Gas discharge visualization evaluation of ultramolecular doses of homeopathic medicines under blinded, controlled conditions

Physicochemical Investigations of Homeopathic Preparations: A Systematic Review and Bibliometric Analysis-Part 3

Objectives: In parts I and II of our review of physicochemical research performed on homeopathic preparations, we identified relevant publications and analyzed the data in terms of individual experiments, looking for the most promising techniques that were used in the past. In this third part, we analyze the results of the experiments seeking to extract information about the possible modes of action underpinning homeopathic preparations. Methods: We summarized the results from the 11 experimental areas previously introduced, extracting the general findings and trends. We also summarized the results in terms of specific research topics: aging, medium used for potentization, sample volume, temperature, material of potentization vessel, and, finally, the use of molecules to probe homeopathic samples. Results: We identified a number of effects that appear consistently throughout the data: Differences to controls seem to increase with: time, moderate temperature, small samples volume, and in ionic medium, whereas high temperatures seem to abolish differences to controls. Based on the present analysis, there is no consistent evidence to date for the nanoparticle hypothesis to explain specific homeopathic treatment effects. However, the quantum coherence domain hypothesis, the dynamic water cluster hypothesis, and the weak quantum theory are still contenders and need to be further assessed experimentally. Conclusions: The field requires further targeted experimentation to validate past findings reporting differences between homeopathic dilutions and controls, and to expand these findings by specifically testing the three main working hypotheses that are currently at hand.

Physicochemical Investigations of Homeopathic Preparations: A Systematic Review and Bibliometric Analysis-Part 2

Objectives: In Part 1 of the review of physicochemical research performed on homeopathic preparations the authors identified relevant publications of sufficient reporting quality for further in-depth analysis. In this article, the authors analyze these publications to identify any empirical evidence for specific physicochemical properties of homeopathic preparations and to identify most promising experimental techniques for future studies. Methods: After an update of the literature search up to 2018, the authors analyzed all publications in terms of individual experiments. They extracted information regarding methodological criteria such as blinding, randomization, statistics, controls, sample preparation, and replications, as well as regarding experimental design and measurement methods applied. Scores were developed to identify experimental techniques with most reliable outcomes. Results: The publications analyzed described 203 experiments. Less than 25% used blinding and/or randomization, and about one third used adequate controls to identify specific effects of homeopathic preparations. The most promising techniques used so far are nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) relaxation, optical spectroscopy, and electrical impedance measurements. In these three areas, several sets of replicated high-quality experiments provide evidence for specific physicochemical properties of homeopathic preparations. Conclusions: The authors uncovered a number of promising experimental techniques that warrant replication to assess the reported physicochemical properties of homeopathic preparations compared with controls. They further discuss a range of experimental aspects that highlight the many factors that need to be taken into consideration when performing basic research into homeopathic potentization. For future experiments, the authors generally recommend using succussed (vigorously shaken) controls, or comparing different homeopathic preparations with each other to reliably identify any specific physicochemical properties.

Physicochemical Investigations of Homeopathic Preparations: A Systematic Review and Bibliometric Analysis-Part 1

Objectives: The last systematic review of physicochemical research performed on homeopathic preparations was published in 2003. The aim of the study is to update and expand the current state of knowledge in the area of physicochemical properties of homeopathic preparations. In part 1 of the study, we aim to present an overview of the literature with respect to publication quality and methods used. In part 2, we aim to identify the most interesting experimental techniques. With this, we aim to be in a position to generate meaningful hypotheses regarding a possible mode of action of homeopathic preparations.

Methods: A two-step procedure was adopted: (1) an extensive literature search, followed by a bibliometric and quality analysis on the level of publications and (2) a thorough qualitative analysis of the individual physicochemical investigations found. In this publication, we report on step (1). We searched major scientific databases to find publications reporting physicochemical investigations of homeopathy from its origin to the end of 2015. Publications were assessed using a scoring scheme, the Manuscript Information Score (MIS). Information regarding country of origin of the research and experimental techniques used was extracted.

