Photo: Dr Nik Omar in traditional Malay dressHow does Homeopathy work, multiple mechanisms?
Dr. Peter H Kay.
The active substances in some homeopathic preparations are often so dilute that they do not have any pharmacological activity. So, how do they work?
It is thought by many that homeopathic remediation involves a process in which water can be imprinted with the memory of substances that have been dissolved in it in the past. This idea is often put forward to explain why some remedies work when they are so dilute that they do not contain any of the original active substance.
Other plausible mechanisms have been proposed [1]. For example, it is thought that some homeopathic remedies may work by a process called hormesis. The hormesis hypothesis states that many chemical and physical agents have the capacity to stimulate biological effects at doses below the toxicity threshold, while causing toxicity at doses above the threshold. This concept is akin to the Arndt-Schulz Law in pharmacology.
On the other hand, some homeopathic remedies may in fact work by promoting a pharmacological response. It is important to realise that in the body, some hormones are active at concentrations in the range of 10-6 to 10-18 g/ml. This is well within the range of concentrations at which some homeopathic remedies are administered, particularly in cases where mother tinctures are used.
Kratz [1] suggested that some homeopathic remedies work by reactivating some of the body?s enzyme and endocrine systems by interacting with regulatory and biofeedback mechanisms, again it is possible that some mother tincture homeopathic remedies work in this way.
It is likely that elements of the psychobiological gene expression system [2] also play an important indirect role in the success of homeopathic remediation. For example, it is now well established that thought processes can activate genes that promote health through release of various neurotransmitters.
This is one of the ways by which the practitioner may ease a client?s suffering as a consequence of the interview process. It is also recognised that negative thought processes can activate genes that promote ill-health, leading to what are known as psychosomatic illnesses.
There is a yet further remarkable mechanistic possibility that is based on the discovery of exciting new properties of DNA and the fact that highly diluted homeopathic DNA alone can cause symptoms of disease in healthy subjects.
Firstly, Baldwin and colleagues [3] showed that DNA molecules have remarkable telepathic properties, DNA molecules with the same sequence can communicate with each other. Secondly, Montagnier and his team [4] have shown that mechanically activated DNA molecules emit electromagnetic signals that are recognised by DNA molecules with the same sequence.
These newly discovered properties of DNA molecules provide a plausible explanation for the properties of some homeopathic remedies because those prepared from plant, animal and human tissues will most likely contain DNA. They have also enabled the development of a new advanced form of New Homeopathic micro-DNA remediation called Homeovitality (see www.homeovitalitycentre.com).
All of these mechanisms may be relevant to the remedial properties of different homeopathic remedies and need not be mutually exclusive with respect to any particular remedy.
References
1. http://www.kulisz.com/how%20does%20homeopathy%20work.htm.
2. Rossi E. The psychobiology of gene expression. WW Norton & Company, New York. ISBN 0393-70343-6. 2002.
3. Baldwin et al., DNA double helices recognize mutual sequence homology in a protein free environment. J. Phys. Chem. B., 4:112, 2008.
