

Second Follow-up: July 2, 1991

Her nose has been really stuffed (3), with pain in

her nose and puffy eyes (1). She sneezes a lot at work

(1).

Her lips are chapped (2).

Thirsty (2).

Her energy, mood, and sleep are good.

Regular menses.

She still is afraid of snakes (2), spiders (2), things

in the ocean (2), eels, and seaweed (2).

She feels she is not assertive enough (2).

She is warmer.

Her sex drive is average, but she hasn’t seen her ex-

boyfriend in four months.

She is impatient because she wants to get her life

together faster.

No warts.

Desires salads, juice, fish, custard, fruit, rice, and

pasta.

Steve Olsen: If you base the case on one peculiar

symptom, the fears of insects and snakes, you could

consider the remedy Abe moschus. But basing the

whole case on one symptom is best done as a last resort.

Michael Carlston: I was bothered by the chilliness she

mentioned in the initial visit, because it sounded like she

could be an introverted type of Lachesis. Now, she’s

getting red and blotchy in a hot tub and she is warmer,

so now I’d feel more comfortable prescribing Lachesis.

With Lachesis you wouldn’t expect the person to be as

nice as she seems to be, but there is the strong revenge

element and the snake theme. I would feel almost

compelled to prescribe Lachesis.

Krista Heron: Another snake remedy to consider is

Elaps, because of the sensitivity to cold and the fear of

snakes, for which Elaps is an addition.

Maud Nerman: I will throw in Lac caninum. She

sleeps on her stomach. Sankaran has described it as a

sort of “beaten dog” remedy. They get kicked and

kicked, and they’re full of rage, but they don’t show it.

Lac caninum, of course, also has the strong fear of

snakes.

Durr Elmore: I want to add to the suggestion of Lac

caninum. It is a remedy for nasal and upper respiratory

conditions. Roger MORRISON talks about the low

confidence and self-esteem of this remedy, along with

all the fears----hysterical fears, overexcited imagination,

fear of insanity, fear of death, and so on. The case does

lack the alternation of symptoms and other confirmatory

indications, but you would have to consider Lac

caninum. The fear element is so strong. It’s coming out

in the dreams and in real life.

Sommermann: Thanks. It’s great getting your ideas.

This was the range of remedies I was considering at this

point in the case.

Case Analysis and Second Prescription

At this point I felt need to re-evaluate the case.

Staphysagria produced definite improvement. But the

main complaint, the rhinitis, had only marginally

improved---and only temporarily at that. I saw no

evidence of an antidote, and frankly I expected better

results from a Quinn 1M preparation. So, I took a fresh

look at the remedy picture.

First, I looked at the snake phobia. I felt the

remedy definitely had to cover this phobia because it

was so intense and persistent. Fear of snakes usually

makes us think of Lachesis first. She also has a strong

desire for revenge, which fits with Lachesis, but her

mild, vulnerable, non-assertive nature makes this

symptom a “square peg in a round hole.” Lac caninum

is the only remedy listed in bold type under the rubric

for fear of snakes. However, in my limited experience

of Lac caninum, I have found it to have more hysteria

than was evident in this case, more of an anxiety

disorder. It covers general fearfulness and coryza, but

little else. The same is true for Hepar. That is all I

could find for fear of snakes, at least in my repertory.

However, I felt that the symptom was too strong to

abandon. So, I looked at the “periodic table of

animals.” This is what I call the extrapolation of

signature symptoms from one animal remedy to another

phylogenetically related, relatively unknown remedy.

This can be a fruitful method to use in a pinch. It

applies to plants and minerals as well. In this case, I felt

that if Lachesis had a fear of snakes other snake

remedies could have it too. In addition, the prominent

element of revenge made me think of the snake

remedies.

So, I looked at Bothrops, Cenchris contortrix,

Crotalus horridus, Crotalus cascavella, Elaps

corallinus, Naja, and Vipera.

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Everything I know about Bothrops---everything I

could find in the books---has to do with hemorrhage,

which is not an element in this case. There is very little

information in our literature on the mental symptoms of

Bothrops. So, I set Bothrops aside.

When I read about Cenchris contortrix in Kent’s

Materia Medica, the remedy did not appear to have

much in common with this case. Neither did Vipera

when I studied it. So, I also set Cenchris and Vipera

aside.

I have prescribed Crotalus horridus very

effectively for a couple of patients, both of whom had

an extremely strong will. One was a man who had

intense headaches that he just willed away. He was in

the military, and there was a strong rigid control about

his whole way of being. I couldn’t fit this element of

strong will into this case, so I eliminated Crotalus

horridus.

Crotalus cascavella is known primarily for

aggressive Urticaria. It does not have the nose

symptoms. I thought it important that my prescription

fit the rhinitis, if possible, so I set Crotalus cascavella

aside.

Naja appealed to me in some ways. In notes I have

from Roger Morrison’s teaching, similar to what is now

in his book, Naja is indicated for soft, cheerful,

withdrawn people. The remedy can also have

obstructing hay fever. So, I kept Naja as a possibility.

Looking through Boericke’s Materia Medica, only

Elaps corallinus (Coral snake) really covers the chief

complaint of her allergies:

Chronic nasal catarrh, with fetid odor and

greenish crusts. Nostrils plugged up with

dry mucus. Pains from nose to ears on

swallowing. Nostrils stopped up. Pain at

root of nose.

This seemed to hit it right on the “nose.”

Unfortunately, the mentals seemed to hold some

definite contraindications. The additional material that

I have from various sources describes Elaps as being

haughty, suspicious, evil, and intense. This conjures up

an image quite different from my patient, although the

fear of attackers and desire for revenge could fit a

variation of the theme. Also, she did not fear rain and

did not have a black discharge, which are considered

major keynotes of the remedy.

I couldn’t drop Elaps, however. The remedy is

found in several other rather large rubrics that cover the

case. Also, although I didn’t notice it at the time, the

desire for salad is listed as the first food craving in the

July 2 follow-up. This is a symptom I usually don’t pay

attention to, because Elaps is the only remedy in the

rubric! Moreover, in Allen (in the proving) we find

confirmatory statements such as “imagines he is being

beaten,” “desire to be alone,” and “fearfulness, as

though rowdies would break in.”

Plan: Elaps 200c (Quinn), single dose.

Third Follow-Up: June 2, 1992

I moved my practice just days after her last visit. I

lost track of the case for a year. We finally had another

follow-up (on the telephone).

The remedy worked really well. She feels better

than she has in her whole life.

Within six weeks after the remedy, her nose cleared

up, she had no more sneezing fits, and she had no pain

in her sinuses at all. The itching eyes were better. Her

ears were better, (She had been congested ever since

she was a few months old.)

She feels more assertive, and has started making

decisions in her life. She moved to a college town to

start classes.

Her snake phobia is much better, although she still

doesn’t like snakes. She has always wanted to be a skin

diver, but her Eel phobia and seaweed phobia had

prevented this. She now can confront this fear and has

since taken Scuba lessons.

Her nightmares are gone.

She took an anti-rape workshop and has much less

fear of rape now.

She has a new boyfriend at college for the last four

months. The relationship seems healthy.

She was well for about ten months. Then, she got a

bladder infection and was treated with antibiotics at the

college. Since then, all of her sinus symptoms have

returned. The emotional symptoms have not.

Plan: 1. Staphysagria 30c, twice a day for three

days, for the bladder symptoms.

2. Elaps 200c, single dose, to be taken three

days after bladder symptoms resolved.

I have not heard from her since, and I assume she is

still doing well. I tried calling her before the

conference, but she has moved.

Prescribing the Lesser-Known Remedies

I was gratified to see that Elaps was a deep-acting

remedy for this woman, producing improvement on all

levels. From my point of view as a prescriber, I find it

significant that this patient didn’t really fit the overall

mental picture that I had of Elaps. Certain aspects fit,

yet this case shows a different “shade” of the remedy.

I didn’t prescribe Elaps with much to confirm it, as

you can see. It seems to me that when we look at small

remedies we tend to think, “Well, I’ve got to have

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enough keynotes to give that remedy.” We want the

case to include all the small items we have memorized

about these remedies. In my experience, that’s not

always the best way to get to a small remedy. We

simply don’t know that much about many of these

remedies. If you have a feeling about a small remedy

and if a polycrest is not well indicated, I think you’ve

got to try the small remedy. It’s the only way we’re

going to find out about the lesser-known remedies.

Also note that this lesser-known remedy, Elaps,

took away a long-standing allergic rhinitis in about six

weeks. I don’t see that kind of quick result with rhinitis

every day! I think we are often used to prescribing

“near misses,” which touch the patient and produce

some amelioration but not this kind of total and

effective change for the better. In this case, for

example, the Staphysagria definitely had an impact.

However, my feeling is that Elaps clearly was the

correct remedy from the beginning.

Jeff Baker: It seems that you did, in fact, have all

the keynotes you had the desire for salad, and you

had the nasal symptoms. It’s easy for me to say that

in retrospect!

Sommermann: Sure, once you see it. [laughter]

Sheryl Kipnis: Elaps is the only remedy listed in the

repertory for the delusion of being beaten. Lou Klein

has described Elaps as having the sense of people

being out to get them. I don’t know if Lou wants to

add anything more to that, but her fear that somebody

is after her seems to fit well with that.

Sommermann: To be honest, when I look at a case

like this I am not completely sure just how abusive

the man was in the relationship. I don’t have an

objective way of knowing. I believe the man

probably was abusive, but I don’t actually know how

badly she was beaten. It can be very difficult to

evaluate this kind of situation in one’s practice. The

fact that Elaps helped this patient and that it does

have the delusion of being beaten surely has some

connection with the way she experienced the world.

And sometimes a delusion corresponds to a fact.

Sheryl Kipnis: Jeremy Sherr talks about opposite

symptoms in patients. Often, when the patient states

one thing, the opposite condition actually exists. If

you look at the delusion that she is being beaten and

then put that together with the desire to murder

somebody else, you can see a kind of opposite

relationship between these two elements.

Karl Robinson: Did the desire to murder, the plan

to murder, go away?

Sommermann: Yes. I didn’t mention that in the

follow-up, but she had more or less forgotten about

the man in Hawaii. The fantasies dissipated.

I’ll just quickly mention a colleague’s case in which

Elaps was curative. The patient had spring hay fever

with a lot of itching of the nose and sneezing. The

striking aspect was that when she experienced the

symptoms she would become very angry. She would

scream for the next remedy, scream to be “fixed” and

to get better. This is a very intense reaction to the

itching of the nose! It just drove her crazy. Most

allergy sufferers do not develop this intense of an

emotional state with their physical symptoms.

This patient had a history of bad relationships with

men; she could never find a man to stay with her. As

in my rhinitis case, she did not have the menstrual

difficulties we have been taught to associate with

Elaps. The emotional intensity was similar to

Lachesis and more in line with what we have been

taught about Elaps. Elaps has worked for this

woman for four years now.

Laurie Dack: Do you have any insight into the fear

of rain, which is a keynote for Elaps? Is there any

known connection or explanation?

Sommermann: It was not on the emotional plane or

on an “essence” level, as far as I could find. Elaps

has a number of symptoms that are worse from cold,

which may suggest the water element. It also has

cold parts of the body.

Krista Heron: I once prescribed Elaps for a patient

who was afraid of coral snakes, in particular. Elaps

didn’t work for him, unfortunately, but he was

delighted by the fact that I gave him this remedy. He

was from New Mexico. Apparently coral snakes live in

the desert there, and he knew a lot about them. There

are terrific thunderstorms in the desert, which may

suggest a relationship between the snake and the rain.

Sommermann: That may be so. I didn’t have the

time to research the biology of it. I do believe that

we can learn a lot just by studying the snake

remedies, because they are so expressive in terms of

their biology. The signature information may be

quite easy to define for the snake remedies.

Lou Klein: well, I guess I’d better say something

because my name was mentioned earlier. You made

a number of great points with this case. In the

presentation that I will give later today on the Lyssin

miasm or grouping, I am going to talk a little more

about the snake venoms in relation to the miasm. In

.

©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol. XXX, 3 & 4, 2013. Private Circulation only 183

your case, I was very interested in the intense,

passionate, snake-like element, and yet the chilliness.

That’s the way I see Elaps. That’s the peculiar

characteristic of this remedy in a sense. As far as the

snake venoms are concerned, this is probably the

chilliest of them all.

The other element that captured my interest was

the violence and rape, which run through all the

snake venoms and all the remedies that are related to

the “bite of an animal.” I’ll also be talking about this

in my presentation.

A Case in Progress: Hemorrhagic Fibroids

This case is still in progress. It cannot be

presented yet as a cured case, but Elaps has had a

definite positive action after many other remedies had

failed.

It is a case of a female with hemorrhagic fibroids

who has been treated for about 4½ years by a skilled

homœopath. She received Ignatia, Lachesis,

Medorrhinum, Staphysagria, Lycopodium, Sulphur,

Natrum muriaticum, Aurum muriaticum natronatum,

Calcarea fluorica, and Phosphorus. The

Phosphorus seemed to work acutely to stop the

bleeding, but then the bleeding would return. The

fibroids had continued to grow, and a hysterectomy

seemed imminent.

Initial Visit: January 6, 1993

Female

Age 50

This woman looks 35 and is attractively dressed

in bright colors.

She has an interesting but troubled history. It is

an effort to get the case because she has a lot of

trouble keeping her conversation focused.

She is a talented but starving artist with a large

portfolio.

She grew up in a family of artists. Alcohol is a

big problem in the family. All the men in her family

have risen in the profession and have made good

money. Her brothers were treated as budding artists

and were helped on their way by her father.

She says that her father and brothers treat women

like dogs. Her father was mean. He was the boss in

the family and was very strict. She and her mother

were his prisoners. She was afraid during her whole

childhood, but she was the caretaker for the family.

Her father was physically violent with her mother.

Her mother was too easy and sweet. Her mother

finally divorced her father, started drinking, and then

died of a heart attack at 53.

Her father and brothers continued to use the

patient and hold her down as an adult. She says her

family has “ripped her off” all her life. She feels they

control the art scene and have prevented her from

advancing. She began drinking. They then stole her

material and made money from it, but never gave her

any of the money. She eventually sobered up and

sued them, but lost the suit. She says they bought off

her lawyer, who also sexually harassed her. Yet, she

still maintains a relationship with them. They call

her all the time and won’t leave her alone.

She has trouble expressing her anger toward

these men. They don’t take her seriously; they treat

her like a little girl. She says her father doesn’t know

how she feels. She is very angry with the attorney.

She feels that she’s been violated and that the law

hasn’t served her.

For the last three months everything has been

upside down. She has had a lot more stress during

the holidays because her father was around again.

She was really depressed. She gives presents to

family members she doesn’t like.

She wants to fight but she’s tired.

She is single and has had a lot of trouble in

relationships. Men want to run her life. “They start

out nice and sweet. Then they want you to follow

them and give up your own life. They think you

want to be in their life.” She is trying to avoid the

man in her most current relationship, but he doesn’t

leave her alone.

She does a lot of walking when she’s angry. She

tries to confront these men over the telephone, but

they’re not interested in it. She wants to scream.

She has a lot of menstrual bleeding (2), with big

clots the last few days. She uses five or six pads a

day for two weeks.

She gets cramps in her uterus with the bleeding

(2).

Doctors have diagnosed fibroids with an

enlarged uterus. They want to take the uterus out.

Fears high places (2).

Fears snakes (3). She can’t even see them on TV

or a picture of them.

Fears someone will take control of her life.

She has recurring insomnia (2). She used to be a

night owl.

She has been taking Vasotech for high blood

pressure for several years.

Case Analysis

I didn’t feel I had many chances to prescribe for

the case, because a hysterectomy appeared imminent.

I gave Phosphorus 10M right away to stop the

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©Quarterly Homœopathic Digest, Vol. XXX, 3 & 4, 2013. Private Circulation only 184

bleeding while I thought about the case. The

Phosphorus didn’t work.

Besides the emotional pathology and history,

there were very few symptoms to use in this case.

The main pathology contained only common

symptoms, and there were few keynotes. All the

main polycrest remedies had been tried and had

failed.

I actually found the remedy by noting the

similarities to the case of rhinitis I just described.

Here is a woman who has a history of abusive

relationships with men. She feels like a prisoner who

can’t escape or confront or regain power in the

relationship. In both cases, they try to break off

relationships by simply avoiding the person, which is

ineffective on the whole. There seems to be no power

to resist the men they attract, even though their sex

drive is not excessive. They look younger than their

age, and there is a certain vulnerability about them.

They get treated like “little girls” who don’t know

what’s good for them. There is a lot of suppressed

anger, which manifests as a desire for revenge (in this

case, the lawsuit). And there is a strong fear of

snakes.

Apart from that, there are no other keynotes or

guiding characteristics. Elaps can be found under

metrorrhagia, uterine fibroid, and clots. But these are

common symptoms, and there is no characteristic

black discharge as you would expect. I was far from

certain in this case but felt it was the best prescription

I could make.

Plan: Elaps 200c, single dose.