Results: We identified 183 publications (compared to 44 in the last review), 122 of which had an MIS ≥5. The rate of publication in the field was ∼2 per year from the 1970s until 2000. Afterward, it increased to over 5.5 publications per year. The quality of publications was seen to increase sharply from 2000 onward, whereas before 2000, only 12 (13%) publications were rated as “high quality” (MIS ≥7.5); 44 (48%) publications were rated as “high quality” from 2000 onward. Countries with most publications were Germany (n = 42, 23%), France (n = 29, 16%), India (n = 27, 15%), and Italy (n = 26, 14%). Techniques most frequently used were electrical impedance (26%), analytical methods (20%), spectroscopy (20%), and nuclear magnetic resonance (19%).

Conclusions: Physicochemical research into homeopathic preparations is increasing both in terms of quantity and quality of the publications.

Barriers to the Entry of Biofield Healing Into "Mainstream" Healthcare

In this article, we describe barriers to the entry of biofield healing into mainstream contemporary science and clinical practice. We focus on obstacles that arise from the social nature of the scientific enterprise, an aspect of science highlighted by the influential work of Thomas Kuhn (1922-1996), one of the most important- and controversial-philosophers of science in the 20th century. Kuhn analyzed science and its revolutionary changes in terms of the dynamics within scientific communities. Kuhn's approach helps us understand unconventional medical theories and practices such as biofield healing. For many years, these were called "complementary and alternative medicine" (CAM). However, because most people use nonmainstream approaches in conjunction with conventional treatments, the National Institutes of Health and many practitioners now prefer "Complementary and Integrative Medicine" (CIM) where integrative implies "bringing conventional and complementary approaches together in a coordinated way."(1) Biofield healing fits the integrative model well, provides a novel approach to therapeutic intervention, and is developing in a manner that can integrate with current medical science in simple ways. Yet, it still remains outside the conventional framework because of its conceptual bases, which contrast sharply with conventional assumptions regarding the nature of reality.

A model for homeopathic remedy effects: low dose nanoparticles, allostatic cross-adaptation, and time-dependent sensitization in a complex adaptive system

Background

This paper proposes a novel model for homeopathic remedy action on living systems. Research indicates that homeopathic remedies (a) contain measurable source and silica nanoparticles heterogeneously dispersed in colloidal solution; (b) act by modulating biological function of the allostatic stress response network (c) evoke biphasic actions on living systems via organism-dependent adaptive and endogenously amplified effects; (d) improve systemic resilience.

Discussion

The proposed active components of homeopathic remedies are nanoparticles of source substance in water-based colloidal solution, not bulk-form drugs. Nanoparticles have unique biological and physico-chemical properties, including increased catalytic reactivity, protein and DNA adsorption, bioavailability, dose-sparing, electromagnetic, and quantum effects different from bulk-form materials. Trituration and/or liquid succussions during classical remedy preparation create “top-down” nanostructures. Plants can biosynthesize remedy-templated silica nanostructures. Nanoparticles stimulate hormesis, a beneficial low-dose adaptive response. Homeopathic remedies prescribed in low doses spaced intermittently over time act as biological signals that stimulate the organism’s allostatic biological stress response network, evoking nonlinear modulatory, self-organizing change. Potential mechanisms include time-dependent sensitization (TDS), a type of adaptive plasticity/metaplasticity involving progressive amplification of host responses, which reverse direction and oscillate at physiological limits. To mobilize hormesis and TDS, the remedy must be appraised as a salient, but low level, novel threat, stressor, or homeostatic disruption for the whole organism. Silica nanoparticles adsorb remedy source and amplify effects. Properly-timed remedy dosing elicits disease-primed compensatory reversal in direction of maladaptive dynamics of the allostatic network, thus promoting resilience and recovery from disease.

Summary

Homeopathic remedies are proposed as source nanoparticles that mobilize hormesis and time-dependent sensitization via non-pharmacological effects on specific biological adaptive and amplification mechanisms. The nanoparticle nature of remedies would distinguish them from conventional bulk drugs in structure, morphology, and functional properties. Outcomes would depend upon the ability of the organism to respond to the remedy as a novel stressor or heterotypic biological threat, initiating reversals of cumulative, cross-adapted biological maladaptations underlying disease in the allostatic stress response network. Systemic resilience would improve. This model provides a foundation for theory-driven research on the role of nanomaterials in living systems, mechanisms of homeopathic remedy actions and translational uses in nanomedicine.

Toward a topological description of the therapeutic process: part 2. Practitioner and patient perspectives of the "journey to cure"

BACKGROUND

The discourse of quantum theory has been used to describe (1) the homeopathic therapeutic process (in terms of three-way macro-entanglement between patient, practitioner, and remedy, called PPR entanglement), and (2) the homeopathic concept of the vital force.

