Postconditioning hormesis put in perspective: an overview of experimental and clinical studies

Existence of Quantum Pharmacology in Sartans: Evidence in Isolated Rabbit Iliac Arteries

Quantum pharmacology introduces theoretical models to describe the possibility of ultra-high dilutions to produce biological effects, which may help to explain the placebo effect observed in hypertensive clinical trials. To determine this within physiology and to evaluate novel ARBs, we tested the ability of known angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) (candesartan and telmisartan) used to treat hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases, as well as novel ARBs (benzimidazole-N-biphenyl tetrazole (ACC519T), benzimidazole-bis-N,N'-biphenyl tetrazole (ACC519T(2)) and 4-butyl-N,N0-bis[[20-2Htetrazol-5-yl)biphenyl-4-yl]methyl)imidazolium bromide (BV6(K+)2), and nirmatrelvir (the active ingredient in Paxlovid) to modulate vascular contraction in iliac rings from healthy male New Zealand White rabbits in responses to various vasopressors (angiotensin A, angiotensin II and phenylephrine). Additionally, the hemodynamic effect of ACC519T and telmisartan on mean arterial pressure in conscious rabbits was determined, while the ex vivo ability of BV6(K+)2 to activate angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE2) was also investigated. We show that commercially available and novel ARBs can modulate contraction responses at ultra-high dilutions to different vasopressors. ACC519T produced a dose-dependent reduction in rabbit mean arterial pressure while BV6(K+)2 significantly increased ACE2 metabolism. The ability of ARBs to inhibit contraction responses even at ultra-low concentrations provides evidence of the existence of quantum pharmacology. Furthermore, the ability of ACC519T and BV6(K+)2 to modulate blood pressure and ACE2 activity, respectively, indicates their therapeutic potential against hypertension.

Exploring Possible Mechanisms of Hormesis and Homeopathy in the Light of Nanopharmacology and Ultra-High Dilutions

Serially diluted succussed solutions of a suitable drug/toxic substance can exhibit physicochemical and biological properties even far beyond Avogadro's limit defying conventional wisdom. They can show hormesis, and homeopathy uses them as medicines. Many studies confirm that they can have an impact on gene expression different than controls. Water in the exclusion zone phase can have memory but for a short period. However, the nanoparticle as the physical substrate can hold information. Nanoparticle and exclusion zone duo as nanoparticle-exclusion zone shell can provide a prolonged memory. The Nanoparticle-Exclusion Zone Shell Model may be an important step toward explaining the nature and bioactivity of serially diluted succussed solutions used as homeopathic medicines. This model may also provide insight into the workings of hormesis. Hormesis is the primary phenomenon through which homeopathic phenomenon may have evolved exhibiting the principle of similars. Hahnemann exploited it to establish homeopathy. The nanoparticle-exclusion zone shells present in the remedy, selected on the principle of similars, can be patient-specific nanoparticles in a symptom syndrome-specific manner. They can carry the drug-specific information for safer clinical applications in an amplified form for high yielding. It suggests homeopathy is a type of nanopharmacology.

Pulmonary and systemic toxicity in rats following inhalation exposure of 3-D printer emissions from acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) filament

BACKGROUND

Fused filament fabrication 3-D printing with acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) filament emits ultrafine particulates (UFPs) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). However, the toxicological implications of the emissions generated during 3-D printing have not been fully elucidated.

AIM AND METHODS

The goal of this study was to investigate the in vivo toxicity of ABS-emissions from a commercial desktop 3-D printer. Male Sprague Dawley rats were exposed to a single concentration of ABS-emissions or air for 4 hours/day, 4 days/week for five exposure durations (1, 4, 8, 15, and 30 days). At 24 hours after the last exposure, rats were assessed for pulmonary injury, inflammation, and oxidative stress as well as systemic toxicity.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

3-D printing generated particulate with average particle mass concentration of 240 ± 90 µg/m³, with an average geometric mean particle mobility diameter of 85 nm (geometric standard deviation = 1.6). The number of macrophages increased significantly at day 15. In bronchoalveolar lavage, IFN-γ and IL-10 were significantly higher at days 1 and 4, with IL-10 levels reaching a peak at day 15 in ABS-exposed rats. Neither pulmonary oxidative stress responses nor histopathological changes of the lungs and nasal passages were found among the treatments. There was an increase in platelets and monocytes in the circulation at day 15. Several serum biomarkers of hepatic and kidney functions were significantly higher at day 1.