First Follow-Up: February 9, 1993

The bleeding stopped within a day of taking

Elaps. She feels as if the remedy “tightened her up.”

She has had one menstrual cycle since the

remedy. It was a normal five-day flow. This was her

best cycle in a long time. Before, she couldn’t get

out of bed the first two days.

She was very mean with her boyfriend before her

last menstrual cycle. He isn’t what she wants. He

has been saying that she is moody.

Her father is still very hard to talk to, and she

can’t trust him. She can’t stand where she lives, and

he doesn’t help out. “They don’t know how it hurt.

They’re the kind of men like the Anita Hill thing.”

Her insomnia persists. It could be due to the

Vasotech.

Assessment: She is experiencing a definite

improvement. The family dynamics are difficult.

Plan: Wait.

Second Follow-up: March 22, 1993

Telephone consultation.

She has been bleeding excessively with clots for

two days (2). It is coming out like water.

Her energy is not great.

She’s in a fairly good mood.

She recently changed blood pressure medication

to a diazide derivative through an HMO doctor. She

is going back on Vasotech.

Assessment: The remedy may have been antidoted.

Plan: Elaps 200c, single dose.

Third Follow-Up: April 29, 1993

Her menses have been good.

She is not sleeping much (2), probably due to

Vasotech. Her mind doesn’t stop. Thinks about how

“lousy” her family is. Gets wrapped up in the

world’s problems. Does a lot of creative work at

night.

She is on Augmentin for a sinus infection and

bronchitis.

She has sidestepped her family in the art industry

and has made financial arrangements for showing her

work with promoters. She never thought she could

do this before.

Assessment: She is doing fairly well.

Plan: 1. Sulphur 30c, twice a day for two days.

2. See physicians outside of the HMO to

help get off Vasotech.

3. Call me for homœopathic treatment if

acutely ill.

4. Continue with homœopathic treatment.

========================================

13. PHOSPHORUS AND DISEASES CONCEPT IN

HOMŒOPATHY

VON KELLER, George (AHZ. 230, 1/1983)

A young man suffering from essential Hypertension

since four months consulted me1 in the summer

semester last year. I gave him Phosphorus in ascending

millesimal potencies. The blood pressure which was

150/110 average went down to 130/95 in a few days and

remained so far two months further when the patient

was under my care after which he left my care.

My theme is, why I gave him Phosphorus.

Certainly not because as if Phosphorus was well-known

to bring down blood pressure. Also not because as if it

.

had produced in a proving a blood pressure increase or

decrease.

In Homœopathy we do not treat the disease but the

total person. Even as beginners we have learnt from the

many courses or text books as to how a Phosphorus

patient grows rapidly, that he has a reddish blonde hair,

that he has, according to STIEGELE; a susceptibility to

weakness, that he is very much sensitive to sense

impressions, that he is physically restless and complains

of burning pains. Haemorrage tendency also belongs to

the “picture”.

For all that, my patient had almost none of these.

He was small, dark haired, calm and was in no way

over-sensitive.2 The following symptoms drew my

attention to Phosphorus much more.

1. He would turn off the heating since he felt

confused.

2. Stitching in the back of the head if he exposed

himself to the sun.

3. Backache of unspecified nature from carrying

heavy loads.

Confusion in a warm room is already found in the

repertory of Edmund Jennings LEE on which KENT’s

repertory was based, a single singular rubric and in

which Phosphorus is found as the only remedy3. The

rubric “stitching in the back of the head” has

Phosphorus in the highest grade4 and the back-ache

from carrying things corresponds to the Symptom

No.1329 from HAHNEMANN: “Sensation as if

someone was seizing her firmly by both the scapulae,

when lifting and carrying with both hands5”. If it was

also said that recently the patient had bloody nasal

mucous discharge in the mornings6 one can prescribe to

this patient with confidence, Phosphorus.

All these characteristic symptoms appeared only

recently. As is well-known the last appearing

symptoms have higher value than the symptoms which

are always present. Why is it so?

The so-called “Phosphorus constitution” symptoms

cited above are innate to the patient, it is his normal

state. If there are no other symptoms perceivable as

disease symptoms which have arisen recently, he is

healthy. It is not our business to alter this normal state.

We should heal what the patient feels as his ailment, the

alterations of his healthy state brought about by the

disease.

To us disease is something different from what it is

to those who as physicians treat disease

pharmacologically. For then the disease of this patient

is “Hypertension”; their interest is almost only on the

blood pressure measured and the remedies which have

been known as medicines for this disease. Should they

find during the examination of this patient that he

switched off the heating because he felt confused by the

heating they would attribute it without hesitation to the

Hypertension disease, it would not be relevant for their

therapy.

As against it we do not diagnose from the collective

disease symptoms which encompass all patients with

higher blood pressure without any differences – But we

also do not diagnose the “Phosphorus disease”, that is, a

fixed idea of a socalled constitution or a symptom

complex the component parts of which had been defined

already.

For us the medicinal choice depends much more

upon the unexpected, unusual symptoms of the single

individual patient which are different in each different

patient and which clarifies what we can learn about the

disease of this single patient.

Medicines have the power to alter the states of

humans and they are reckoned by us in Homœopathy as

the singular medicines for the singular patient whose

state is similar in nature to the alterations made in the

medicines prover. Here of para 6 of the Organon:

“The unprejudiced observer possessed of sharp intellect

takes note of nothing in the individual disease except

the altered state of mind and body perceptible to his

senses externally, that is: deviation from the former

healthy state of the now sick person”.

When we would like to correctly and unmistakably

formulate the catch-word “not the disease, but the whole

person”, we should say: Not the disease as such but we

treat the individual with the disease.

NASH8 said in discussion in 1904: “An essential

principle of Homœopathy is least understood. Similar

does not mean same. My previous speaker has said that

Staphysagria has never produced a Chalazion; I must

also add that Belladonna has never produced the smooth

Scarlet fever of Sydenham and Rhus toxicodendron

never the blisters of Scarlet fever. As much necessary is

the name of the disease for prognosis or for hygienic

measures, so much less is it for the remedy selection

because we are treating patients and not disease

names”9.

References:

1. Mr. K.W. born 1960. Consultation on 5.7.1983.

2. Only rarely do we get a so-called “Phosphorus-

type” patient who has the medicine written on his

face. And when we think we have recognized the

constitutional signs of this medicines, often we are

deluded.

3. The symptoms of HAHNEMANN (Chronische

Krankheiten, Band 5, Seite 1), which has

occasioned the formulation of this rubric, says:

No.100: Muddled and heavy feeling in the sinciput,

the head tends to fall forward; diminished by cool

air and recurring in the room”. No.114: “Vertigo

with muddled feeling or stupefaction in the head, as

if she would lose consciousness, occasionally on

entering from the open air and in the warm room”.

4. No. 201: “Stitches in the occiput”.

.

5. Also found in SORGE’s monograph, Page 155: the

dorsal back pain was aggravated by lifting.

6. No.1143: “Yellow mucus from the nose, in the

morning and expulsion of blood.”

7. Organon, Para 53: “The physician has the

responsibility not to treat the vague name-similarity

of a single symptom but to evaluate and heal the

total essence of all the symptoms of the individual

state of every sick person, to find out thoroughly

his entire ailment, but never to conjecture

hypothetically”. The complete essence of all

indications of the individual state of the individual

patient is not to be misunderstood as the sum. It is

not the turn of all external and internal symptoms of

the healthy patient that indicate the totality of the

disease symptoms but we have to look out for the

ailment of the patient, that is, what have been

altered in him by the disease. About these disease

symptoms, the peculiar and unusual symptoms are

to be kept in view almost solely, according to

paragraph 153.

8. T N Y. 39, 254: Lecture of Paul ALLEN

“Staphysagria”.

9. Treating the disease by its name is to make the

symptoms as the basis for selection of medicine

which have been observed by ALLEN in this

patient which is exactly opposite of what

HAHNEMANN taught in paragraphs 53 and 153. -

------ How much colored is the remedy choice made

by the physician treating pathologically by this

method is shown by the observations of HUGHES

and DAKE, the authors of “Cyclopaedia of Drug

Pathogenesy”. In this work it was maintained at the

turn of the century that we could prescribe better

and surer than by the old and uncertain Materia

Medica of HAHNEMANN. – RICHARD

HUGHES wrote in 1881 an article very much

commented upon “Generalisation and

Individualization” (HPH 1, 404) in which he

impressed that he would be satisfied with the

remedy choice only if he could find a remedy

which had reproduced the diseased state in the

tissues. It can be surmised from this that he was

based on the concerned disease, - JABEZ P. DAKE

wrote in 1881 in the article “Dr. Hawke’s Errors in

Aetiology, Pathology and Therapeutics” (SLC 4,

112): “The symptoms which during the proving are

common in all the provers and which also arise in

every individual prover in the same measure are the

characteristic symptoms of the medicine proved

and therefore they are valuable symptoms in the

entire proving”. – From the stand point of the

Pharmacologists, diseases with names were treated

and HUGHES was as a matter of fact right when he

allocated a complementary and lower rank to the

Materia Medica of HAHNEMANN. The

pharmacologists wants to find only the

pathognomonic symptoms from his Materia

Medica; the individual symptoms only confuse him.

Literature:

HAHNEMANN, Samuel: Die Chronischen

Krankhenten 2. Aufl. Dusseldorf, 1839 (The Chronic

Diseases, 2 Edn.)

HAHNEMANN, Samuel: Organon der Heilkunst, I.

Aufl.Dresden, 1810 (Organon of Medicine, I Edn.)

Homœopathic Physician (HPH), 1 (1881), 404.

LEE, Edmund Jennings: Repertory of the Characteristic

Symptoms of the Homœopathic Materia Medica,

Philadelphia, 1889.

SORGE, G. William: Der Phosphor, Leipzig, 1862,

St. Louis Clinical Review (SLC), 4 (1881/82).

Transactions of Homœopathic Medical Society of the

State of New York (T N Y), 39, 1914).

========================================

14. Seven Successful Clinical Cases

JACK, R.A.F. (BHJ. 80, 2/1991)

Recurrent Otitis Media:

Jay, age 5½ years old, attended on 29.9.86 with a

history of recurrent attacks of Otitis media for the last

two years. His mother stated he was ‘never free from a

cold’ and was ‘always having colds and coughs’.

Invariably these colds were followed by a pyrexia, and

severe earache which usually lasted two days,

culminating in the ear discharging. She estimated that

the attacks occurred on average at monthly intervals,

although on one occasion he had gone three months

between attacks. During these two years he had 20

courses of antibiotics. As he had developed a hearing

loss, he was due to have an audiogram, and his mother

had been warned that Jay would probably need to have

grommets inserted. His general practitioner was co-

operative in her request for homœopathic treatment. Jay

was not on any medication at the time.

Apart from this problem and a slight squint, Jay

was a healthy lad, warm blooded, with a dry skin,

friendly, sensitive, but without any obvious fears. He

liked thunder. He had persistent catarrh, and tended to

be thirstless. Despite these signs and symptoms he did

not quite match the indications for Pulsatilla. He had

an obvious hearing defect, and could barely hear a loud

whisper at 6 feet (1.8m).

Although there was no known history of

tuberculosis in the family (his father had been adopted

.

and knew nothing of his own parents), I informed his

doctor that I had given Jay:

- Old Tuberculinum 1M (a single dose)

- Aconite 30 and Belladonna 30, in labelled

bottles with instructions as to their use at the

onset of any febrile attack, especially involving

his ears.

- Sycotic co. 30 b.d. at weekly intervals, starting

in two weeks.

I arranged to review him in three months time, and

instructed his patents to give him whatever conventional

medication you decide is necessary, as homœopathic

medicine will be an additional form of therapy in this

case.

9.1.87. JAY’s mother reported marked

improvement. He had only had one ear infection since,

and that was a mild, short attack. She gave Belladonna

at the onset which ‘worked much quicker, and better,

than paracetamol’. Jay had not ‘banged his head into

the pillow, didn’t clutch and roll, and go mad with the

pain’. She did not have to give him antibiotics on that

occasion, nor since, surprisingly; he now had ‘a much

more positive attitude to school’ and was eager to go

each morning, which was quite unprecedented. His

catarrh was improving. He could hear a quiet whisper

at 6 feet.

---Sycotic co. 30 b.d. every 14 days.

10.4.87. ‘Ears and hearing fine, no further attacks

of earache’. ‘Hospital decided to defer surgery’.

Mother had to use Aconite and Belladonna quite

frequently for febrile attacks, but none had progressed

to otitis media. Still having recurrent colds with

copious catarrh.

---Nat. mur. 30 q.h. for coryza.

---Homœopathic prevention tablets for influenza

and common cold (I.C.C.).

---Stop Sycotic co.

8.8.87. ‘Nat. mur. works wonders, it stops his cold

at their onset’.

‘No further attacks of earache’.

‘Jay is loosing confidence at school (though doing

well), has become anxious and worries about his

lessons’.

----Lycopodium 30 p.r.n.

12.9.87: Selly Oak Hospital patient demonstration.

Mother very pleased. Jay has:

-- Only had one mild attack of otitis in the last

year, and that was 9 months ago.

- Not had an antibiotic for a year.

- Excellent hearing, ‘98% improvement’.

- Been discharged from hospital surveillance and

does not require grommets.

- Stopped having colds, and is free from catarrh.

‘Lycopodium is marvelous, it stops all his worries

about school.’

Discussion

With adults one does not normally prescribe a

bowel nosode at weekly intervals, but on occasions I do

with children. As BORLAND points out, children may

need medication at more frequent intervals than adults.1

Summary

In the two years prior to starting homœopathic

treatment Jay had 20 severe attacks of acute otitis

media, necessitating 20 courses of antibiotics. Since

taking homœopathic medicines he had one mild attack

in the first month, and none in the following 12 months.

He also has, so far, been spared minor surgery.

Paroxysmal Tachycardia treated with Lycopus and

Spigelia

11.3.76. A.H., a 72-year old widow attended with a

history of severe attacks of ‘palpitations’, which started

3 years ago and were originally induced by exertion. At

that time, in 1973, she had consulted the most eminent

cardiologist in the Midlands, and had been prescribed---

- Digoxin 0.125mg daily

- Diazepam 2mg p.r.n. and

- Oxprenolol.

She states he reassured her that her heart was in

good condition, and that there would be no need for her

to see him again. As she still had frightening attacks

she consulted the Professor of Medicine, who saw her

on four occasions during the three ensuing years, the

last occasion being three weeks prior to her consulting

me. Her present medication was as above, except she

took Blocadren (timolol moleate) 10mg daily instead

Oxprenolol. Despite this medication she still had 3-4

attacks of paroxysmal Tachycardia daily, and on ‘bad

days’ as many as 12, in a third of which she ‘blacked

out’ for a few seconds. She said that the previous night

she had ‘blacked out 3 times’. The attacks were

preceeded by ‘a chocking feeling in the throat’,

followed by a feeling that her head and ears ‘would

burst’, and then she lost consciousness for a few

seconds. Because the prodromal symptoms gave her

several seconds warning, she still felt safe driving a car

when there was little traffic about. Interestingly she felt

she had on several occasions been able to talk herself

out of an attack.

Recent blood tests had all been unremarkable. On

examination her B.P. was 150/90, her apex rate was 65,

and was in sinus rhythm. She was neither dyspnoeic;

nor orthopnoeic she was not cyanosed.

- Iberis 1c q.i.d.

- Aconite 30 every 5 minutes at onset of

each attack until settled.

19.3.76. ‘No improvement’ – ‘two recent very

severe attacks’.

.

- Lycopus virginicus 12c t.i.d. until reaction, (i.e.)

until noticeably better or worse), then stop and start

Sac Lac (S.L.). b.d.

9.4.76: ‘Feeling really better’, ‘only 3 black outs in the

last 3 weeks’ – though still getting milder attacks of

palpitations. Interestingly I had given her the Lycopus

12c. pills from a supply I had purchased in 1952, from

Nelsons Pharmacy; the pills were still in their original

cork-stoppered glass bottle. Thus the medicine was 24

years old! It had been stored in a metal cabinet all

those years. Lycopus 30 b.d. until reaction, then S.L.

28.5.76. Not blacked out once in last month. Still

getting 3-4 attacks a week, but they are not so severe

and are shorter in duration. She was surprised at her

marked improvement. She found that after a few days

on Lycopus 30 she remained symptom free for the next

week, taking only S.L. She was still taking Digoxin

0.125mg daily and Timilol 10mg daily.

Lycopus 30, single dose only after each attack,

followed by S.L. b.d.

9.8.76. Slight relapse---‘been overdoing it’ (gardening).

On average is taking Lycopus 30 at weekly intervals.

25.2.77. Relapse. ‘Palpitation’ attacks coming worse

even when sitting at rest, or lying in bed enjoying

reading a book. Paroxysmal tachycardia frequently

wakens her, and is associated with a pounding

headache. Unaffected by Aconite. Has not ‘blacked

out, but nearly did on one occasion’. Still on routine

conventional medication (vide supra).

-Spigelia 6 t.i.d. until reaction.