METHODS

Combining these two approaches leads to a semiotic (i.e., pertaining to the theory of sign systems in language) geometry that illustrates the nature of this entanglement and how it could facilitate the patient's journey to cure. Here, this geometry is extended further to gain insight into both practitioner and patient perspectives of the process.

RESULTS

From the practitioner's perspective, the semiotic geometry predicts PPR entanglement, generating a number of distinguishable therapeutic outcomes that depend on the various patient-, disease-, and remedy-based "contributions" to the overall symptom picture of the remedy arrived at holistically. Furthermore, these outcomes may be seen as different facets of a more generalized PPR entangled state whose semiotic geometrical representation is hyperdimensional. Likewise, the patient's perspective of the journey to cure can also be represented semiotically, this time as a series of cross-sections through a hyperdimensional figure of similar symmetry, entering and leaving the patient's notional "dis-ease" space.

CONCLUSIONS

The semiotic geometries representing practitioner and patient experiences of the therapeutic process ultimately converge. Where they differ is that in elaborating the patient's journey to cure, the practitioner's perspective may be seen as from the outside of a whole process. As it is the patient who ultimately is traveling this journey, the patient's perspective is necessarily from the inside, of stages or cross-sections of the whole process.

Application of electrophoton capture (EPC) analysis based on gas discharge visualization (GDV) technique in medicine: a systematic review

OBJECTIVES

The objective of this study was to evaluate the scale and scope of implementing electrophoton capture (EPC) analysis based on gas discharge visualization (GDV) technique in diverse medical applications and psychophysiology; to identify the range of applications in medicine; and to show in which areas the procedure can be useful to health professionals.

DESIGN

The design of the study is a systematic review.

METHODS

The database included articles published in peer-reviewed journals, proceedings of the international scientific congress "Science, Information, Spirit" (2003-2007), articles from the International Union of Medical and Applied Bioelectrography database, and proceedings of other conferences devoted to EPC or GDV, bioelectrography, and biophotonics. Search restrictions were human subjects, English or Russian language, and publication date from 2003 to 2007. All randomized controlled studies (RCTs) and systematic research reports (SRRs) were evaluated using Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network and Jadad checklists.

RESULTS

The search yielded 136 articles addressing four different fields of medical and psychophysiologic applications of EPC (GDV). Among them were 26 SRR, 19 RCT, 18 case reports or case series, and 13 cohort studies. Thirteen (13) RCTs and 19 SRRs were rated "high" on the two conventional checklists.

CONCLUSIONS

(1) The software and equipment EPC/GDV-complex is a convenient and easy-to-use device, easily allows examining patients with various pathologies and, therefore, offers a wide range of applications. (2) The GDV method has shown itself to be very fast (i.e., it is an "express-method" for studying states of the human organism). (3) Our review has revealed that GDV method can be implemented as an express method for assessment of treatment procedure effectiveness, evaluating emotional and physical conditions of people, and in many other fields.

Autism from a biometric perspective

PURPOSE

The aim of this pilot study was to test autistic children, siblings and their parents using a biometric device based on the gas discharge visualization (GDV) technique in order to assess their psycho-emotional and physiological functional state based on the activity of the autonomic nervous system.

HYPOTHESIS

We hypothesize that the biometric assessment based on GDV will enable us: (1) to evaluate some specific features associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as well as to compare autistic children to their siblings and to controls; (2) to analyze the differences in individual values of parents of autistic children versus parents of normal children.

RESULTS

Out of total of 48 acupuncture points present on ten fingertips of both hands and associated to organs/organ systems, autistic children differed significantly from controls (p < 0.05) in 36 (images without filter) and 12 (images with filter), siblings differed significantly from controls (p < 0.05) in 12 (images without filter) and seven (images with filter), autistic children differed significantly (p < 0.05) from siblings in eight (images without filter) and one (images with filter), fathers of autistic children differed significantly (p < 0.05) from controls in 14 (images without filter) and three (images with filter) and mothers of autistic children differed significantly (p < 0.05) from controls in five (images without filter) and nine (images with filter) acupuncture points.