CONCLUSIONS

At the current experimental conditions applied, it was concluded that the emissions from ABS filament caused minimal transient pulmonary and systemic toxicity.

The interplay of haze characteristics on mortality in the Pearl River Delta of China

To estimate the mortality risk from haze and the modifying effects by three characteristics of haze (intensity, duration and timing), data on haze and mortality in the Pearl River Delta region from 2013 to 2016 were collected. We first estimated mortality risk during haze days compared with non-haze days. Then we classified haze into several categories by considering one or any two of the three haze characteristics together, and further calculated the mortality risks separately. The mortality risk increased 5.0% (95% confidence intervals (CI): 3.1%-6.9%) during hazy days compared with non-haze days, with larger effect for the elderly ≥ 85 years old (Excess risk (ER): 8.7%, 95% CI: 3.9%-13.6%) than other age groups. Mortality risk increased in longer haze (ER: 4.4%, 95% CI: 2.9%-6.0%) compared with shorter haze (ER: 1.9%, 95% CI: 0.7%-3.2%). The greatest effect of any two of haze characteristics was observed when haze was intense and long (ER: 4.8%, 95% CI: 3.0%-6.6%). Our study indicates that haze significantly increased mortality risk in the Pearl River Delta. The health effects of haze may be under-estimated when using a single air pollutant concentration during haze periods to assess health risk of haze events. The haze intensity, duration, and time of occurrence should be accounted for in appropriate risk assessment of haze.

Stress Memory of Recurrent Environmental Challenges in Marine Invasive Species: Ciona robusta as a Case Study

Fluctuating environmental changes impose tremendous stresses on sessile organisms in marine ecosystems, in turn, organisms develop complex response mechanisms to keep adaptive homeostasis for survival. Physiological plasticity is one of the primary lines of defense against environmental challenges, and such defense often relies on the antioxidant defense system (ADS). Hence, it is imperative to understand response mechanisms of ADS to fluctuating environments. Invasive species provide excellent models to study how species cope with environmental stresses, as invasive species encounter sudden, and often recurrent, extensive environmental challenges during the whole invasion process. Here, we studied the roles of ADS on rapid response to recurrent cold challenges in a highly invasive tunicate (Ciona robusta) by simulating cold stresses during its invasion process. We assessed antioxidative indicators, including malondialdehyde (MDA), total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione (GSH), as well as transcriptional changes of ADS-related genes to reveal the physiological plasticity under recurring cold stresses. Our results demonstrated that physiological homeostasis relied on the resilience of ADS, which further accordingly tuned antioxidant activity and gene expression to changing environments. The initial cold stress remodeled baselines of ADS to promote the development of stress memory, and subsequent stress memory largely decreased the physiological response to recurrent environmental challenges. All results here suggest that C. robusta could develop stress memory to maintain physiological homeostasis in changing or harsh environments. The results obtained in this study provide new insights into the mechanism of rapid physiological adaption during biological invasions.

Extending injury- and disease-resistant CNS phenotypes by repetitive epigenetic conditioning

Significant reductions in the extent of acute injury in the CNS can be achieved by exposure to different preconditioning stimuli, but the duration of the induced protective phenotype is typically short-lasting, and thus is deemed as limiting its clinical applicability. Extending the period over which such adaptive epigenetic changes persist – in effect, expanding conditioning’s “therapeutic window” – would significantly broaden the potential applications of such a treatment approach in patients. The frequency of the conditioning stimulus may hold the key. While transient (1–3 days) protection against CNS ischemic injury is well established preclinically following a single preconditioning stimulus, repetitively presenting preconditioning stimuli extends the duration of ischemic tolerance by many weeks. Moreover, repetitive intermittent postconditioning enhances post-ischemic recovery metrics and improves long-term survival. Intermittent conditioning is also efficacious for preventing or delaying injury in preclinical models of chronic neurodegenerative disease, and for promoting long-lasting functional improvements in a number of other pathologies as well. Although the detailed mechanisms underlying these protracted kinds of neuroplasticity remain largely unstudied, accumulating empirical evidence supports the contention that all of these adaptive phenotypes are epigenetically mediated. Going forward, additional preclinical demonstrations of the ability to induce sustained beneficial phenotypes that reduce the burden of acute and chronic neurodegeneration, and experimental interrogations of the regulatory constructs responsible for these epigenetic responses, will accelerate the identification of not only efficacious but also practical, adaptive epigenetics-based treatments for individuals with neurological disease.