20.5.77. Spigelia 6 very effective – takes one dose

daily. Has re-visited her cardiologist, and has another

ECG. Has told him about the benefit derived from

Lycopus and Spigelia (in addition to her digoxin and

betablocker). ‘He said, “take anything that suits you”’.

Discussion

Lycopus virginicus (bugle-weed) lowers blood

pressure, and reduces the heart rate. I have mainly used

it in treating auricular fibrillation associated with

thyrotoxicosis. It is also indicated for treating

palpitation with precordial oppression, due to nervous or

emotional causes.

Spigelia (pinkroot) is a most useful and effective

medicine in treating certain types of Migraine, facial

neuralgia and violent, frequent attacks of palpitation.

As often happens when using homœopathic

treatment, the first effective homœopathic medicine

may modify or alleviate the symptoms to such a degree

that it no longer is the similimum, and a different

medicine is then indicated to continue or to complete

the improvement.

In the case of this patient, if the improvement were

due only to psychogenic factors one could ask why she

had not improved previously when she had consulted far

more prestigious and imposing doctors than I am.

Equally, the first prescription of Iberis failed to alter her

condition, whereas the 2nd and 3rd prescriptions of

Lycopus and Spigelia did, yet these were medicated pills

that were identical to the Iberis pills in colour, size,

shape and taste.

This case also illustrates how homœopathic

medicines appear to work in addition to conventional

medicines, because the woman continued taking the

same dose of the same allopathic medicines throughout

her homœopathic treatment. Whilst taking only the

allopathic medicines she deteriorated alarmingly;

following the addition of the appropriate homœopathic

medicines she improved dramatically.

Cardiac dysrythmia treated with Iberis

On 17.6.88, Mr. M.K. consulted me for

homœopathic treatment to control his attacks of

palpitations, which had distressed him for the last six

years. He was an otherwise healthy active man, a keen

fisherman who loved walking and hill climbing. He

was 78 years old, 5 ft. 8 in.(172cm.) tall and weighed 10

stone (63.5Kg.), and smoked on average one small cigar

daily.

The attacks of palpitation were unpredictable and

lasted between five minutes and four days. They

occurred approximately twice every 24 hours, mainly

when in bed at night, frequently at about 3 a.m.; ‘they

could come on at any time’. If asleep he was invariably

wakened by them and had to get up. Sleeping with high

pillows appeared to have lessened the frequency of

these attacks. He also suffered from dyspepsia, which

often precipitated an attack; he found antacids helped to

ease his indigestion, but he could not ‘eat a good meal

any longer’.

He had seen each of the five GPs in the practice,

and had been investigated at a Birmingham Teaching

Hospital. He had ‘been prescribed numerous different

tablets which hadn’t helped’. He was unable to identify

any of them and was most insistent that I on no account

communicated with his doctor, as he felt this might

prejudice his future relationship with him. (This rarely

happens now-a-days in my experience in the Midlands).

He had not been shown, or tried, any manoeuvres, such

as supraorbital or carotid sinus pressure.

He seemed rather tense and nervous;

understandably these episodes caused him considerable

anxiety.

I prescribed:

- Aconite 30 at 5 minute intervals at onset of attacks

until improvement.

- Iberis 1c q.i.d. as long as he was having attacks of

tachycardia.

.

- Nux vomica 30 q.h. during attacks of dyspepsia. I

made a note to try lycopus next, if Iberis was

ineffective.

On 24.10.88, over four months later, his daughter

reported: ‘I can’t believe it. He has only had two

attacks since he saw you, and he used to have two

attacks a day’.

Comment

Iberis is prepared from a tincture made from the

seeds of bitter candytuft, and is one of the many

medicines introduced into Homœopathy by HALE. The

genus was named by Dioscorides from Iberia (Spain),

its supposed original habitat2 The cardiac symptoms of

the drug are very pronounced and include:

Cardiac dyspnoea.

Palpitations with vertigo and choking in the throat

Wakes with palpitations at about 2 a.m.

Pulse full, irregular, intermittent,3 and the drug

produces a state of extreme nervousness and fright.

Lycopus virginicus (bugle weed) also produces

Tachycardia and palpitation. I have occasionally used it

with success in treating dysrythmias associated with

thyrotoxicosis.

Rheumatoid Arthritis treated with Actea spicata

Mr. F.P. 65 Yr. Managing Director of a small

manufacturing firm.

14.10.80. Attended complaining of his painful left

wrist and painful small joints of his fingers and feet. He

suffered from rheumatoid arthritis which also involved

his shoulder and knees to a lesser extent. For seven

years he had been under surveillance by the research

team in the rheumatology department of Birmingham’s

largest teaching hospital, attending at monthly intervals,

until recently. He stated that he had virtually every

well-known antirheumatic drug and that none had really

benefited him. He had had several intra-articular

injections of cortisone. The only effective medicine

was prednisolone, and his dosage had been

progressively reduced from 25mg to 2mg daily. The

larger dose controlled his pain, but made him ‘feel low’.

He also took 2 Feldene (prioxicam) at night.

He was a man with typical Nux vomica mentals.

He was still working, albeit with difficulty, but had

become depressed on account of his unrelieved pain.

He was a tall man of average weight who was

normotensive, smoked cigars in moderation and was

virtually teetotal. He described his pain as aching. He

still played golf each week, but it made his joints worse,

and he ‘could have cried with the pain’ after the last

match.

His local symptoms were half way between

Bryonia and Rhus tox., and in most instances I prescribe

Radium bromide in such cases.

His pain was: < on waking, with a limbering up

time of ¼-2 hours.

< cold and < cold wind

His first movements were most painful

Pressure and, rest, > 3 p.m.

ll wet ll wind, except cold wind.

- Bryonia 3c q.i.d.

Increase Prednisolone to 5mg daily, which was the

lowest dosage which had significantly eased his pain in

the past.

2.12.80. No improvement, despite increasing

steroids. He confirmed that his joints were definitely

better when rested.

- Actea spicata 3 q.i.d. until reaction. Increase

Prednisolone to 10mg. daily.

On 23.1.81 he reported that he had left his

prescription for Actea with the chemist, who promised

to post it on to him, when obtained. In the meantime he

immediately had increased his Prednisolone from 5mg

to 10mg daily. The Actea was held up in the Christmas

mail and he only obtained it a month later. Despite

having increased his steroids to 10mg daily his

condition had not improved – his joints were just as

swollen and painful. He said that after starting Actea

there was a dramatic improvement within two days,

which continued, so that after 8-9 days he reduced the

dose to t.i.d. and after 14 days he stopped taking them.

He felt better in himself and in all his joints than he had

for years. ‘I’ve never been able to grip like this or see

my knuckles as I can now for at least 2 years – not even

when I was taking 25mg. of Prednisolone daily. I

played golf last Wednesday – it was tough. The ground

was heavy and it was drizzling. I fell on my backside

for a start, in the mud, I played 14 holes and normally I

have had it when I play 9 holes’. His wife confirmed all

this and was quite exuberant about his improvement.

He had noticed a side effect; whilst taking Actea, he

had developed stomach pains and belching, which

subsides as soon as he stopped taking Actea.

20.3.81. Maintaining his improvement. Starting

very gradually to reduce his dose of Prednisolone. No

Actea for last three weeks. Intermittent courses prove

effective. Regularly playing 16 holes of golf each

week, unprecedented for seven years.

Comment

Actea spicata is prepared from the root of the

baneberry plant, and like Actea racemosa (Cimicifuga)

is a rheumatic remedy. It is specifically indicated for

arthritis of wrists and ankles and the small joints of

hands and feet. The two significant modalities are that

the joints swell and become tender and painful after

slight use or exertion, and that the severe pain is < cold,

cold weather, movement and touch, and > rest. It

causes severe epigastric pain with vomiting and is listed

as a medicine for treating cancer of the stomach.

He was so impressed with his improvement he

suggested to one of his employees that she obtained a

.

homœopathic opinion for her arthritis, and he gave her

my name. She is the patient in the next case history.

Osteoarthritis of hallux treated with Actoea Spicata.

Mrs. G.J., 54 years old.

14.11.80. Attended complaining of pain in her right

hallux due to Osteoarthritis of the metatarsophalangeal

joint, following an injury to her toe. The pain had

increased steadily over the last 2½ years and had not

been adequately alleviated by the various non-steroidal

anti-inflammatory drugs she had been prescribed. She

was currently taking oxyphenbutazone. The toe had

been X-rayed on three occasions and as recently as two

weeks prior to her consultation she had been advised by

an orthopaedic surgeon to have an arthrodesis, and he

had put her on his waiting list for surgery.

She described the pain as ‘gnawing – like a

toothache’ which ‘lasted 24 hours of each day’.

The pain was unaffected by time of day, cold

warmth, or pressure. It was aggravated by wet weather,

movement, by jarring her toe and by walking. She

could manage to walk, without increasing her pain, by

walking on her heel. She had to wear low-heeled shoes,

and wear a shoe one size larger on her affected right

foot than on her left. She loved dancing, but had to

restrict this activity. She was intolerant of external

warmth, had one or two hot sweats and flushes most

nights, and admitted that her condition made her

irritable, and impatient with her clients. Her work as a

part-time book-keeper allowed her to be sedentary most

of the time. When the pain was at its worst the joint

became red and swollen. She was overweight and

mildly hypertensive.

- Bryonia 200c stat, to be repeated at

approximately 14-day intervals.

- Bryonia 3c q.i.d.

12.1.81. Some improvement. When she

discontinued taking Bryonia the throbbing burning

pain was worse.

- Actea spicata 3c q.i.d.

23.2.81. Much improved. Able to wear higher

heeled shoes in comfort. Taking courses of Actea

for 7-10 days until free from pain, and then

discontinue medication for 2-3 days, after which

has to resume taking them. Experienced dyspepsia

with ‘nausea and a feeling of having been kicked in

the stomach’ every time she took Actea for longer

than seven days.

- Trial of Formica 6c q.i.d. in place of Actea.

27.4.81. ‘Actea gives best relief’. To continue

3c q.i.d. as requested.

COMMENT

It was only after she had improved that she

discussed her progress with her employer Mr.F.P. (vide

supra) and on comparing notes they found they both

were taking Actea 3c, and that both had experienced

gastralgia as a side effect. In treating Arthritis two

rubrics are well worth remembering:-

- ‘Unaffected by change of weather’ excludes

Dulc., Nux-m., Phos., Ran-b., Rhodo., Rhus.,

Sil., Tub.4

- ‘Not affected by wet’ excludes Calc., Merc.,

Nat s., Ruta.5

Severe Headaches treated with Sulphur

On 15.6.88, Mr. J.P., Age 50 years, attended

complaining of frequent very severe, intermittent

headaches during the last 26 years.

He had been a car sprayer for 30 years, and now ran

his own business with his wife.

The pattern of the headaches was constant:

- They came on suddenly, and

disappeared equally quickly.

- The pain started in the occiput, and

moved around the temple to either the right or

left eye, but did not pass over the vertex.

- The pain was excruciating. He

described it like a continuous steel needle

being drawn through the brain. It was not

throbbing, or burning, neither was there any

associated nausea or vomiting, reddening of his

face, or suffusion of his conjunctivae.

- The attacks lasted from 15 minutes to

one hour and were associated with loss of

balance.

- As to frequency, the attacks usually

came at 1 p.m. daily, but were often preceeded

by 3-4 attacks in the earlier hours of the day.

At times he had 7 attacks in a day. At the

beginning of his illness there had been phases

of remission, of up to three months, and on one

isolated occasion of 2½ years, but that was

many years ago.

- He had noticed that the most severe

relapses followed times of stress, such as his

marriage, moving house, his wife’s pregnancy,

and his father’s terminal illness and death. He

could not account for this latest five month

exacerbation of his headaches; he felt that the

only stress he now suffered from concerned his

intractable unrelieved headaches. He did not

regard himself as a conscientious worrier.

- The pain was such that if he was at

home, and he worked from home, he had to

wedge himself in the corner of the bathroom,

with his wife holding him to stop him banging

his head against the wall. He said he “raved

with the pain’, ‘screamed with pain’, and had

to ‘sit still and agonize it out’.

- As suddenly as the pain came, it

would disappear and when it lifted he felt

.

perfectly well, with no aftermath of symptoms;

he simply resumed his work as if nothing had

happened.

- At times he was frightened to go to

bed at night because the headache would

waken him ‘with a bang’ after one or two hours

sleep. It was so frightening that on one

occasion his wife sent for his GP at night.

- The only relief he could obtain was

from placing a bag of frozen peas on his

forehead, the intense cold gave some relief, and

in sniffing strong smelling salts.

- There was no history of T.B. in his

family of allergies or adverse reactions to

vaccinations. He was not aware of any food

intolerance.

He stated that he had seen a consultant about 11

years previously who had investigated him fully and

eliminated any sinister pathology. He had diagnosed

the cause as ‘a nerve in his sinuses’ and told him to

anticipate his noon headaches by taking an appropriate

analgesic half an hour before hand. Taking an analgesic

at 12.30 p.m. only delayed the onset of the headache for

a couple of hours. He said his doctor had tried without

success all the tablets used to treat migraine, and most

of the pain killers. For the last six months his only

medication had been Metoprolol 50mg. bd.

He had taken a course of feverfew, but only for 3

weeks, with no benefit.

He was 14 stone (89Kg) in weight and 5ft 10½ in

(179cm) tall, and his BP was 140/100 . He had stopped

drinking alcohol 20 years ago. His mother had suffered

from Migraine.

He had only 7 remaining teeth, all of which were

carious. He explained he never went to a dentist, but

pulled out his teeth himself, when necessary, having

broken the gum around with a needle! He felt sure that

all the roots of his teeth were infected.

An interesting feature from the homœopathic

prescribing viewpoint was that he never felt the cold,

could not tolerate external warmth, and sweated

‘profusely and continuously day and night, even when

there was snow on the ground’.

He also had a hearty appetite, and a strong craving

for sweet things; he consumed 2 lbs (0.9Kg.) of sugar

each week in his drinks. He also loved ‘pork dripping

fat’ which he had enjoyed liberally all his life, ever

since his G.P. prescribed it in 1940, to prevent his

recurrent coughs by ‘greasing the lungs’!

15.6.88. R continue Metroprolol b.d.

Sulphur 6c q.i.d.

Stop added sugar in drinks.

10.7.88. Improved. Not a single headache in last

month. Feeling tired all the time despite remission of

headaches. Has reduced dose of Sulphur 6c from q.i.d.

to b.d., and reduced his sugar intake. BP 160/100.

- Metoprolol 50mg b.d.

- Sulphur 30 b.d. until reaction then

stop and wait. Repeat as required.

- Long talk, urging visit to dentist.

14.9.88. No headaches for 3 months. ‘Back to normal

self’. ‘Have a nasty feeling that it will all recur in

January next year’. Has arranged to see dentist in a

month’s time. BP 140/95.

- Metoprolol 50mg. b.d.

- Sulphur 200c alternating with Sulphur 30c at

weekly intervals.

11.1.89. Still totally free from headaches, though last

week felt prodromal symptoms, which disappeared after

20 mins. Still sweating day and night. BP 160/105. He

could not detect any difference between the action of

Sulphur 200 and Sulphur 30.

- Metoprolol 50mg b.d.

- Tuberculinum bovinum 10M 1

- Sulphur 200 every 14 days.

30.10.89. Still in remission. Not a single headache

since started taking Sulphur 16 months ago. ‘Never in

26 years been relieved like this or felt so well’.

Comment

In this case Sulphur was not only the Similimum

for his headaches but was also his constitutional

medicine. As long as his mild Hypertension persists an

antihypertensive drug would be appropriate therapy,

especially as they do not appear to vitiate the action of

the homœopathic medicine. It is hoped that, in time, his

GP will be able to reduce or discontinue his prescription

for Metoprolol.

Hyperhidrosis and constipation colic treated with

Calc.phos.

On 25.1.88, a 62-year-old woman consulted me,

complaining of excessive sweating, abdominal

distension for the last three years, and life-long

constipation; this latter was a family trait, and she

normally had a bowel action every fourth day. She

suffered from intermittent attacks of abdominal colic.

She did not pass blood or mucus, was already on a high

fibre diet, and was taking Fybogel (ispaghula) as a

bulking agent.

She was a chilly person, with cold hands and feet,

who perspired freely. Her sweating had increased

during menopause, and still distressed her 12 years

later; she now had to change her nightdress once or

twice most nights, and sweated freely by day, when

working in her office. She like eggs, but they ‘induced

wind’. She had stopped cigarette smoking some years

ago. Her mother died from tuberculous meningitis at

the age of 29 years, when the patient was 9 years old.

Her only medication was Atenolol 10mg. daily.

On examination she was overweight; height 5 ft

2in. (157cm), weight 9 st (57Kg.). Her BP was 160/90.

There was no Ascites, and only minimal abdominal

.

distension. Rectal examination was unremarkable, but

then she had her first bowel action for four days

morning she consulted me.

- Calc.phos. 200 b.d. at weekly intervals, with

placebo on the intervening 6 days.

- Colocynth 30 p.r.n. for colic.