CONCLUSIONS

All compared groups have shown significant difference on both psycho-emotional (images without filter) and physiological (images with filter) levels. However, the differences between autistic children and controls expressed on psycho-emotional level were the most significant as compared to the other groups. Therefore, the activity of the sympathetic autonomic nervous system is significantly altered in children with autism. The biometric method based on GDV is a promising step in autism research that may lead towards creating a disease profile and identify unique signature/biomarker for autism. Further work should involve more participants in order to augment our findings.

The defining role of structure (including epitaxy) in the plausibility of homeopathy

The key stumbling block to serious consideration of homeopathy is the presumed "implausibility" of biological activity for homeopathic medicines in which the source material is diluted past Avogadro's number of molecules. Such an argument relies heavily on the assumptions of elementary chemistry (and biochemistry), in which the material composition of a solution, (dilution factors and ligand-receptor interactions), is the essential consideration. In contrast, materials science focuses on the three-dimensional complex network structure of the condensed phase of water itself, rather than the original solute molecules. The nanoheterogenous structure of water can be determined by interactive phenomena such as epitaxy (the transmission of structural information from the surface of one material to another without the transfer of any matter), temperature-pressure processes during succussion, and formation of colloidal nanobubbles containing gaseous inclusions of oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and possibly the remedy source material. Preliminary data obtained using Raman and Ultra-Violet-Visible (UV-VIS) spectroscopy illustrate the ability to distinguish two different homeopathic medicines (Nux vomica and Natrum muriaticum) from one another and to differentiate, within a given medicine, the 6c, 12c, and 30c potencies. Materials science concepts and experimental tools offer a new approach to contemporary science, for making significant advances in the basic science studies of homeopathic medicines.

Immunology and homeopathy. 5. The rationale of the 'Simile'

The foundation of homeopathic medicine is the 'Similia Principle', also known as the 'Principle of Similarity' or also as the 'Simile', which reflects the inversion of pharmacological effects in healthy subjects as compared with sick ones. This article describes the inversion of effects, a widespread medical phenomenon, through three possible mechanisms: non-linearity of dose-response relationship, different initial pathophysiological states of the organism, and pharmacodynamics of body response to the medicine. Based on the systemic networks which play an important role in response to stress, a unitary and general model is designed: homeopathic medicines could interact with sensitive (primed) regulation systems through complex information, which simulate the disorders of natural disease. Reorganization of regulation systems, through a coherent response to the medicine, could pave the way to the healing of the cellular, tissue and neuro-immuno-endocrine homeodynamics. Preliminary evidence is suggesting that even ultra-low doses and high-dilutions of drugs may incorporate structural or frequency information and interact with chaotic dynamics and physical-electromagnetic levels of regulation. From the clinical standpoint, the 'simile' can be regarded as a heuristic principle, according to which the detailed knowledge of pathogenic effects of drugs, associated with careful analysis of signs and symptoms of the ill subject, could assist in identifying homeopathic remedies with high grade of specificity for the individual case.

Laboratory research in homeopathy: con

Alternative medical approaches to human diseases such as cancer are becoming increasingly popular, but reports on their success rates have been highly variable. Homeopathy is an alternative medical practice often applied to less critical human diseases but one that has also been applied sporadically to the treatment of cancer. Animal studies on the use of homeopathy to treat experimental cancer are few and the evidence provided to date is far from conclusive. The debate presented here concerns the utility of animal studies on cancer treatment with homeopathic preparations. As part of a Point-Counterpoint feature, this review and its companion piece in this issue by Khuda-Bukhsh (Integr Cancer Ther. 2006;5:320-332) are composed of a thesis section, a response section in reaction to the companion thesis, and a rebuttal section to address issues raised in the companion response.

Immunology and homeopathy. 3. Experimental studies on animal models

A search of the literature and the experiments carried out by the authors of this review show that there are a number of animal models where the effect of homeopathic dilutions or the principles of homeopathic medicine have been tested. The results relate to the immunostimulation by ultralow doses of antigens, the immunological models of the ‘simile’, the regulation of acute or chronic inflammatory processes and the use of homeopathic medicines in farming. The models utilized by different research groups are extremely etherogeneous and differ as the test medicines, the dilutions and the outcomes are concerned. Some experimental lines, particularly those utilizing mice models of immunomodulation and anti-inflammatory effects of homeopathic complex formulations, give support to a real effect of homeopathic high dilutions in animals, but often these data are of preliminary nature and have not been independently replicated. The evidence emerging from animal models is supporting the traditional ‘simile’ rule, according to which ultralow doses of compounds, that in high doses are pathogenic, may have paradoxically a protective or curative effect. Despite a few encouraging observational studies, the effectiveness of the homeopathic prevention or therapy of infections in veterinary medicine is not sufficiently supported by randomized and controlled trials.

