SYMPOSIA Thursday, May 25, 2:00-4:30
Serially Succussed and Diluted Homeopathic Preparations:
The State of the Science
Speakers: Joyce Frye, DO, MBA, David Anick, MD, PhD,
Stephan Baumgartner, PhD, Rustum Roy, PhD, Philippe Belon, MD, John
Ives, PhD, Jean Sainte-Laudy
Homeopathy is a whole medical system that therapeutically
uses ultra high dilutions (UHD) prepared by serial logarithmic dilution
and intense succussion of a mother tincture, typically in water-ethanol
mixtures. Because of the high dilution factor, it is often argued that
treatment effects are nonspecific or placebo. However, many randomized
placebo controlled double blind clinical trials demonstrate effects
of homeopathic potencies superior to placebo. Accepting these results,
it must be concluded that the dilution medium adopts a specific structure
related to the initial mother tincture. Many theories have been proposed
to explain how the efficacy of UHD: most are based on conjecture and
do not provide readily testable hypotheses. This State of the Science
symposium will bring together leading international researchers in the
properties of these dilutions. Presenters will address the following
topics and discuss the most promising avenues for future research:
The structure of liquid water: novel insights
from materials research; relevance to homeopathy
Three well-known phenomena in materials research illuminate the controversy
on the plausibility of homeopathic claims. First, the structure of condensed
noncrystalline matter leads to a new view on the structure of liquid
water at or near ambient temperatures. The most distinctive aspect of
the structure of water is the nanoheterogeneity of the assemblage of
molecular units. The key bonding feature is the presence of van der
Waals bonds among the various structural units. Additionally, epitaxy
provides a universally accepted route of transferring structural information
from a (crystalline) solid to a liquid without the presence of any part
of the solid in the changed liquid. Finally, the succussing process
generates two routes to changing the structure of water: the pressure
generated, and the nanobubbles of air created which could become "permanent"
colloids.
High sensitivity 1H-NMR spectroscopy of homeopathic
remedies made in water
Homeopathic remedies made in water were examined via high sensitivity
proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) Using the NMR technique
of presaturation, signals could be reliably detected for H-containing
species at concentrations as low as 5 mM. In the combined spectra of
57 remedy and 46 control samples there were 35 positions where discrete
signals were seen that should theoretically have been absent from the
spectrum of pure water.
Thermoluminescence of ultra-high dilutions of
lithium chloride and sodium chloride. The phenomenon of thermoluminescence
is an interesting tool to study the structure of solids, mainly the
appearance of ordered crystal imperfections. Starting from liquids,
which were turned into stable solids by low-temperature cooling, it
was demonstrated that the thermoluminescent glow of irradiated hexagonal
ice consisted in two major peak areas having well defined emission spectra.
Enzyme stabilization by glass-derived silicates
in homeopathically prepared solutions
Enzyme assays with horseradish peroxidase and acetylcholine esterase
were used to analyze serially succussed and diluted solutions (SSD)
prepared in glass and plastic containers. Aqueous SSD preparations starting
with various solutes, or water alone, were tested using colorimetric
assays for their ability to affect enzyme activity and stability in
dilute solution. Both enzyme stability in dilute solution and enzyme
activity were enhanced in SSD solutions prepared in glass containers,
but not those prepared in plastic containers, compared with enzyme stability
and activity in plain water. Flow cytometric analysis of negative feedback
of high histamine dilutions on human basophils. Three different protocol
designs were used to optimize the analysis of the biological activity
of histamine dilutions at the two target dilutions 10-4 M (2C) and 10-32
TMC (16C).
Flow cytometry clearly demonstrated that high
dilutions of histamine may elicit an inhibition of IgE dependant and
IgE independent basophil activation (anti-IgE and fMLP) both for dilutions
containing histamine molecules (2C) and dilutions theoretically free
of histamine molecules (16C).
Plants as a tool for basic research in homeopathy:
State of the knowledge
Plants have been used in investigating the effects of homeopathic dilutions,
starting with simple systems such as germination rate, and culminating
in sophisticated phytopathological systems. Many studies yield evidence
for specific effects of homeopathic potencies, nested with interesting
features such as reduction of inter- and intra-experimental variability
and differential effects of single potency levels.