22.2.88. Very much improved, abdominal distension

less, ‘sweats reduced by 75%’, constipation ‘50%

better’. ‘Not needed Colocynth, as no attacks of colic

since’. Her husband who accompanied her, confirmed

her statements.

- Tuberculinum 10M, and placebo.

- After 1 week, resume Calc. phos.200, at weekly

intervals if required.

11.4.88. Sweating stopped. No colic, distension 50%

improved. Bowels regular. Extremities still cold, but

improving.

13.5.88. Abdominal distension 80% improved. Bowels

regular. No sweating or colic.

24.10.88. Improvement maintained. She has just had a

holiday in Italy, and is planning one in Canada next

spring.

Comment

Although there was a strong family history of

Tuberculosis, the patient presented as a typical chilly

‘Calc. type’; with hindsight Calc. carb. could well have

been indicated rather than Calc. phos., although marked

improvement followed medication with that medicine.

Tuberculinum patients tend to have a heat aggravation,

and a desire to travel. Her plans for future holidays

might be a significant prescribing feature.

References

1. BORLAND DM. Children’s Types p.7.

London: British Homoeopathic Association.

2. CLARKE J.H. Dictionary of Materia

Medica, Vol.2, p.2, 1925.

3. BOERICKE W. Pocket Manual of

Homoeopathic Materia Medica, p.340. 1927.

4. CLARKE J.H. Ibid. vol. 1, p.29.

5. TYLER M.L. Pointers to Common Remedies

No. 4, p.23.

========================================

15. Conium in a case of Multiple Sclerosis

JOHNSTON, Linda (JAIH. 83, 1/1990)

R.N., a 32 year-old normotensive woman, was first

diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis 30 months earlier.

Her chief complaints were fatigue, mental dullness,

blurred vision, joint pains, weakness of the legs and

knees, numbness and strange neurological symptoms.

1. Fatigue: Hers was an extreme fatigue, a kind of

deep weakness which was always much worse in hot

weather. She would not go out in the sun for this

reason. Although she managed to look after her family

and household, she had a pronounced energy drop in the

late afternoon. Her family was important enough to her

that she tired to “push through” this fatigue as much as

possible.

2. Mental dullness: She described the mental

dullness as a “spaced out” feeling, with difficulty

thinking. It seemed as if her brain was numb or dull and

not working. This was reflected in her inability to find

correct words. She stumbled over words. Sometimes in

the middle of a sentence she would forget what she was

about to say or what she was thinking. Her memory

was weak. It felt as if she knew what she wanted to

think, “But,” she said, “I just can’t pull it out of the

memory.” For example, when she was preparing a meal

with a recipe that she had used many times, she could

not remember the recipe or even understand how to

begin preparing the meal. She forgot normal things that

she had known how to do. Occasionally the dullness

was so bad she could not understand what people were

saying to her. Hot weather or a warm room greatly

aggravated this dullness. Immediately on waking her

mind was relatively clear, but as soon as she began to

think, the dullness was there. Mentally, she did better in

the late evening and with rest.

3. Visual blurring: R.N. had episodes of severe

blurring of the vision in the left eye, each of which

lasted approximately six weeks. It appeared as if part of

the page was whited out. There were no sparks or

flashing lights, and no photophobia. These attacks were

precipitated and aggravated by excitement or emotions,

e.g. driving in traffic, or when she was in a hurry. Even

happy or pleasurable events could cause the problem, as

could hot weather. The initial episode occurred at age

18. Medical evaluation at that time found no source of

the problem. The only advice that she received was to

discontinue birth control pills.

4. Joint Pain: The joint pains first occurred when she

was 14 years old. They affected her shoulders, wrists,

ankles, and knees, especially the latter. All the joints

cracked. There was no joint swelling. Cold weather

brought on or exacerbated the joint pains.

5. Weakness of the legs and knees: The weakness of

the legs and knees was the most consistent musculo-

skeletal problem. There was a sensation as if the legs

were very heavy, as if she were carrying heavy weight

on each leg. It was difficult to walk upstairs and often

she had to pull herself up with the aid of the banister.

To descend the stairs, she stayed behind her husband to

ensure that she didn’t fall. Sometimes the weakness

was so severe that she was not able to stand. The legs

gave out, with the knees buckling from under her. “My

legs feel like jello,” she said. The knee weakness was

worse if she attempted to squat and she could not rise

from a squatting position. She was able to rise from a

chair, however. Sometimes, in the middle of the night,

.

her knees would become painfully locked and she

would have to move them manually to relieve the pain.

As with the other symptoms, the weakness of the

lower extremities was much worse in hot weather or

from heat. If she got into a car after it had been sitting

outside on a hot day, her symptoms would immediately

become worse. Her mind could be so affected that she

would be unable to drive.

6. Numbness: The numbness affecting her hands,

finger tips, buttocks and lower extremities would come

and go and move from place to place. As with the usual

symptoms, the episodes could last six weeks.

Characteristically, the symptoms were worse from heat.

At one time she had an electric shock sensation

running up and down her body which she said felt

almost pleasant. She also had sensations in her legs as

if someone were massaging them.

7. Neurological symptoms and sensations:

A. Hearing was acute. To her ‘bionic ears,”

everything seemed too loud, and loud noises caused

pain in the ears.

B. She had difficulty swallowing water. There was a

sensation as if the throat were closed. Solids presented

no difficulty.

C. She had urinary hesitancy in the morning. The

stream was slow, with dribbling. She had to wait for the

bladder to empty, which it never did completely.

D. She was aware of the sensation of her blood

flowing through her.

History of Symptoms: R.N. was the middle child of

seven siblings. Her mother and father were each

married five times prior to their marriage to each other.

Her mother was an alcoholic and quite neglectful of the

family. R.N. recalled having to wake her mother up

after a bout of drinking to help her get ready to go to

work. Her mother was not at home much. Her father

was very involved with “raising other people’s

children,” meaning his children from previous

marriages. She became the mother of the family, taking

charge of her younger brother to protect him from the

other brothers.

She remembered being very sad as a child in day

care. Other children went home to “milk and cookies”,

but she did not. The image of “milk and cookies”

symbolized a warm nurturing family environment which

she lacked. There was much sadness over her mother

who was either absent or drunk. “I search to try to find

a good memory of that period but there are none”, she

said.

She ran away from home at age 14, as she put it, to

take care of myself”. After six weeks she returned

home only to be placed in a juvenile detention centre by

her mother. She escaped and went to Hollywood, where

she got a job and supported herself. She soon became a

heavy drug abuser. LSD, mescaline, uppers, downers,

marijuana, and heroin. This period lasted from age 13

to 19. “I would like to block it out of my life,” she said.

About a year after leaving home she had her first joint

pains.

She met her future husband when she was 18. He

came from Italy from a strong loving family. They

were married when she was 21. Her eye problems

started at age 18.

Her religious life was very important. As a young

child she was always asking questions about the

meaning of life. She worried that the sun might stop

shining. She wrote letters to God. At age 8 she stole a

Bible because “I knew all the answers were in that

book”. At age 27 she heard a TV preacher and joined a

Christian church. “I knew that this was the truth for

me”, she said. Her whole life turned around. Finally

she felt someone really loved her and she wanted to

spend the rest of her life with the Lord. She talked

regularly to God, prayed one hour every morning, and

felt he guided her through the day. Because of her

conviction, her husband, children, and in-laws became

Christian.

She was conscientious; she needed to be perfect

and she wanted everything to be correct. She wanted to

be the best mother and to have the most wonderful

home life. She stressed healthy food, education, and

family life. She wanted to ensure that her children had

the home life that she missed. She felt that she had

compensated for her early misery through her marriage

and family. She said, “I have the most wonderful

husband and loving children”.

Her symptoms of joint pain, mental dullness, and

episodic visual disturbances continued until several

years ago. She then had a sudden episode of numbness

affecting the right half of her body. She went to a

doctor who diagnosed Multiple Sclerosis. The news

was a terrible shock and frightened her badly.

Whenever she thought about her illness she became

worse.

She was chilly (3), worse in the summer, and worse

in hot weather. She could tolerate only a small

temperature range. She preferred moderate weather.

Her feet and hands were cold. She wore socks to bed,

but she took them off later. She liked fresh air.

She felt better after 8 p.m., worse from four to eight

p.m,, and worse at night. She was much worse in the

morning. There was a desire for vegetables, pasta (3),

sweets, chocolate, ice cream (3), salt, spicy, meat, fish

(2), oysters (2), and shellfish (2), and aversion to

disgusting foods (e.g. brains). Wine made her feel

worse.

She had very little thirst; she could go all day

without drinking.

She had constipation, without distension, which

was better from drinking water. She passed a stool once

in 2-3 days, and there was ineffectual urging.

.

She always had a very high drive and she enjoyed

sex. She masturbated at age of five years. Her first

intercourse was at age 13. She said that her ddrive was

now “too strong” and that she had sexual thoughts all

the time. Sometimes she could think of nothing else

though she struggled to get sexual thoughts out of her

mind.

There was a fear of heights. Her sleep was good,

but she tossed and turned in bed. Her menses were

heavy with clots, but no pain.

Conium 1M was prescribed.

Follow up: One month

She reported less weakness and more energy than

she could remember having in a long time. The eye

symptoms were markedly better with no blurring. Her

knees were not improved, but the spacy dullness was

better. Memory improved. The heat was bothering her

less. Swallowing water was slightly improved. There

was no tingling in the fingers or toes. Constipation was

no longer a problem.

She voiced concern that the improvement might

simply be one of the typical remissions of multiple

sclerosis.

Follow up: Third month

She said she felt “totally wonderful!!” She was

exercising one hour three times a week. She felt strong

and energetic. “I feel normal”, she said. “I can’t

believe I am on my way back”.

Her sex drive had diminished which concerned her.

“My eyes are “normal”! she said. She could swallow

tepid water with no trouble though there was slight

trouble with cold water. She could walk up and down

stairs without difficulty. She could bend down and rise

without undue effort. The cold weather was not

bothering her joints any longer. There was no more

numbness. The sensitivity to noise had diminished and

her mental dullness was much less.

Follow up: Fourth month

She used topical Penicillin on an ear infection from

a pierced earring, “I knew I should not have used it,”

she said. The infection went away and her legs and

buttocks began to feel numb and heavy. The skin felt

cold.

“I am amazed how well I felt before I used the

Penicillin,” she said. “I didn’t know people could feel

that well”.

She continued to feel good, but not excellent.

Though her energy had dropped the other symptoms had

not returned.

Plan: Repeat Conium 1M.

Follow up: Fifth month

She felt wonderful again. She was riding her

bicycle for 20 minutes and doing calisthenics for 10

minutes.

Her legs were fine, as was her vision. She had no

spacy sensations. She was far less irritable when

dealing with her children. Her sex drive had returned to

a moderately high level. Her husband was always on

her mind.

Discussion: (numbers refer to KENT’s Repertory)

A distinctive feature of this case was her weakness

– the inability to go up and down stairs and her

difficulty squatting. Extremities, weakness, knee,

ascending stairs (1230): has the following remedies:

Bryonia, Cantharis, Causticum, Conium, Digitalis,

Dioscorea, Hura, Hyoscyamus, Iodum, Kali

carbonicum, Mercurius, Oxalic acidum, Platina,

Plumbum, Ruta, Stannum, Sulphur, and Thuja. Review

of the case reveals other peculiar rubrics. Two

remedies, Conium and Oxalic acidum appear frequently

in these rubrics:

Wrists, cracking (971) – ( Conium, Oxalic acidum)

Throat, swallowing, difficult, liquids (468) –

(Conium) Generalities, streaming of blood,

sensation (1403) – (Oxalic acid is the only remedy).

Extremities, pain, joints, cold, after exposure to

(1047) – (Conium)

Mind, thoughts intrude and crowd each other,

sexual, (87) (Conium)

Mind, grief, ailments after (51) (Conium)

Mind, sensitive to noise (79) (Conium, Oxalic acid)

Other rubrics describing specific physical

symptoms also contain Conium and Oxalic acid.

This key to this case is to focus on the peculiar

symptoms and the aetiology.

Conium has the peculiarity of joint pains worse

from exposure to cold. As the patient herself was told,

it is rare to have joint disturbances of this nature with

Multiple Sclerosis. Typically, multiple sclerosis pains

are worse from heat and warm weather.

Conium is a remedy for persistent and disruptive

sexual thoughts. The patient stated that she could not

keep sexual thoughts of her husband out of her mind.

Conium fit the generals, physical and the outstanding

peculiar symptoms.

Two peculiar symptoms weighed heavily in favour

of Oxalic acid. “Thinking of the complaints aggravate”

and “Streaming of blood, sensation”. The patient

clearly stated that if she thought of the problems, even

in a positive or hopefulway, the symptoms worsened.

Conium won over Oxalic acid because of the

persistent unwanted sexual thoughts and the joint pains

worse from cold. Typically we think of Conium as a

remedy for the grief that occurs after a spouse dies.

This is the time that Conium symptoms often appear.

========================================

.

16. Clinical cases

R. MAS del

(The Homeopathic Recorder, 1923)

A Suppression?

August 16, 1921:

R.B., at eighteen.

Weakness since Sunday, with vertigo and heart

fluttering.

Has taken plenty of physics.

Pain in forehead.

Cries on reciting his case.

Vertigo on standing.

Craves the open air.

Sleepiness constant.

Poisoning this summer, and has used plenty of sugar of

lead to “cure” it until lately.

Pulsatilla 200th.

August 19, 1921:

Sleepiness am.

Weakness am.

Vertigo on standing.

Illusion: Things do not look real or familiar, they look

strange. Feels as if he were constantly in a dream.

Aural noises.

Nausea, in bed, today at 6 A.M. during breakfast today.

Nux m. 1M.

This case was well on next day. The Puls. was

erroneously prescribed.

Gastritis

January 27, 1922:

A.B., at. fifty-eight, married.

Stomach has troubled him for several months.

Eructations empty, hot liquid of food by the mouthful

Feet burn in bed; must uncover them.

Sulphur 200th

One month later case was discharged and feeling well.

Torticollis

March 8, 1922:

Elaine P., at five weeks.

Chin turned to left, and head to right side.

Right sterno-cleido-mastoid contracted now for some

time. Noticed soon after birth. Muscle very tight and

knotted.

Urine stains diaper red.

Forceps delivery and breech presentation.

Lycopodium 200th

April 15, 1922:

Much improvement.

Child begins to hold head up straight.

Lyc. 10M.

Diaper still red.

May 22, 1922:

The wry-neck has totally disappeared, and muscle is

normal.

Diaper not red stained.

Leucorrhoea greenish.

Inactivity of rectum.

Stool hard, yellow, offensive, sour.

Phos. 10M

This ended the treatment. Child is still well.

Eczema

May 18, 1922:

Vivian H., at three months.

Back of ears cracked for quite a while; scabby; oozing,

sticky fluid.

Eczema on Vertex Capitis began two weeks ago; scurfy,

crusty, oozing, itching. Extending to Eyebrows.

Pimples on genitals almost since birth.

Graph. 1M

July 8, 1922:

Child’s head got am. after Graph.

Eczema broke out again lately; itching; moist, yellow

discharge. Discharge reminds one of old cheese.

Eruption, red, all over the body, rough.

Inguinal intertrigo.

Hep. 1M.

September 12, 1922:

Child’s head clear.

Body clear.

Slight crack back of left ear.

Hep. 10M.

The skin trouble has not come back yet as we publish

this and child is very sturdy.

Winter Eczema

February 12, 1920:

Rita B., at one year.

Skin of face red and rough.

Buttocks red, rough, itchy.

Urine smells strong.

Child stubborn, large, fat.

Calc.carb. 10M

The child has remained well now two years.

Nausea of pregnancy

December 3, 1922.

Mrs. C.P., at. Twenty-two.

Mother of one child.

During first pregnancy vomited nine months. Vomited

even blood every time. Uterine bleeding frequent from

vomiting efforts.

.

Presently pregnant since first part of October.

Vomits since October. Sour food, bitter mucus, blood

toward last part of vomiting spells.

Thought of food nauseates.

Appetite wanting.

Emptiness of stomach constant.

Aversion to greasy, fat food.

Leucorrhoea now for a week; milky.

Sepia 200th.

Allopathy failed in her first pregnancy and told her

nothing could be done for her. The woman did not need

to return to the office after she had got Sepia. The

indicated remedy was good enough.

A Microbic Invasion, Tubercular, Influenzal?

August 8, 1923:

A.A., at seventy, married, heat engineer

Three weeks ago, a dead, tight feeling about the

upper part of abdomen.

Sore throat; felt in the night only, beginning

towards evening also.

Cough from irritation in throat.

Agg. Cold, and as soon as he lies down in bed.

Breath offensive.

Night sweats for last three weeks, began with sore

throat.

Profuse; must change night dress in the night.

Expectoration white.

Dyspnoea on ascending hill and stairs.

Vertigo on ascending stairs.

Footsweat.

Appetite wanting at first; now am. Weakness.

Calc carb. 10M

This dose alone inside of a mouth restored the man

to his former self and stopped the sweat from the

beginning of its action, which was noticed immediately,

and ameliorated all the other symptoms. Patient was

seen twice after that.