Bioelectrographic correlates of the direct vision phenomenon

OBJECTIVES

A method for training children and adults to perceive visual information without using the eyes has been developed. A study was conducted to investigate the correlation of this perceptual capacity, known as direct vision (DV), with bioelectrographic measurements.

DESIGN

Using the technique of dynamic digital gas-discharge visualization (GDV) bioelectrography, seven subjects were tested on three occasions over a 7-month period while they were in the process of reading information from a computer screen and reading printed text; this testing was repeated after an interval of 2 years.

RESULTS

In multiple trials it was found that with the perception of information by DV, curves of GDV versus time exhibited specific dynamics, confirming the phenomenon of DV. At least three types of GDV characteristics can be distinguished in this state. This study also identified improvements in the psychosomatic state of children during the 7-month course of training in DV.

CONCLUSIONS

The phenomenon of DV presents a newly recognized type of human information processing. It is based on a specific type of mental training that is statistically reproducible and has been assimilated by hundreds of children in Russia who are blind or have poor vision. The discovery of DV opens new perspectives in the study of the mechanisms of consciousness. The GDV characteristics that were observed during the perception of information by DV support the hypothesis that DV occurs through signals within the visible range of the electromagnetic spectrum. These results allow the proposal of a hypothesis for the way in which the brain, as well as the human system as a whole, registers information.

Bioelectrographic testing of mineral samples: a comparison of techniques

OBJECTIVES

This study was initiated to determine the suitability of differing techniques to record optical properties of gemstones under electromagnetic stimulation. Such properties are of interest due to the historical use of gemstones in folkloric remedies, specifically as agents for concentrating, focusing, or otherwise conducting energy flows in the human body.

DESIGN

The techniques researched produce a localized corona discharge around the tested material. The simplest technique, Tesla coil Kirlian photography (TCKP), uses a Tesla coil to introduce a strong electric current, and the circuit is completed by a glass electrode. The corona discharge is then photographed. The other technique used in the study is gas discharge visualization (GDV), which uses a pulsed current and a digital camera integral to the coil to produce digital images of the corona discharge.

MATERIALS

Gemstones were tested both whole and in powdered form. The sample gemstones were amethyst, aquamarine, garnet, golden citrine, pink tourmaline, and yellow topaz. Powdered gemstones were ground to a particle size of 2-5 microns; whole gemstones were roundcut to a diameter of 5 mm.

RESULTS

In our tests, TCKP showed divergent effects for differing types of gemstone. The most extreme effects were exhibited by tourmaline, both in powdered and whole form. In addition, TCKP appeared to indicate differing effects for gemstones of the identical type but mined from differing locations. The GDV technique showed differing data among the gemstones for the measured parameters, indicating that a high relative intensity did not correspond to the size of the corona discharge.

CONCLUSIONS

While both techniques showed promise in distinguishing differences in corona discharge behavior in gemstone samples, further work is necessary to determine the significance of differences in geographical sources or between gemstones of similar crystalline structure. The techniques explored show promise in characterizing the properties of gem materials under electromagnetic stimulation.

Priorities and methods for developing the evidence profile of homeopathy Recommendations of the ECH General Assembly and XVIII Symposium of GIRI

To achieve scientific acceptance, homeopathy must investigate several questions: 1. The activity of very highly diluted preparations. The consensus of the meeting was that there is clear evidence of this. 2. The content of very highly diluted homeopathic preparations. More research is needed but evidence exists that a specific signal is present in homeopathic preparations. 3. A theoretical framework in which the effects of homeopathic diluted preparations can be explained. The 'Body Information Theory' is such a theory. 4. The clinical effectiveness of homeopathy. Because they avoid the placebo effect, animal studies are a priority. For human trials using Quality of Life questionnaires, studies on the activity, content and theoretical basis of homeopathic preparations were reviewed approximately 70% of cases; more in children showed improvement. Homeopathy reduced costs and allowed a better improvement in work-days lost compared with conventional practice. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) implicitly test the placebo hypothesis; RCTs have been performed and meta-analyses conclude that there is clear evidence of efficacy which cannot be attributed to placebo effect. Priorities depend on the audience. More research is needed especially regarding the content of homeopathic preparations and the transmission of information. Theoretical issues are also important to avoid incorrect design of research protocols. More effort should be dedicated to veterinary research. Clinical effects analysis in humans remains important. Many other questions should be prioritised, such as the potential of homeopathy to avoid invasive procedures in children and the long-term effects of homeopathy in preventing chronic complications.