Torticollis

June 13, 1923:

Agnes L., at. Six. About one week ago or so she

developed a measle-like rash, which remained on the

surface only one day. Ophthalmia of both eyes

followed there upon, but soon subsided to be replaced

by a right-sided torticollis. No doctor.

Right sterno-cleido-mastoid muscle is tense,

prominent; head turned to right shoulder and face to left

side, and shoulders stooped.

Pain is complained of in left outside throat.

Some cervical glands are hard, nodular.

Cuprum 1M.

On afternoon of June 13th:

Child’s head was as straight as ever and shoulders

also on the morning of June 14th, when the child got up.

The reader will kindly excuse the writer for

answering a question which is apt to arise in the mind of

the young prescriber regarding the two torticollis cases

reported here. Lyc. was called for in the first case,

because of its rightsideness and lithic diathesis. Cupr.

was required in the second case, because of its

rightsideness and exanthemic suppression or metastasis.

----------------

(From ‘The Homeopathic Recorder’ – 1923).

========================================

17. SOME HOMEOPATHIC DRUGS AS RADIO-

PROTECTIVE AGENTS IN X-IRRADIATED

MICE

KHUDA-BUKHSH, A.R.

Perspectives in Cytology and Genetics

(eds.G.K. Manna & U. Sinha) 5: (1986) 407-412

Summary

In this atomic age, the need for effective radio-

protective agents is obvious. Though many chemicals,

drugs etc. have been tried for the purpose, none of them

was found to be ideal as they had one or the other

drawback. This initiated the author in exploring the

possibility of using some homeopathic drugs as radio-

protective agents at the cytogenetic level for reasons

like: they are effective medicinally at a very low

concentration, non-toxic, have minimal side-effects and

tolerable to human systems. So far, four homœopathic

drugs, Arnica montana, X-Ray, Ruta graveolens and

Hypericum, generally used in the treatment of shock and

injury, have been tested for the radio-protective effects,

using dose-dependent, potency-dependent and relative

efficiency as parameters in mice X-irradiated at the

doses of 50 rad, 100 rad and 200 rad and fixed at 5

different intervals between 6 hr. and 72hr. Therapeutic

dose equivalent of each drug was orally administered

prior to and after X-irradiation against suitable checks in

different sets of mice. The chromosome aberration

frequency was assessed at all 5 intervals in case of

Arnica Montana and X-ray, while for Ruta graveolens

and Hypericum, only one or a few longer fixation

intervals were studied. The MNT was also conducted

generally after 24hr, of X-irradiation, and in some cases,

after 48hr and 72hr as well. The results were

encouraging to suggest the use of homœopathic drugs to

reduce the clinical or therapeutic effects of X-

irradiation.

Introduction

In this atomic age, human population runs the risk

of being exposed to radiations from various sources e.g.,

.

accidental exposure to radiations for radio-active fall-

out, occupational exposure (including space travel),

medical exposure, atomic war etc., for which vigorous

search for some radio-protective agents capable of

guarding against the effects of radiation or revering the

effects already produced, has been on. Protection has

been sought by environmental modification, such as

shielding of vital organs like spleen, testis, etc., by

hypoxia, hypothermia, natural hibernation and by

combination of some of these means (see Thompson,

1962). Apart from these, various other agents, viz.,

organic and inorganic compounds, hormones, vitamins,

antibiotics etc., have been extensively tested for their

possible radio-protective action using several protocols,

particularly at the 30-day LD50 LEVEL (Thompson,

1962; Evans,1962; Bick and Brown, 1979; Vasin et al.,

1979; Strelkov et al., 1979 and others) and also at the

chromosomal level (Evans, 1962; Barik and Manna,

1981; Chertkov et al., 1979; Majumdar and Manna,

1969; <a;el et al., 1980). So far as we are aware, prior

to us (Khuda-Bukhsh et al., 1982, 1983), no one had

ever considered any homœopathic drug as a possible

raido-protective agent.

Materials and Methods

(a) Stock solutions of homeopathic drugs: Arnica

montana, Ruta graveolens, X-ray and Hypericum were

tested for their radio-protective effects. Generally, the

30 potency of all the drugs was used. For Arnica

montana, the 200 potency was also tested to compare

the relative efficacy. The drugs were potenticed as per

homœopathic procedure (Tyler, 1975; Clarke, 1978)

using 90% alcohol as “vehicle” by the Hahnemann

Laboratory, Calcutta. One drop (0.06ml) of each drug

was diluted separately with 20ml of double-distilled

water to prepare the stock solution of the drug for

feeding the mice.

(b) X-irradiation and experimental design: (i) Adult

healthy albino mice, Mus musculus, of more or less

same age were subjected to whole-body X-irradiation in

separate groups, each constituting of 12 individuals, at

the single dose of 50 rad, 100 rad or 200 rad

respectively from a thermax machine operating at 4

mA/110KV, the target distance being 19.7cm from the

source. The mice were restrained in a cloth bag stitched

suitably along parallel lines to accommodate them in

rows to receive the whole X-irradiation rather

uniformly.

(ii) One drop (0.06ml) each of the drugs was fed to

separate sets of experimental mice thrice at an interval

of three hr, starting from 12 hr before X-irradiation (for

pre- and combined pre- and post-treated lots). The same

set of mice were again fed with the drug in the similar

way thrice at an interval of 2 hr, beginning at 5 min

after exposure to X-rays for all mice sacrificed at 6 hr

and 12 hr. for the other intervals exceeding 12 hr, the

mice were fed thrice with the drug in first 12 hr and then

twice in the second day and third day at an interval of 8

hr.

(iii) One drop (0.06ml) of 90% ethyl alcohol was diluted

with 20ml of double-distilled water and one drop

(0.06ml) of this was fed to a few X-irradiated mice at all

corresponding intervals, which served as Check-1.

(iv) One drop (0.06ml) of double-distilled water was

fed to a set of X-irradiated mice at all corresponding

intervals as that of the drug-treated series which served

as Check-2.

(v) Unirradiated healthy mice fed only with the drugs

for 5 times at an interval of 2hr and sacrificed at 12 hr

served as Check-3.

(vi) For arresting the divisions at metaphase, all animals

were intraperitoneally injected with 0.04% colchicines

at the rate of 1ml per 100g of body weight and slides

were prepared by the citrate-flame drying Giemsa stain

schedule for chromosome study. For micronucleus

study, the routine technique with May-Grunwald

staining was followed.

OBSERVATIONS AND COMMENTS

1. Chromosome aberration study: The qualitative

changes in bone marrow cells of the X-irradiated

specimens (50 rad, 100 rad and 200 rad) were in the

form of breaks, gaps, constrictions, fragments, rings and

exchanges of various nature, end-to-end associations,

centromeric dissociations, despiralization etc. gross

physiological effects like pycnosis and pulverization

were also encountered, particularly during the early

hours of fixation.

The individual type aberration frequencies (Table

1) would reveal that there was reduction at all intervals

of the drug-fed series as compared to checks and the

differences were statistically significant (P < 0.001). It

would be further revealed that the efficacy of Arnica 30

was more pronounced at 9 hr than that of Arnica 200,

although the latter potency did not show any palpable

degree of difference in action at longer intervals. The

frequencies of aberrations gradually declined along with

time in both checks and drug-fed series either due to

subsequent cell death or due to repair/restitution of

some of the aberrations in course of time.

The post-treatment of the drug X-ray 30 and the

combined pre- and post- treatment of the same to X-

irradiated mice revealed that the efficacy of combined

pre- and post-treatment yielded more protection at all

intervals of fixation than only post-treatment of the

drug.

The effect of Hypericum-30 on mice treated with

100 rad and 200 rad X-ray doses would reveal that the

degree of protection was greater at lower dose (26.00%

at 100 rad against 23.00% at 200 rad).

.

The treatments of different drugs alone in

unirradiated healthy mice showed only negligible

amount of clastogenic effects, which were at par with

spontaneous level.

2. Micronucleus study: The overall results of MNT

given in Table 2 revealed that there were also varying

degrees of protection noticeable at different doses like

50 rad, 100 rad and 200 rad at three fixation intervals,

namely, 24hr. 48 hr. and 72 hr. In the Arnica-30 treated

lots, the protection was found to be more at 200 rad than

at 100 rad and at 50 rad. In the drug X-ray-30 treated

irradiated mice the protection was found to be

maximum at 24hr than at 48hr. and 72hr. while in the

Ruta-treated lot, the maximum protection was noted at

48hr, closely followed by that at 24hr, the frequencies

being 4.3% and 4.13% respectively. In the Hypericum-

30 treated lot, the protection was greater at 200 was

greater at 200 rad than at 100 rad.

It is rather surprising that although the 30 and 200

potencies of the different homœopathic drugs actually

contained very little medicine concentration, they

produced a spectacular protective action both in the

chromosome aberration and in the reduction of the

micronucleated cell formation. It is very difficult to

conceive of the compounds which act so effectively at

what must be very high dilutions in vivo. Clearly, some

detailed in vitro experiments using a reliable cell system

are called for. Similarly, the effects of the drugs on the

rate of progression of the cells through the cycle may

also prove to be useful in the understanding of their

mechanism of action. Although the mechanism of

action of the minute quantity of the drugs bringing in

the protective effects on the chromosomes is difficult to

explain at present, we may point out that these drugs are

claimed to have a profound regulatory action on the

blood and blood vascular system, central nervous

system, gastro-intestinal tracts and on eyes (Tyler, 1975;

Choudhury, 1979; Dubey, 1973; Clarke, 1978). The

homœopathic drugs under study are extensively used

with success in cases of injuries of the muscles,

fractures of the bone, contusion of the periosteum and

subcutaneous and external haemorrhages due to

mechanical injury (Choudhury, 1973). Incidentally, the

major physiological effects of sub-lethal dose of X-

irradiation are also on the circulatory system, gastro-

intestinal tract and blood-forming organs (Thomson,

1962). Therefore, although the precise mechanism of

action is apparently obscure, it may be conjectured that

the homœopathic drugs under study antagonized the

overall effects (both direct and indirect) of radiation on

these systems at the physiological level, which in turn

reduced the physiological stress and strain that was

ultimately reflected in the reduced chromosomal

aberrations and micronuclei in the bone marrow cells of

the drug-fed series.

The random search for agents which can protect

organisms against the effects of ionizing radiations or

which reverse the effects already produced, has resulted

in the detection of many anti-radiation compounds of

diversified nature. But unfortunately many of them had

unpleasant side-effects at useful concentrations,

precluding their practical application to a great extent

(Thomson, 1962). Considering this aspect of the

problem we chose to explore the field of homœopathic

medicines, which, as a rule, are effective medicinally at

a very low concentration and have minimal side-effects

and are found to act on the mammalian physiology in a

dramatic manner to remove the symptoms of disease if

the specific drug is carefully selected (Tyler, 1975;

Clarke, 1978). Since the drugs under study have no

clastogenic effects by themselves, they have immense

possibility of use in therapeutics, particularly in the

cases of sub-lethal exposure to radiation because (i) they

can be easily used by oral administration, (ii) the margin

of safety is quite high, (iii) the cost is very low and (iv)

they are free of toxicity, clastogenic and other side

effects. A thorough search in the homœopathic regimen

for similar drugs with radio-protective potentials should

prove rewarding.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The author is grateful to Prof. G.K. Manna, and the

Head, Department of Zoology, Kalyani University for

encouragements and laboratory facilities; is thankful to

his collaborators Sri S. Goswami, A. Barat, G.

Sadhukhan, A. Sadhukhan (Mukherjee), S. Roy, S.

Sharma and S. Maity for providing some published and

unpublished data and to the authorities of Chittaranjan

Cancer Research Institute, Calcutta for the swiss albino

mice provided for the study; to Dr. P.C. Prasad Gupta

for lending books on Homœopathy.

REFERENCES

BARENDSEN, G. W. Int. J. Radiat. Relat. Stud. Phys.

Chem. Med. 36: (1979) 49.

BARIK, S. and MANNA, G.K. In: Perspectives in

Cytology and Genetics, Vol.3, Eds. G.K. Manna & U.

Sinha, Hindasia Publ., New Delhi (1981) 327.

BICK, Y.A.E. and BROWN, J.K. Cytobios 25: (1979)

163.

DHERTKOV, K.S. TALOST, M., MOSTNA, Z.M. and

PREBRAZHENSKII, Y.Y. Radiobiologiya 19: (1979)

455.

CHOUDHURI, M.L. In: A study of Materia Medica 1st

Ed., Jain Publ. Co., New Delhi, (1978)

.

CLARKE, J.H., In: A Dictionary of Practical Materia

Medica, Vol. 1 Jain Publ. Co., New Delhi, First Ind. Ed.

(1971).

DUBEY, S.K. In: Text book of Materia Medica. 1st Ed.,

Publ. B.K. Dubey, Calcutta (1973).

EVANS, H.J. Int. Rev. Cytol. 13: (1962) 221.

KHUDA-BUKHSH, A.R., GOSWAMI, S., BARAT. A.

SADHUKHAN, G. and MUKHERJEE, A. Environ.

Mutagen. Newsletter 1: (1982) 4.

KHUDA-BUKHSH, A.R., ROY, S. and SARMA, S.

Proc. 70th Ind. Sci. Cong., P. III: (1983) 16 (Abs).

MAJUMDAR, S.D. and MANNA, G.K. Science &

Culture 35: (1969) 510.

MALEK, K.W., PENTEL, L., PILIERO, S.J. and

WISHH, H. J. Dent. Res. 59: (1910) 638

STRELKOV, R.B., DLKOVENKO, A.E., CHIZHOY,

A. Ya., RONIA, M., YA. And BYKOV, N.P. Med.

Radiol. 24: (1979) 44.

THOMSON, J.F. Radiation Protection in Mammals.

Chapman & Hall, London, 1962.

TYLER, M.L. In: Homeopathic Drug Pictures (Rev.

Ed.) Jolly Friends Homœopathic Circle, Jay Print Pack

Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi (1975).

VASIN, M.V., L’VOVA, T.S., ANTIKPOV, V.V. and

DAVIDOV, B.I. Radiobiologiya 19: (1979) 712.

========================================

18. SHORT BUSHMASTER ANTHOLOGY

PATERSON, Timothy

(‘Homeotherapy’, Vol. 6, No.6, Nov.-Dec. 1980)

Editor’s Note: We have received the following very

interesting communication from Mr. Tim PATERSON

of Italy who has examined the writings of his uncle,

Col. FAWCETT, for references to the Bushmaster, the

deadly snake who gives us the remedy known as

Lachesis, a remedy first proved and used by Dr.

Constantine HERING.

1. Butantan Snake Farm: Institute Butanta, Avenida

Vital Brasil s/n, C.E.P. 01000 Sao Paulo, S.P.,

Brasil. Founded at the turn of the century by Dr.

Vital Brasil, who also first produced antiophidic

serum, where it is today manufactured for export.

For this purpose poison is extracted from 40,000 or

so poisonous snakes and reptiles (bushmasters

included) kept at the farm.

2. Bushmaster, known in Brazil as Surucucu, s.f.

Cobra veneosissima, da famila dos Crotalidas

(Lachesis muta) (Sinon.: Surucucu pico-de-jaca,

surucucutinga uricana). See Aureliuo Burargue de

Hollanda Ferreira, Pequeno Dicionãrio Brasileiro

da Lingua Portuguesa, 11a edicão, Editora

civilizacao Brasileira, Rio de Janeiro, 1978.

3. Lachesis (Greek mythology). One of the three

Fates, who with her spindle spun out the course of

human life. See Oxford Illustrated Dictionary.

1962.

4. Encounters with bushmasters, as experienced by

among others my great-uncle, Percy FAWCETT.

See Lt-Col. PH. FAWCETT, D.S.O., F.R.G.S.,

Exploration Fawcett (arranged from his

manuscripts, letters, log-books and records by his

second son, Brian Fawcett), Hutchinson, London,

1953

p.46. The Beni (i.e. the Rio Beni, in northern

Bolivia, T.P.) on both sides is the haunt of

venomous snakes – worse in this respect than many

other places, for here is the junction of forest, plains

and hills, abounding in the dry scrub they love ….

Largest of the snakes is the Surucucu, that double-

fanged abomination known elsewhere as the

Pocaraya or Bushmaster, which sometimes

reaches the prodigious length of fifteen feet, with a

diameter of a foot at the thickest part, so I was told.

pp.115-6. Puerto Suarez (in eastern Bolivia, near

the Brazilian border, T.P.) was infested by snakes,

the worst of which were the Cascavel (rattlesnake,

T.P.) and the Surucucu or Bushmaster. I can’t say

for certain that I ever heard these poisonous

varieties emit any sounds, but it was firmly asserted

that they did – imitating more or less successfully

the calls of birds, as I have already mentioned, in

order to attract them.

pp. 177-8. Passing through the forest, we came out

on the Tuiche at Asuriama (in northern Bolivia,

T.P.), where in 1911 we crossed over to the

Tambopata. It is hilly country …. To me, it will

always be associated with snakes, for here we had

two narrow escapes from surucucus, or

bushmasters.

I was climbing a steep bank thickly covered

with small plants, and put my hand right on the

snake. It instantly struck at Ross, the Texan, who

was just ahead of me, and he turned like a flash,

one hand reaching for the gun on his hip.

.

“Look out!” I yelled at Costin, and the two of

us flung ourselves backwards. Then came a double

crack from the Texan’s six-shooter, and the

bushmaster collapsed paralysed, shot clean through

the head.

“Sure was a near thing, that! Murmured Ross,

blowing the smoke from the barrel of his weapon

and coolly slipping it back in its holster.

Costin and I picked ourselves up. “Did it get

you?” I asked.

“Yeah- but I don’t know where.” He felt his

legs and thighs with both hands, then paused for a

moment, and drew from a trouser pocket his

tobacco pouch. Together we looked at the holes

puncturing it from side to side.

“My God!” said Ross, eyes widening. “He did

get me! See, his fangs bit on this, and went right

through.” Swiftly he unbuckled his belt and

lowered his trousers. There on his thighs were two

dents made by these deadly fangs, but by a miracle

of good fortune the skin was unbroken. The venom

formed a wet patch on his leg. When satisfied that

the snake was really dead, we measured the yellow

body with its diamond markings, and found it to be

seven feet long.

p.178. We needed to take food supplies with us, so

Costin and I tramped twelve miles up the trail to a

sugar plantation where we hoped to buy some. On

the way there was another adventure with a

surucucu, but this time the narrow escape was

mine.

I was leading, and the two of us were loaded

heavily with sugar and ducks. All of a sudden

something made me jump sideways and open my

legs wide, and between them shot the wicked head

and huge body of a striking bushmaster. I shouted,

half jumped and half fell to one side, and waited

breathless for the second attack that I knew was

certain to come. Yet it didn’t: the brute slithered

down to the stream beside the trail and lay there

quiet. We had no weapon with us, and as it

threatened to attack again when we pelted it with

stones, we left it there. It was quite nine feet long

and about five inches thick, and the double fangs, if

in proportion, would be over an inch in length.

Experts claim that these snakes reach a length of

fourteen feet, but I have never seen one so big.

What amazed me more than anything was the

warning of my subconscious mind, and the instant

muscular response. Surucucus are reputed to be

lightning strikers, and they aim hip-high. I had not

seen it till it flashed between my legs, but the “inner

man” – if I can call it that – not only saw in time,

but judged its striking bright and distance exactly,

and issued commands to the body accordingly!

p.183. The hut we occupied was separated into

two compartments by a screen of laths set well

apart, and beyond the partition a man lay dying of

smallpox. On entering our compartment, we saw

something move in the gloom of one wall. It was

big and writhing, and turned out to be a bushmaster.

Fortunately we put a bullet into it before it could

strike. Yet children had been playing in and

outside the hut while it was still there!

p.212. While there (i.e. in Sao Paulo, T.P.), we

visited the Butantan Snake Farm, where we were

given a quantity of snake serum in case of

accidents. This well-managed institution is of

inestimable benefit to dwellers in snake-infested

areas, and should have its counterparts elsewhere in

the world. For years, not a single case of snakebite,

treated with the serum produced there, has failed to

recover even after reaching a desperate stage.

Bushmasters, jararacas, the deadly rattler, and

practically every known variety of Brazilian

poisonous snake is on view there, and utilized for

the manufacture of serum . . . The attendants at

Butantan treat all the snakes with the nonchalance

born of long experience in handling them, and

though to the onlooker their seeming recklessness is

mad, they well know what they are doing and just

how far they can go.

pp.215-6 (near the headwaters of the Rio

Cuiaba, on the border between Northern and

Southern Mato Grasso. T.P.) one morador – as the

small settlers are called – told me of a curious

adventure with a bushmaster. He went down to a

stream one day to wash his hands and have a drink,

and while sqatting on his hams beside the water felt

a tap on his shoulder, first on one side and then on

the other. He turned round, and to his horror saw

the head of a large surucucu swaying about in the

air above him. Instantly he flung himself into the

stream and swam away as fast as he could. The

snake made no attempt to attack or follow, yet these

creatures are deemed so aggressive that they will

hunt a man down. Perhaps the aggressiveness is

confined to the breeding season.

pp. 230-4. At the foot of the Cerro Pelado (in

south-eastern Bahia State, T.P.) I killed a large

bushmaster inside a hollow tree staump, not aggressive

but watchful and ugly. At Felipe’s suggestion. We took

a number of cutlets from its carcass, though it is

considered one of the few snakes which don’t make

good eating. These snakes are very plentiful here, and

there were three varieties, equally poisonous – the one

.

known as surucucu, the surucucu pico de-jaca, and

the surucucu-apagafago, or “Fire Extinguisher”. The

last mentioned are attracted by fires, and forest men are

so much in fear of them that they never keep their fires

alight at night. These snakes will coil upon the ashes of

a smouldering fire, and when clearings are burnt for

planting, several may afterwards be found to death.

They are said to have an extremely keen sense of

hearing; and have been known to reach a length of

fourteen feet with a diameter of seven inches.

A rancher told me he once sent a messenger to a

neighbouring estanica, and as the man – a multatto –

did not return, a search party went out to look for him.

He was found dead on the trail, with a large surucucu

coiled round his thigh. The snake had bitten the man all

over his body, striking again and again until it was tired

and its venom exhausted.

I went into the woods with him to see if we could

bag a monkey, and as we passed a tree with a hole in it

about ten feet from the ground we heard a thin, shrill

whining noise. My host clambered into the tree well

above the hole and emptied his shot gun in to the

cavity. Like a jack-in-the-box a surucucu shot out into

the air, fell to the ground, and scuttled away into the

undergrowth. Had either of us been within reach we

would surely have been bitten; as it was, the shock was

unpleasant. I now had evidence of the truth that these

reptiles whine when sleeping – it reminded me of

Anacondas which give voice to melancholy wails by

nights, a weird sound I have heard scores of times.

pp.280-1. (From a letter written at Corumba by

Jack FAWCETT, the Colonel’s eldest son, to his mother

– my Aunt Nina – in February, 1925). Before we left

Sao Paulo we visited the Butantan Snake Farm, where

SENHOR BRASIL, the founder gave us a talk on

snakes – how they strike, how much poison they eject,

the various remedies and so on. He presented us with a

whole lot of serum. An attendant entered the enclosure

where the snakes are kept, in beehive huts, surrounded

by a moat, and with a hooked rod took out a

bushmaster. He placed it on the ground, reached down,

and caught it by the neck before it could do anything.

Then he brought it over and showed us the fangs, which

are hinged, and have spare ones lying flat with the jaw2

in case the principal ones are broken. Senhor Brazil let

it bite on a glass saucer, and a whole lot of venom

squirted out.

========================================

19. WHY IS ASTHMA ON THE INCREASE:

NURTURE VIA NATURE

AGARWAL, Anurag & GHOSH, Balaram

(S & C. 77, 1-2/2011)

Asthma is a disease characterized by spontaneous

but reversible constriction of the airways which results

in breathing difficulties1, 2. Commonly Asthma is

associated with allergies and triggered by seasonal or

perennial allergens such as pollen or house dust

respectively. This is often associated with cough and

wheezing and Asthma is often referred to as “wheezy

bronchitis” or “allergic bronchitis”. In other cases

Asthma may be more surreptitious, occurring with

identifiable triggers such as exercise, aspirin like drugs,

or can sometimes occur unpredictably as well. There

has been a steady rise in the prevalence of Asthma

locally, nationally and globally. To ascribe this increase

solely to increasing air pollutants is naïve since the

highest rates of Asthma are seen in western countries

(as high as 30%) where air quality, as judged by

common pollutants, is much better than in Indian

metropolitan cities like Delhi (about 10%). A more

recent hypothesis, termed the hygiene hypothesis,

sought to explain this anomaly as being an outcome of

relatively immature immune systems, which had been

insufficiently stimulated because of increasing hygiene.

This would explain why countries like India and China,

with worse air quality than many western countries, had

lower levels of allergic diseases and Asthma. Yet this

hypothesis too falters in the face of emerging

epidemiological data that shows children coming from

low socioeconomic strata of urban America to be at

higher risk of Asthma than their affluent counterparts.

Very interestingly, the reverse has been noted in India

with more affluent school-children being at higher risk

of Asthma. This has led to emerging concepts of

lifestyle related Asthma where consumption of calorie-

rich and nutrition poor food products (junk foods) is a

risk factor for development of Asthma, along with other

factors as described above, in those who are genetically

predisposed towards it. This is supported by strong

epidemiological evidence from dozens of studies that

relates obesity to increased Asthma risk3. While other

factors such as air-quality, smoking, exposure to

bacterial endotoxins et cetera are also important players,

and a family history of Asthma remains the most

important single factor, this concept most successfully

explains the sudden recent rise in Asthma over the last

decade. Increased life-expectancy in the face of

increased morbidity and health-care utilization makes

this an expensive public health problem that begs

attention. In addition, recent evidence of increasing

incidence of steroid resistance in asthmatics has

aggravated the situation further. Therefore identifying

and modifying the specific factors that predispose

individuals towards Asthma is important.

It can be seen from common experience and has

been proved scientifically in twin studies, that Asthma

has a strong heritable component, often being seen

running through families4, 5. This inherited tendency to

.

Asthma approximately accounts for about half of the

Asthma risk with lifestyle and environment presumably

contributing the rest. Thus a good approach to start

understanding the fundamental processes causing

Asthma is to define the shared genetic traits between

asthmatics and relate them to environmental and

lifestyle related factors that together cause Asthma.

From a genetic standpoint, Asthma is a complex

disorder, meaning that no single gene or other factor can

provide a simple explanation; combinations of many

interacting genetic variations, further influenced by

environmental factors (including lifestyle), being the

most likely model. Our laboratory has been extensively

involved in such research and the remainder of this

article will discuss some of the insights into Asthma that

we have gained over the years5-15.

There are two basic ways to discover genetic risk

factors and both of these are used in Asthma studies. In

the first approach, genetic profile of people at high risk

for disease can be contrasted with that of people at low

risk. In practical terms, subjects with disease (cases) are

used to approximate people at high risk and similarly

matched aged subjects (from the same ethnicity and

geographical location) without disease (controls) are

used to approximate people at low risk. In the other

approach, the occurrence of disease is investigated in

families, looking for those genetic variants that

associate with disease. We have used both types of

studies to try to understand the immunological and

metabolic basis of Asthma6-7. It is well known that

Asthma, particularly of the allergic type, is related to a

type of immune response referred to as Th2 response.

Th2 refers to T helper cell type 2, which promote an

immune response dominated by secretion of cytokines

like interleukins-4 and 13, immunoglobulin (Ig)-E

production by B cells, eosinophil and mast cell influx

and activation. We have identified a number of

variations in the genes that direct the Th2 response or its

counterbalance, the Th1 response (T helper cell type 1,

characterized by interferon-gamma), that are associated

with Asthma. Importantly, we see that variations

between the Th1/Th2 genes interact with each other to

confer greater risk than individual variations do by

themselves. A large number of genes seem to be

involved including cytokines such as interleukins 4, 10,

13; cytokine receptors such as interferon gamma

receptor; receptors to IgE antibodies et cetera6. Based

on a number of publications from around the world,

currently almost a hundred genes are thought to be

associated with Asthma risk5. While a majority of them

have been linked to inflammatory processes, partly

because of biases in selecting genetic candidates, recent

studies that examine the entire genome in an unbiased

manner (genome-wide association studies) point

strongly toward novel pathways related to lung structure

and function. In our own lab, using a relatively

unbiased approach (linkage), we found a polymorphism

in inositol phosphate 4-phosphatase A (INPP4A) gene

to be associated with Asthma risk in Indians7. This was

a novel discovery at the time and has been replicated by

others since. Interestingly, in a separate unbiased study

using genome-wide transcriptional profiles of cells from

lungs of asthmatics and normals, we found independent

evidence of abnormalities in inositol signaling pathways

in Asthma8. This is particularly interesting because

these are fundamental signaling pathways closely linked

to cellular metabolism and are known to be altered in

other disease states like obesity related metabolic

syndrome, hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular

disease. These particularly hypertension and metabolic

syndrome are strongly associated with Asthma risk in

large population studies, but the mechanism has so far

been unclear9. Ongoing work in our laboratory is

projected to confirm these associations and define the

mechanisms in experimental models of Asthma.

Asthma is a disease specific to humans, with the

exception of Asthma like symptoms naturally occurring

in some horses (heaves) and airway

hyperresponsiveness naturally seen in basenji

greyhounds. However features or processes of Asthma

can be modeled in a variety of animals like guinea pigs,

mice, rats, sheep dogs, and non-human primates. For

reasons mostly related to convenience, rodent models,

particularly mouse models, are most commonly used.

Typically, a mouse is made allergic to a foreign protein

like ovalbumin (egg white) by injection along with

adjuvants like alum. After an allergic response is

established, inhaled aerosols of allergen i.e. ovalbumin

are administered to cause allergic inflammation of the

lungs. This leads to the development of airway

hyperresponsiveness and structural changes such as

development of mucus secreting cells (goblet cells.

Such models have been extensively used to characterize

the immune aspects of allergic Asthma and the

remodeling of the airways10. Most of the genes found to

be important in Asthma by others and by us have now

been validated in mouse models. Importantly, it has

been shown that a number of environmental triggers

such as diesel exhaust particles, cigarette smoke, fungal

allergens can predispose to development of Asthma in

such models or aggravate it if already established.

Interestingly, similar to human observations, stress

and/or obesity can lead to increased asthmatic risk in

mice. These facts have led our laboratory to consider

that there may be important metabolic changes

occurring in the lung during development of Asthma

and universal strategies to combat Asthma may emerge

from arresting these processes rather than focusing

exclusively on allergy8-10. An important metabolic

change that is well known in human Asthma is that

Nitric Oxide (NO) gas content of exhaled breath is

increased. The source of this gas is considered to be the

.

airway epithelium. NO is synthesized through catalytic

breakdown of L-arginine, an amino-acid, by constitutive

and inducible Nitric Oxide Synthases (cNOS and iNOS

respectively). While cNOS, also referred to as eNOS,

produces small quantities of NO in a calcium dependent

regulated fashion; iNOS is in a stably activated state and

produces large quantities of NO. using a novel method

of measuring exhaled NO, devised in our lab, we

verified that mice with experimental Asthma also have

increased exhaled NO10. Further, we found that the

increased exhaled NO is due to increased iNOS in

airway epithelial cells and inflammatory cells, with

reduced levels and function of eNOS in airway

epithelial cells. A methyl derivative of arginine

(asymmetric dimethyl arginine [ADMA]) is known to

inhibit eNOS by competing with L-arginine in binding

to the catalytic site but not being catalyzed further. This

leads to generation of reactive oxygen species which

when combined with NO from iNOS form reactive

nitrogen species. The entire process is well understood

in obesity related cardiometabolic syndrome where high

levels of circulating ADMA prevent endothelial cells of

blood vessels from synthesizing NO, leading to

inadequate dilation of blood vessels, and thereby

hypertension. The increased oxidative stress and altered

lipid metabolism additionally leads to atherosclerosis,

and current therapies include use of “statin” drugs that

inhibit ADMA production along with their well known

effects in reducing cholesterol synthesis. We found that

ADMA is also increased in lungs of asthmatic mice, so

much so that asthma was sufficient to increase

circulating ADMA as well11. This increase was due to

increase in methylation enzymes (protein methyl

transferases) and reduction in the ADMA degradation

enzymes. Strategies to counteract the effects of ADMA,

such as supplementation of L-arginine or use of statin

drugs, were effective in reducing asthmatic features in

mice10-12. This is interesting because the mice remain

allergic, receive allergen exposure to the lungs, yet the

development of features of Asthma is inhibited by

purely metabolic strategies. In the case of L-arginine, it

has been found that dietary supplementation may be

useful in treating metabolic diseases such as

hypertension; it now seems that it may be helpful in

preventing or treating Asthma as well. However,

further human research is needed before any firm

conclusions can be reached. Other possible strategies

include use of statins9. A hypothesis that has been put

forward recently is that junk foods are low in natural

antioxidants while consumption of fresh fruits,

vegetables provides a rich variety of antioxidants. Thus

a junk food diet, in addition to promoting obesity, may

directly predispose to oxidative damage of the lungs,

which are exposed to many environmental pollutants9.

Thus an urban unhealthy lifestyle may predispose to

Asthma, as is being seen today. Protective strategies

may including supplementation with antioxidants,

which we have found effective in mouse models, or

bolstering the body’s own antioxidant response13-14.

The latter is governed by a master regulator protein

Nrf2, elegantly described by Dr. Shyam Biswal at Johns

Hopkins University, to be a critical determinant of lung

pathology during environmental stress conditions. It

has been shown that certain dietary components can

promote nrf2 mediated antioxidant defense, and this

may form the basis of novel therapies in the future.