Strength of vital force in classical homeopathy: bio-psycho-social-spiritual correlates within a complex systems context

OBJECTIVE

To explore associations between a global rating for the classical homeopathic construct of vital force and clinician and patient ratings on previously validated bio-psycho-social-spiritual questionnaires.

METHODS

Sixty-two (62) community-recruited patients with fibromyalgia (FM) were assessed at baseline prior to a clinical trial of individualized homeopathy. Two homeopaths jointly performed case-taking interviews. A conventional medical provider independently evaluated patients with a standardized history and physical examination. Homeopaths rated each patient's vital force (five-point Likert scale, with 1 = very weak to 5 = very strong). Homeopaths and the conventional medical provider rated their Clinical Global Impression (CGI) of the severity of illness (1 = normal; 7 = among the most extremely ill). Patients completed self-rating scales on pain, global health, mood, quality of life, coping style, health locus of control, multidimensional well-being, spirituality, sense of coherence, positive states of mind, and social desirability.

RESULTS

Greater vital force ratings (mean 2.9 standard deviation [SD] 0.6) correlated moderately (p < or = 0.005) with less severe CGI illness ratings by the homeopaths (r =-0.59), decreased patient-rated mental confusion (r =-0.43), higher vigor (r = 0.38), and greater positive states of mind (r = 0.36). Vital force also showed correlations (p < 0.05) with lower CGI ratings by the conventional medical provider (r =-0.32), better selfrated quality of life (r = 0.33), lesser fatigue (r =-0.31), better global health (r = 0.29), greater sense of coherence (r = 0.28), powerful-others health locus of control (r = 0.27), increased emotional well-being (r = 0.27), and higher social desirability (r = 0.27), but not with age, pain, or illness duration.

CONCLUSION

Homeopathic vital force ratings reflect better perceived mental function, energy, and positive dimensions of the individual, beyond absence of disease.

Assessing biophysical energy transfer mechanisms in living systems: the basis of life processes

OBJECTIVE

To explain the energetic physiologic basis for acupuncture electroconductance effects and for gas discharge visualization (GDV) assessment methods, using a quantum biophysical model of entropy and information flows.

DESCRIPTION

The main reservoir of free energy in biologic processes is electron-excited states of complex molecular systems. Communities of delocalized excited pi-electrons in protein macromolecules are the basis of this energy reservoir. Specific structural-protein complexes within the mass of the skin provide channels of heightened electron conductivity, measured at acupuncture points on the surface. Stimulated impulse emissions from the skin are also developed mainly by transport of delocalized pi-electrons. Stimulated by high voltage impulses, optical emissions, with amplification in gaseous discharge, are registered by optical sensors (GDV). This quantum model supports an argument that GDV techniques provide indirect judgment about the level of energy resources at the molecular level of functioning in structural-protein complexes. Several years of GDV research have provided clinical correlations with well-accepted physiologic parameters. For example, postsurgery recovery progress is correlated with GDV parameters and GDV assessments provide independent diagnostic measures of psychophysical reserves in athletes.

CONCLUSION

GDV methods for investigating human functional states, by assessing electro-optical parameters of the skin, are based on the registration of physical processes emerging from electron components of tissue conductivity.

An aura of confusion Part 2: the aided eye—‘imaging the aura?’

The second of three papers considers claims made for the perception or detection of vital energy. Many systems of complementary and alternative medicine assume the existence of a vital force that mediates therapeutic efficacy, for example chi or qi in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Vital energy directly perceived or imaged that surrounds living organisms is frequently termed the aura. A range of devices or techniques are claimed to image the aura. These include Kirlian photography, gas discharge visualisation (GDV) and polychromatic interference photography (PIP). This paper explores such claims and argues that the images produced can be explained using concepts from the physical sciences. It is suggested that techniques such as KP, GDV or PIP currently offer insufficient reliable research evidence concerning their use as diagnostic or imaging alternatives. Consequently their clinical use is debatable. Kirlian photography and its derivatives may however be useful as a research tool by providing visual records of complex bodily responses to experimental situations. For example, responses to physiological or psychological stressors.

Electroencephalographic Cordance Patterns Distinguish Exceptional Clinical Responders with Fibromyalgia to Individualized Homeopathic Medicines

OBJECTIVES

To characterize initial central nervous system responses to olfactory administration of homeopathic remedies as biomarkers for subsequently exceptional, simillimum-like clinical outcomes at a systemic level (i.e., both locally and globally).

DESIGN

Double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial.

SETTING

A private homeopathic clinic in Phoenix, AZ, and a university laboratory in Tucson, AZ.

PATIENTS

Sixty-two (62) persons with physician-confirmed fibromyalgia (FM) (mean age, 49 years; 94% women) enrolled; 53 completed the 3-month assessment visit. Exceptional responders (n = 6, 23% of active treatment group; none on placebo) were those with improvements in the top one-third for both tender point pain and global health ratings after 3 months.

INTERVENTION

Patients took daily oral doses of treatment solution in LM (1/50,000 dilution) potency (active group received individualized remedy; placebo group received plain solvent). Dependent measures: Baseline and 3-month difference scores for initial prefrontal electroencephalographic alpha frequency cordance (EEG-C, a correlate of functional brain activity) during 16 pairs of randomized, double-blinded bottle sniffs (treatment minus control solutions).

RESULTS

Exceptional responders versus other patients exhibited significantly more negative initial EEG-C difference scores at prefrontal sites. Right prefrontal cordance findings correlated with subsequently reduced pain (r = 0.85, p = 0.03), better global health (r =-0.73, p = 0.10), and trait absorption (genetically determined ability to focus attention selectively and fully) (r = 0.91, p = 0.012).

CONCLUSIONS

These observations suggest prefrontal EEG-C as an early biomarker of individualized homeopathic medicine effects in patients with FM who later exhibit exceptional outcomes. Prefrontal cortex controls executive function, including ability to redirect attention. Interactions between executive function, absorption, and the simillimum remedy could facilitate exceptional responses.

Complexity science and homeopathy: a synthetic overview

Homeopathy is founded on 'holistic' and 'vitalistic' paradigms, which may be interpreted--at least in part--in terms of a framework provided by the theory of dynamic systems and of complexity. The conceptual models and some experimental findings from complexity science may support the paradoxical claims of similia principle and of dilution/dynamization effects. It is argued that better appreciation of three main properties of complex systems: non-linearity, self-organization, and dynamicity, will not only add to our basic understanding of homeopathic phenomena but also illuminate new directions for experimental investigations and therapeutic settings.

Improved clinical status in fibromyalgia patients treated with individualized homeopathic remedies versus placebo

OBJECTIVE

To assess the efficacy of individualized classical homeopathy in the treatment of fibromyalgia.

METHODS

This study was a double-blind, randomized, parallel-group, placebo-controlled trial of homeopathy. Community-recruited persons (N = 62) with physician-confirmed fibromyalgia (mean age 49 yr, s.d. 10 yr, 94% women) were treated in a homeopathic private practice setting. Participants were randomized to receive oral daily liquid LM (1/50,000) potencies with an individually chosen homeopathic remedy or an indistinguishable placebo. Homeopathic visits involved joint interviews and concurrence on remedy selection by two experienced homeopaths, at baseline, 2 months and 4 months (prior to a subsequent optional crossover phase of the study which is reported elsewhere). Tender point count and tender point pain on examination by a medical assessor uninvolved in providing care, self-rating scales on fibromyalgia-related quality of life, pain, mood and global health at baseline and 3 months, were the primary clinical outcome measures for this report.

RESULTS

Fifty-three people completed the treatment protocol. Participants on active treatment showed significantly greater improvements in tender point count and tender point pain, quality of life, global health and a trend toward less depression compared with those on placebo.

CONCLUSIONS

This study replicates and extends a previous 1-month placebo-controlled crossover study in fibromyalgia that pre-screened for only one homeopathic remedy. Using a broad selection of remedies and the flexible LM dose (1/50,000 dilution factor) series, the present study demonstrated that individualized homeopathy is significantly better than placebo in lessening tender point pain and improving the quality of life and global health of persons with fibromyalgia.