Slowly the focus of research in Asthma has shifted

from immune response to the lung, with the epithelial

and mesenchymal cell responses and interactions

becoming particularly important2. It is now conjectured

that rather than allergy coming first and causing damage

to the lung, it may be an abnormality of the lung that

predisposes to allergic response to inhaled allergens.

This can clearly be seen at the genetic level where genes

such as Dipeptidyl peptidase (DPP) 10 and disintegrin

and metalloproteinase (ADAM) 33 expressed in the

epithelium and mesenchyme respectively, have emerged

as major modulators of genetic, risk of Asthma. At a

functional level, sub-cellular dysfunction of organelles

such as mitochondrion and endoplasmic reticulum of

airway epithelial cells may also contribute to Asthma

pathogenesis14. In mice, it is shown that mitochondrial

dysfunction in epithelial cells is associated with Asthma

and pre-existing dysfunction may enhance development

of allergy. Failure of cellular calcium homeostasis,

partly related to failure of smooth endoplasmic

reticulum associated calcium pumps, and partly to

complex rearrangements of sodium-calcium

homeostasis, has been implicated in excessive airway

smooth muscle contraction. Notably, Dr. Krishna

Agarwal at Vallabhabhai Patel Chest Institute, India, in

collaboration with colleagues at Centre of Biochemical

Technology (now IGIB), proposed two decades ago that

Asthma is not simply allergy driven, unlike allergic

rhinitis, but represents a complex metabolic

disturbance15. Today the wheel has come full circle.

In summary, each of us is born with a set of genetic

variations compared to an idealized normal that defines

a risk profile for health and disease inherent to our

nature. Specifically for Asthma, these may represent a

propensity towards a Th2 response, an attenuated Th1

response, a tendency towards increased inositol

signaling et cetera. These are complex not only in that

multiple genes are involved but also that this influences

many other aspects of health and cellular function,

beyond a singular disease. For example, a powerful

Th2 response can protect against intestinal parasites,

common in India. External factors such as allergens, air

pollution, diet, exercise, stress, smoking et cetera, then

potentiate the system further. Mal-adaptation to these

stresses results in disease, with likelihood varying

amongst individuals based on their genetic nature and

.

perhaps sheer chance. The recent explosion in Asthma

incidence cannot be due to a change in the genetic

nature, being relatively fixed, but because of rapidly

changing lifestyles in a genetically predisposed

population. Thus the question in Asthma is no longer

whether it is the genes (nature) or environment (nurture)

but how the changing nurture is influencing a natural

propensity. Some answers have been found, and more

are needed.

References

1. VIRCHOW J.C. Asthma – Historical

Development, Current Status and Perspectives.

Pneumologie. Sep: 64(9): 541 – 549 (2010).

2. S T HOLGATE. Has the time come to rethink the

pathogenesis of Asthma? Curr. Opin. Allergy Clin.

Immunol. Feb: 10(1): 48-53 (2010).

3. D A BEUTHER. Recent insight into obesity and

Asthma. Curr. Opin. Pulm. Med. Jan; 16(1): 64 –

70 (2010).

4. J.W. HOLLOWAY. S. H. ARSHAD and S. T.

HOLGATE, Using genetics to predict the natural

history of Asthma? J. Allergy Clin. Immunol. Aug:

126(2): 200-9 (2010); quiz 210-1.

5. AGRAWAL A. Genetics of Asthma: the road

ahead. Nat. Med. J. India. May-Jun; 22(3): 113-5

(2009).

6. KUMAR A., GHOSH B. Genetics of Asthma: a

molecular biologist perspective. Clin. Mol. Allergy.

May 6: 7: 7 (2009).

7. M.SHARMA, J. BATRA, U. MABALIRAJAN, S.

SHARMA, R. NAGARKATTI, J. AICH, S.K.

SHARMA, P.V. NIPHADKAR and B. GHOSH. A

genetic variation in inositol polyphosphate 4

phosphatase a enhances susceptibility to Asthma.

Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care. Med. Apr 1: 177(7): 712-

9 (2008). Epub 2008 Jan. 10.

8. A. AGRAWAL, A. SINHA, T. AHMAD, J. AICH,

P. SINGH. A SHARMA and B. GHOSH.

Maladaptation of critical cellular functions in

Asthma: bioinformatic analysis. Physiol Genomics.

Dec 30; 40(1): 1-7 (2009). Epub 2009 Oct. 20.

9. A. AGRAWAL, U. MABALIRAJAN, T. AHMAD

and B. GHOSH. Emerging Interface Between

Metabolic Syndrome and Asthma. Am. J Respir.

Cell. Mol. Biol. (2010) Jul 23. [Epub ahead of

print].

10. T. AHMAD, U. MABALIRAJAN, and A.

SHARMA, J. AICH, L.MAKHIJA, B. GHOSH

AND A. AGRAWAL. Simvastatin Improves

Epithelial Dysfunction and Airway

Hyperresponsiveness: From ADMA to Asthma.

Am. J. Respir. Cell. Mol. Biol. (2010) Jun 17.

[Epub ahead of print].

11. T. AHMAD, U. MABALIRAJAN, B. GHOSH

AND A. AGRAWAL. Altered asymmetric

dimethyl arginine metabolism in allergically

inflamed mouse lungs. Am. J. Respir. Cell. Mol.

Biol. Jan; 42(1): 3 – 8 (2010).

12. U. MABALIRAJAN, T. AHMAD, G.D.

LEISHANGTHEM, D.A. JOSEPH, A.K. DINDA,

A. AGRAWAL AND B. GHOSH. Beneficial

effects of high dose of L-arginine on airway

hyperresponsiveness and airway inflammation in a

murine model of Asthma. J. Allergy Clin.

Immunol. Mar; 125(3): 626 – 35 (2010).

13. U. MABALIRAJAN, J. AICH, G.D.

LEISHANGTHEM, S.K. SHARMA, A.K. DINDA

AND B. GHOSH. Effects of vitamin E on

mitochondrial dysfunction and Asthma features in

an experimental allergic murine model. J. Appl.

Physiol. Oct; 107(4): 1285-92 (2009).

14. U. MABALIRAJAN, A.K. DINDA, S.K.

SHARMA AND B. GHOSH. Esculetin restores

mitochondrial dysfunction and reduces allergic

Asthma features in experimental murine model. J.

Immunol. Aug 1: 183(3): 2059 – 67 (2009).

15. K.P.AGRAWAL. Metabolic basis of Asthma. A

united hypothesis. Chest. (1987) Jun; 91 (6 Suppl):

148S-151S.

========================================

20. ROLE OF DIET AND PLANTS ON DIABETIC

PATIENTS – A CRITICAL APPRAISAL

DUTTA, Moumita, RAYCHAUCHURI, Utpal,

CHAKROBORTY, Runu & MAJI, Debasish

(S & C. 77, 3-4/2011)

Introduction

Diabetes mellitus often has been referred to as a

syndrome of disordered metabolism, usually due to a

combination of hereditary and environmental causes,

resulting in abnormal of high blood sugar levels

(hyperglycemia)1

.

Type I diabetes mellitus is characterized by loss of

the insulin-producing beta cells of the islets of

Langerhans in the pancreas leading to a deficiency of

insulin. The majority of type-I diabetes is of the

immune-mediated variety, where beta cell loss is a T-

cell mediated autoimmune attack2. NAD(P)H oxidase

activation may play an important role in the

development of diabetic vascular complications,

progressive pancreatic β-cell dysfunction and metabolic

syndrome (Fig. 1). In general, the development of type

II diabetes is associated with pancreatic beta-cell

dysfunction occurring together with insulin resistance3-6.

Abdominal fat is especially active hormonally, secreting

a group of hormones called adipokines that may

possibly impair Glucose tolerance. Obesity is found in

approximately 55% of patients diagnosed with type II

diabetes7. See Table 1. For estimated Number of

People with Diabetes.

Initial stage of diabetes is pre-diabetes which is the

state in which blood glucose levels are above normal

but have not reached those of diabetes. This state is also

referred to as borderline diabetes, impaired glucose

tolerance (IGT), and/or impaired fasting glucose (IFG).

These are associated with insulin resistance and are risk

factors for the development of type II diabetes mellitus.

In addition, obesity, family history of type II diabetes

mellitus, and certain ethnic groups are also at high-risk.

Those in this stratum (IGT or IFG) are at increased risk

of cardiovascular disease8, 9, 10.

Path Physiology of Pre-diabetes

The beta cells reduce their insulin output as blood

glucose levels fall, with the result that blood glucose is

maintained at approximately 5 mmol/L (mM) (90

mg/dL). In an insulin-resistant person, normal levels of

insulin do not have the same effect on muscle and

adipose cells, with the result that glucose levels stay

higher than normal. It is often seen when

hyperglycemia develops after a meal, when pancreatic

β-cells are unable to produce sufficient insulin to

maintain normal blood sugar levels. The inability of the

β-cells to produce sufficient insulin in a condition of

hyperglycemia characterizes the transition from insulin

resistance to type II diabetes11.

Insulin itself can lead to insulin resistance, every

time a cell is exposed to insulin, the production of

GLUT4 (type four glucose receptors) on the cell’s

membrane is decreased12. In pre-diabetes, fasting

glucose is higher than normal but hepatic glucose output

(HGO) is normal. Fasting plasma insulin is elevated

and is inappropriately normal to the degree of insulin

milieu thus indicating existence of hepatic insulin

resistance. In pre-diabetes, the rapid oscillations of

insulin secretion are lost and the amplitude of large

pulses is decreased. Thus the loss of oscillations may

be markers of pre-diabetes and contributes to IFG and

IGT by decreasing the efficiency of the action of insulin

on the liver and muscle13, 14. In IGT, the glycemic

excursion after each meal are high and early insulin

response to meal tend to be lower than normal but the

second phase is delayed and prolonged14.

Fasting Insulin Level: When fasting serum insulin

level is greater than 60 pmol/L, it is considered as

evidence of insulin resistance.

Glucose tolerance test (GTT): During a glucose

tolerance test, which may be used to diagnose diabetes

mellitus, a fasting patient takes a 75 gms. oral dose of

glucose. Blood glucose levels are then measured over

the following 2 hours.

Interpretation is based on WHO guidelines. After 2

hours a Glycemic less than 7.8 mmol/L is considered

normal, a glycaemia of between 7.8 to 11.0 is

considered as Impaired Glucose Tolerance (IGT) and a

glycemic of greater than or equal to 11.1 is considered

Diabetes Mellitus.

Diabetic diet and treatment: Certain dietary

components have been reported to potentially suppress

the initiation of experimental insulin-dependent diabetes

mellitus (IDDM) in animal models. In the present

study, we have shown that dietary soybean prevents

induction of experimental hyperglycemia by retaining β

cell activity. In rat’s feed raw soybean, expression of

insulin m-RNA in pancreatic β cells is significantly

increased compared to those feed with normal diet15. A

low-calorie diet extends median and maximum life span

in human. This effect may involve a reduction in

oxidative stress16. Diet high in fruit and vegetables,

which are high in antioxidant, promote health and

reduce the effect of ageing 17, 18.

Best choice of food depends on glycemic-index

which is a measure of the effects of carbohydrates on

blood glucose levels. Carbohydrates that break down

rapidly during digestion releasing glucose rapidly into

the bloodstream have a high GI; carbohydrates that

break down slowly, releasing glucose gradually into the

bloodstream, have a low GI. For most people, foods

with a low GI have significant health benefits where

found out which foods are best for people with

diabetes19. A lower glycemic response is often thought

to equate to a lower insulin demand, better long-term

blood glucose control and a reduction in blood lipids20.

Several lines of recent scientific evidence have shown

that individuals who followed a low GI diet over many

years are at a significantly lower risk for developing

both type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease than

others21.

Many studies show that low-carbohydrate diet is a

very valuable prevention and treatment tool in diabetes

and pre-diabetes22, 23. The American Diabetes

Association (ADA) only recently agree that low-

.

carbohydrate diets can be a good way to help people

with diabetes, pre-diabetes, or those who are insulin

resistant lose weight. The previous advice is focus on

low-fat approach24.

Fat: High fat diets promote insulin resistance have

a greater rate of development of IGT and progression of

type II Diabetes Mellitus25. In epidemiology studies a

high saturated fat intake has been found to be associated

with higher fasting insulin and glucose levels26 and

greater rates of glucose intolerance27. Fats are a

combination of fatty acid: PUFA n-6 (linoleic acid) and

n-3 (αlinolenic acid) which are obtained from diet and

not synthesized in vivo. High n-3 and lower n6/n3 ratio

has marked effects on insulin sensitivity27. They have

anti-inflammatory properties and have potent lipid

modifying effect with consistent reduction in fasting

triglycerides of 25-30% of patient groups28.

Carbohydrate: Diets proportionately higher in

complex carbohydrates tend to be associated with a

reduced risk of obesity and hence decreased rate of

diabetes.

Dietary Fibre: Consumption of soluble dietary

fibre (DF) is reducing postprandial glucose responses

after carbohydrate-rich meals, as well as lowering total

cholesterol and LDL cholesterol levels29. However, it is

not soluble DF, but mainly the consumption of insoluble

cereal DF and whole grains that are consistently

associated with reduced risk of type II diabetes in large

prospective cohort studies30, 31. DF is highly complex

substances that can be described as any no digestible

carbohydrates and lignins not degraded in the upper

gut32.

Antioxidant and diabetes: Antioxidants are compound

that protect cells against the damaging effects of

Estimated Top 10: Number of People with Diabetes

(20-79 Age Group), 2003 and 2025

2003

2025

Country

Persons (millions)

Country

Persons (millions)

1. India

35.5

1. India

73.5

2. China, People’s

Republic of

23.8

2. China, People’s

Republic of

46.1

3. USA

16

3. USA

23.1

4. Russia

9.7

4. Pakistan

11.6

5. Japan

6.7

5. Russia

10.7

6. Germany

6.3

6. Brazil

10.7

7. Pakistan

6.2

7. Mexico

9.0

8. Brazil

5.7

8. Egypt

7.8

9. Mexico

4.4

9. Japan

7.1

10. Egypt

3.9

10. Germany

7.1

reactive oxygen species, such as singlet oxygen,

superoxide, peroxyl radicals, hydroxyl radicals and

peroxynitrite. An imbalance between antioxidants and

reactive oxygen species results in oxidative stress,

leading to cellular damage. Oxidative stress has been

linked to cancer, ageing, atherosclerosis, ischemic

injury, inflammation and neurodegenerative diseases

(Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s)33.

Antioxidant is classified into two broad divisions,

depending on whether they are soluble in water

(hydrophilic) or in lipid (hydrophobic). In general,

water-soluble antioxidant react with oxidants in the cell

cytosol and the blood plasma, while lipid-soluble

antioxidants protect cell membrane from lipid per

oxidant34. These compound may be synthesized in

the body or obtained from diet35. There are some

compounds that contribute to antioxidant defense by

chelating transition metals and preventing them from

catalyzing the production of free radicals in the cell36.

Antioxidant that are reducing agents can also act as pro-

oxidant. Such as vitamin C has antioxidant activity

when it reduces oxidizing substance such as hydrogen

peroxide37.

Antioxidants are also widely used as ingredients in

dietary supplements in the hope of maintaining health

and preventing diseases such as cancer and coronary

heart disease38. The role of antioxidants in biology is

focus in preventing the oxidation of unsaturated fats,

causing rancidity39. Antioxidant activity can be

measured simply by placing the fat in a close container

with oxygen and measuring the rate of oxygen

consumption. It is the identification of vitamins A, C,

and E as antioxidants that revolutionized the field and

.

led to the realization of the importance of antioxidants

in the biochemistry of living organisms40, 41.

Groups of compound react differently with

different reactive oxygen species. In food science, the

oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) has

become the current industry standard for assessing

antioxidant strength of whole foods, juice and food

additives42, 43. Other test includes the Foline-ciocalteu

reagent44. Antioxidants are found in varying amount in

foods such as vegetables, fruits, grain-cereals, legumes

and nuts. Some antioxidants such as lycopene and

ascorbic acid can be destroyed by long term cooling or

storage45, 46. Other antioxidant compound is more stable

such as polyphenolic antioxidant in food47.

Diabetes improves with plant extract: 1. Neem:

Neem (Azadirachta indica), is a tree in the mahogany

family Meliaceae. Neem has two closely related

species: A. indica A. Juss and M. azedarac, the former

is popularly known as Indian neem (margosa tree) or

Indian lilac, and the other as the Persian lilac48. It is

evergreen and is native to India, Myanmar, Bangladesh,

Sri Lanka and Pakistan growing in tropical and semi-

tropical regions. Very young leaves are reddish to

purplish in colour. The shape of mature leaflets is more

or less asymmetric.

Biological activity of some neem compounds:

Nimbidin, a major crude bitter principle is extracted

from the oil of seed kernels of Azadirachta indica

demonstrated several biological activities. From this

crude principle some tetranortriterpenes, including

nimbin, nimbiunin, nimbidinin, nimbolide and nimbidic

acid have been isolated48.

Biological activity of neem compounds: Anti-

inflammatory; Antiarthritic; Antipyretic;

Hypoglycaemic; Antigastric ulcer; Spermicidal;

Antifungal; Antibacterial; Diuretic; Antimalarial;

Antitumour; Immunomodulatory etc. Aqueous extracts

of neem leaves have demonstrated significant

antidiabetic potential48.

Antioxidant activity: The chemopreventive potential of

Azadirachta indica (neem) leaf fractions base on in vitro

antioxidant assays, and in vivo inhibitory effects on 7,

12 dimethylbenz[a] anthracene (DMBA)-induced

hamster buccal pouch (HBP) carcinogenesis is

evaluated. In addition the major constituents in neem

leaf fractions are also identified by HPLC. Analysis of

the free radical scavenging activities and reducing

potential of crude ethanolic extract (CEE), ethyl acetate

fraction (EAF) and methanolic fraction (MF) of neem

leaf is revealed a concentration-dependent increase in

antioxidant potential that is in the order EAF>MF>CEE.

Administration of neem leaf fractions reduced the

incidence of DMBA-induced HBP carcinomas at a

lower concentration compared to the crude extract.

Chemoprevention by neem leaf fractions is associated

with modulation of phase I and phase II xenobiotic-

metabolising enzymes, lipid and protein oxidation, up

regulation of antioxidant defences, inhibition of cell

proliferation and angiogenesis, and induction of

apoptosis. However, EAF is more effective than MF in

terms of antiproliferative and antiangiogenic effects,

and expression of CYP isoforms. The greater efficacy

of EAF may be due to higher content of constituent

phytochemicals as revealed by HPLC analysis. The

results of the present study suggest that the antioxidant

properties of neem leaf fractions may be responsible for

modulating key hallmark capabilities of cancer cells

such as cell proliferation, angiogenesis and apoptosis in

the HBP carcinogenesis model49.

Neem leaf aqueous extract, flower and stem bark

ethanol extracts is exhibited higher free radical

scavenging effect on the DPPH assay with 50%

scavenging activity. The total antioxidant activity of

these extracts is found to be 0.959, 0.988 and 1.064 mM

of standard trolox respectively. At 100 µg/ml, the

flower ethnol and leaf aqueous extracts is significantly

decreased malondiadehyde (MDA) levels by the

TBARS method. The results suggest that extracts from

leaf, flower and stem bark of the50. Siamese neem tree

have strong antioxidant potential.

Neem’s effects on degenerative diseases: Standardize

aqueous extract of neem (Azadirachta indica) leaves

(AIE) has been reported to show both ulcer protective

and ulcer healing effects in normal as well as in diabetic

rats. AIE is found to inhibit acid-pepsin secretion in 4

hr pylorus ligated rats. Continuous infusion of PENTA

is significantly increased the acid secretion after 30 to

180 min or in the total 3 hr acid secretions in rat

stomach perfusate while, AIE pretreatment significantly

decreased them. AIE is inhibited the rat gastric mucosal

proton pump activity and the effect is comparable with

that of omeprazole (OMZ). Further, AIE do not show

any effect on mucin secretion though it enhanced life

span of mucosal cells as evidenced by a decrease in cell

shedding in the gastric juice. Thus, our present data

suggest that the ulcer protective activity of AIE may be

due to its anti-secretary and proton pump inhibitory

activity rather than on defensive mucin secretion51.

Effect of petroleum ether extracts of kernel (NSK) and

husk (NSH) of neem (Azadirachta indica A. Juss,

Meliaceae) seeds on the prevention of oxidative stress

cause by streptozotocin (STZ) is investigated. Serum

creatine phosphokinase (CPK) is increased in diabetic

rats and significantly decreased on insulin, NSK, and

NSH treatments. The decrease in activities of

superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) and

increase in lipid peroxidation (LPO) of erythrocytes as

observed in diabetes is regained after insulin, NSH, and

NSK treatments. However, there is insignificant

improvement in SOD, CAT, and LPO of kidney on

NSK and NSH treatment. In spite of increase CAT and

SOD activities in liver and heart, LPO is also increased

.

in diabetic rats. Insulin, NSH, and NSK treatments is

significantly protected animals from cardiac damage but

not hepatic. NSH and NSK prevemt oxidative stress is

caused by STZ in heart and erythrocytes. However, no

such preventive effect is observed on renal and hepatic

toxicity52.

Combination (1:1) of water extract of dried powder

of root and leaves (200 mg/kg body wt) of A. augusta

and A. indica respectively is administered orally to

alloxan diabetic rats once a day for 8 weeks. This

treatment is caused significant lowering of blood sugar

in fasted as estimated by glucose tolerance test. The

treatment is resulted in a significant reduction in serum

lipids. Aqueous extract is also decreased the formation

of lipid peroxides estimated as thiobarbituric acid

reactive substance, (TBARS), and increased

antioxidants (superoxide dismutase, catalase, and

glutathione peroxides and glutathione transferase) in

erythrocytes. There is reduction in LPO as TBARS in

heart, liver, kidney, and muscles53.

Hypoglycemic effect: Hypoglycemic effect is

observed with Azadirachta indica when given as a leaf

extract and seed oil, in normal as well as diabetic

rabbits. The effect, however, is more pronounced in

diabetic animals in which administration for 4 weeks

after alloxan induced diabetes, significantly reduced

blood glucose levels. Hypoglycemic effect is

comparable to that of glibenclamide. Pre-treatment with

Azadirachta indica leaf extract or seed oil

administration, started 2 weeks prior to alloxan,

partially is prevented the rise in blood glucose levels as

compared to control diabetic animals.

Hypoglycaemic effect is observed with Azadirachta

indica when given as a leaf extract and seed oil, in

normal as well as diabetic rabbits. The effect, however,

is more pronounced in diabetic animals in which

administration for 4 weeks after alloxan induced

diabetes significantly reduces blood glucose levels.

Hypoglycaemic effect is comparable to that of

glibenclamide. Pretreatment with Azadirachta indica

leaf extract or seed oil administration, started 2 weeks

prior to alloxan, partially prevented the rise in blood

glucose levels as compared to control diabetic animals.

The data suggests that Azadirachta indica can be of

benefit in diabetes mellitus in controlling the blood

sugar or may also be helpful in preventing or delaying

the onset of the disease54.

Mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla): The name

mahogany is used when referring to numerous varieties

of dark-colored hardwood, originally the wood of the

species Swietenia macrophylla, known as West Indian

or Cuban mahogany55. There are 3 species of

mahogany. Mahogany tree are large trees 20 to 40 m of

height and more than 2 m in diameter. Mature fruit turn

from green to reddish brown.56, 57.

From Swietenia macrophylla seeds many kind of

tetranortriterpenoids or limonoids, namely, Swietinine58,

Swietenolide59, 8, 30-epoxy-swietenine acetate60,

Swietenolide diacetate61, augustineolide and 3β, 6-

dihydroxy dihydrocarapin62, 63, as well as known fatty

acid and terpenoids61, namely γ-Himachalene,

germacrene D & A, Hexadecanoic acid and ethyl

hexadecanoate, are isolated and identified. Swietenia

macrophylla is non-toxic upto 1.2 gm/kg body weight

upto 24 hours.64

The seeds have been used for leishmaniasis and

abortion medicine by Amazonian Bolivian ethnic

group65 and for treatment of hypertention, diabetes and

malaria66. The seeds has antimalarial activity66,

antibacterial activity66 and antidiarrhoeal activity67.

Anti-diarrhoeal activity: The swietenia

macrophylla seed are used in traditional medicine for

the treatment of diarrhea and produce a significant

antidarrhoeal activity when given in a single dose of

100 mg/kg B.Wt.67

Hypoglycaemic effect: The anti-diabetic effect of

Swietenia macrophylla seeds is evaluated in

Streptozotocin induced type II diabetic rat. The extract

is found more effective at the dose of 300mg/kg body

weight and it is lowered fasting blood glucose level

(FBG) levels is statistically significant (P < 0.010)

(32.78%) in diabetic rats at day 12. Extract at the same

dose is also significantly reduced (P < 0.01) the elevated

level of serum total cholesterol (18.56%) and

triglyceride (10.41%), and increased (P < 0.01)

(46.27%) the reduced liver glycogen level. Though

statistically non—significant the extract at both the

doses is found to improve the body weight of diabetic

rat68.

Increase in liver glycogen can be brought about by

an increased in glycogenesis and or inhibited

glucogenolysis. Excessive hepatic glycogenolysis and

glyconeogenesis is associated with decreased utilization

of glucose by tissues is the fundamental mechanism

underlying hyperglycemia in the diabetic state69. This

may be due to the lack of or resistance to insulin, which

is essential to trigger the activation of glycogen synthase

systems70.

Diabetes is associated with hyperlipidemia71. The

serum total cholesterol and triglycerides have been

decreased significantly in type II diabetic rats after the

extract supplementation. This effect may be due to low

activity of cholesterol biosynthesis enzymes and or low

level of lipolysis which are under the control of

insulin72.

In another study show that various type of

phytoconstituent are present in swietenine, the switenine

is identified by physiochemical and spectrometric

analysis. Isolated phytoconstituent which is improved

peripheral glucose utilization in diabetic rat due to an

insulin mimicking effect of plant73.

.

Anti-bacterial activity: Two limonoids from

swietenia macrophylla are 2 hydroxy 3-swietenolide

and 2 hydroxy-3-O-tigloyswietenolide shows significant

anti bacterial activity against eight multi-drug resistant

(MDR) bacterial strains.74.

Anti-inflammatory activity: Swietenia

macrophylla seed extract inhibits carrageenan-induce

paw edema by 7.35% at a dose of 50mg/kg, higher dose

of 100 mg/kg produce 47.06% that is comparable to the

54.4% inhibition produce by the standard drug

ibuprofen.64 It is well known that there is a close

relationship between inflammation and cancer75-76.

Conclusion

This review aims to focus on the anti-diabetic

activity of neem leaves and mahogany seeds. The data

suggest that neem leaves neem seed have benefit in

diabetes mellitus in controlling the blood sugar or may

also be helpful in preventing or delaying the onset of the

disease. Quantitative phytochemical assay is indicated

the presence of triterpenoids in mahogany seed. These

triterpenoids may serve as potential hypoglycemic

agent.

Acknowledgements

Authors are thankfully acknowledging UGC CAS I

for providing necessary facilities.

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========================================

.

PART III

(While Part II features articles from other journals, Part III contains the editor’s own contributions and other original

articles.)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BOOKSHELF

I. Materia Medica Revisa Homöopathiae,

Argentum nitricum, Von Dominik MÜLLER,

Hrsg. K.-H. GYPSER, Wunnibald Gypser

Verlag, 2011.

Here we have on hand another reliable Monograph

for the homœopathic medicine, Argentum nitricum.

This is a remedy which is often used right from

infancy to old age.

Nearly 75 years ago as a small boy of hardly 9

years, I had observed Silver nitrate applied to the eyes

of my brother (15 years age) for ‘red’ fleshy growth in

the eyes. In p.39 of this monograph I find

“FLEISCHARTIGE AUSWÜCHSE DER

KONJUNKTIVA” (S.NO.549).

While HAHNEMANN’s first proving in 1818

contained only 16 symptoms (MM Pura), this

Monograph has 2640.

In the ‘Afterword’ (Nachwort) Dr. MÜLLER has

cited cases listing the symptoms of the patient linked to

the symptom in the Materia Medica and justifying the

prescription.

In the Gesammelte kleine Schriften, hrsg. Von

Josef SCHMIDT und Daniel KAISER in S, 88-89, there

is a small article of HAHNEMANN “Ueber ein

ungemeine Kräftiges, die Fäuloniβ hemmendes Mittel”.

HAHNEMANN has said “… daß Silbersalpeter das

gröste m bekannte fäulnißwidrige Mittel sey.” He has

found that even when it is diluted 1: 100000, it works

well. Further “Der faule Geruch, und das üble Ansehn

alter Schäden wird von einer verdünnten Auflösung

(1:1000) in der kleinester Zeit ventrieben. Ich habe in

diesem Fälle viel guten Nutzen davon gesehen.”

- K.S. SRINIVASAN

=======================================

II. Materia Medica Revisa Homöopathiae,

Asafoetida, Von Susanne JUNGMANN,

Wunnibald Gypser Verlag, Hrsg. K.-H.

GYPSER, 2013.

Asafoetida is much less used medicine. The main

use has been in flatulence. As a home remedy it has

been used for flatulence. It has been used to improve

lactation in mother. In Indian kitchen Asafoetida is an

essential item.

Large chunks of this resin is sold by small vendors

on the banks of Ganges in Haridwar and other spots in

the foothills of Himalayas.

The Provings give a number of symptoms relating

to belching, loud eructation, offensive odorous belching,

in fact wind through any of the exits, stinks.

I read a brief Case Report by URETZKI (in the

British Homœopathic Journal) wherein a woman who

sat before him, leaned forward and whispered “it’s my

mouth, it stinks”. The pain in Stomach, Abdomen are

severe. He gave her the stinker Asafoetida!

Susanne JUNGMANN has taken great pains to

prepare this Monograph with 994 symptoms.

As in all the others in this series this volume has

been prepared very well in Print, binding, etc. and is a

must for every practitioner.

- K.S. SRINIVASAN

========================================

III. Materia Medica Revisa Homœopathiae;

Causticum, Von Dominik MÜLLER. Hrsg. K.-

H. GYPSER. Wunnibald Gypser Verlag, 2009.

This Monograph on the homœopathic Medicine

Causticum is in the series: Materia Medica Revision.

Detailed study and revision, taking only reliable

symptoms, has been done by Dr. Dominik MÜLLER

guided by Dr.K.-H. GYPSER.

NASH has, in his ‘Leaders’ devoted more pages to

this remedy. He says “I have given more space to

Causticum than I otherwise would, for the reason that I

am sure that this great remedy is not generally

appreciated. I know of no remedy more positive and

satisfactory in its action when indicated. …”

Causticum preparation has been controversial and

much discussed. The “Fragmenta ……” of

HAHNEMANN contains only 18 symptom. A detailed

study of this remedy has been done by Dr. Andreas

GRIMM (ZKH. 33, 2/1989).

.

Another article which also makes careful study of

the preparation of this remedy, is by Dr. John

MORGAN ‘The Mystery of Causticum’ in The

Homeopath No,69/1998. After detailing the apparatus,

the technique etc. MORGAN concludes “Upto now the

documented variations have been inconsistent and more

samples, willingness and time is needed to standardize

this remedy correctly. I am sure it is a Kali salt, and

should be thought of as one, but Alchemy is a

mysterious thing and I’m sure this wonderful substance

will keep some of its secrets hidden for some time to

come.”

Dr. Dominik MÜLLER quotes from

BOENNINGHAUSEN’S article “Action of Calcarea

carbonica and Causticum” (see Boenninghausen’s

Kleine medizinische Schriften” edited by K.-H.

GYPSER, in 1984). This is a long article and gives 32

cases of Causticum and 16 cases of Calcarea carbonica

besides several other remedies. Several cases of

Epilepsy cured by these two remedies are given in this

article of BOENNINGHAUSEN. Many of these cases

have been given in Raimund Friedrich KASTNER’s

‘Boenninghausens Physiognomik der Homöopathischen

Arzneimittel” also.

The Monograph contain 3355 symptoms. These

have to be verified in the Kent Repertoy and corrections

and additions have to be made. I hope to communicate

if any, in due course.

A must for every Practitioner.

- K.S. SRINIVASAN.

========================================

IV. Materia Medica Revisa Homöopathie,

Magnesium carbonicum, von Jürgen NICKLAS,

hrsg. K.H. GYPSER, Wunnibald Gypser Verlag,

Glees. ISBN 978-3-940940-11-7.

This Monograph is in the Materia Medica Revision

series; a stupendous Project which will extend over

some years. The editor of the Project Dr. K.-H.

GYPSER has a reliable and dedicated number of

colleagues who can be trusted to complete the Project.

The work includes correct and reliable facts only

to be entered into Materia Medica after thorough

verifications with the sources and related references.

This Monograph on Magnesium carbonicum has

been collected, verified and compiled by Jürgen

NICKLAS.

It is a remedy much under-prescribed now-a-days,

mainly because it does not come up sufficiently strong

in the repertorial work. More and more use of

Computerized Repertory and lesser and lesser study of

Materia Medica could be the cause. Several symptoms

– even 40 or more are fed into the computer and it gives

out some remedies. The practitioner does not bother to

feed only the Characteristic symptoms or the peculiar

symptoms. The entire process of repertorisation is

merely mechanical and naturally the similar remedy for

the ‘Characteristic’ is missed.

NICKLAS gives very interesting details of the

proving symptoms of Magnesium carbonicum published

by Hartlaub & Trinks in their Pure Materia Medica

which HAHNEMANN has accepted for his work. The

reliability of the Prover ‘No’ which indicated Cagetan

NENNING is also pointed out.

BOGER in the International Hahnemannian

Association Proceedings June, 1930 has mentioned

some peculiar symptoms:”There are some very

distinctive symptoms referable to the median line of the

anterior trunk, the most decided are being a pain of the

junction of the fifth right rib with the sternum, noticed