Integrative nanomedicine: treating cancer with nanoscale natural products

Finding safer and more effective treatments for specific cancers remains a significant challenge for integrative clinicians and researchers worldwide. One emerging strategy is the use of nanostructured forms of drugs, vaccines, traditional animal venoms, herbs, and nutraceutical agents in cancer treatment. The recent discovery of nanoparticles in traditional homeopathic medicines adds another point of convergence between modern nanomedicine and alternative interventional strategies. A way in which homeopathic remedies could initiate anticancer effects includes cell-to-cell signaling actions of both exogenous and endogenous (exosome) nanoparticles. The result can be a cascade of modulatory biological events with antiproliferative and pro-apoptotic effects. The Banerji Protocols reflect a multigenerational clinical system developed by homeopathic physicians in India who have treated thousands of patients with cancer. A number of homeopathic remedy sources from the Banerji Protocols (eg, Calcarea phosphorica; Carcinosin-tumor-derived breast cancer tissue prepared homeopathically) overlap those already under study in nonhomeopathic nanoparticle and nanovesicle tumor exosome cancer vaccine research. Past research on antineoplastic effects of nano forms of botanical extracts such as Phytolacca, Gelsemium, Hydrastis, Thuja, and Ruta as well as on homeopathic remedy potencies made from the same types of source materials suggests other important overlaps. The replicated finding of silica, silicon, and nano-silica release from agitation of liquids in glassware adds a proven nonspecific activator and amplifier of immunological effects. Taken together, the nanoparticulate research data and the Banerji Protocols for homeopathic remedies in cancer suggest a way forward for generating advances in cancer treatment with natural product-derived nanomedicines.

Nonlinear effects of nanoparticles: biological variability from hormetic doses, small particle sizes, and dynamic adaptive interactions

Researchers are increasingly focused on the nanoscale level of organization where biological processes take place in living systems. Nanoparticles (NPs, e.g., 1-100 nm diameter) are small forms of natural or manufactured source material whose properties differ markedly from those of the respective bulk forms of the "same" material. Certain NPs have diagnostic and therapeutic uses; some NPs exhibit low-dose toxicity; other NPs show ability to stimulate low-dose adaptive responses (hormesis). Beyond dose, size, shape, and surface charge variations of NPs evoke nonlinear responses in complex adaptive systems. NPs acquire unique size-dependent biological, chemical, thermal, optical, electromagnetic, and atom-like quantum properties. Nanoparticles exhibit high surface adsorptive capacity for other substances, enhanced bioavailability, and ability to cross otherwise impermeable cell membranes including the blood-brain barrier. With super-potent effects, nano-forms can evoke cellular stress responses or therapeutic effects not only at lower doses than their bulk forms, but also for longer periods of time. Interactions of initial effects and compensatory systemic responses can alter the impact of NPs over time. Taken together, the data suggest the need to downshift the dose-response curve of NPs from that for bulk forms in order to identify the necessarily decreased no-observed-adverse-effect-level and hormetic dose range for nanoparticles.

Testing the nanoparticle-allostatic cross-adaptation-sensitization model for homeopathic remedy effects

Key concepts of the Nanoparticle-Allostatic Cross-Adaptation-Sensitization (NPCAS) Model for the action of homeopathic remedies in living systems include source nanoparticles as low level environmental stressors, heterotypic hormesis, cross-adaptation, allostasis (stress response network), time-dependent sensitization with endogenous amplification and bidirectional change, and self-organizing complex adaptive systems. The model accommodates the requirement for measurable physical agents in the remedy (source nanoparticles and/or source adsorbed to silica nanoparticles). Hormetic adaptive responses in the organism, triggered by nanoparticles; bipolar, metaplastic change, dependent on the history of the organism. Clinical matching of the patient's symptom picture, including modalities, to the symptom pattern that the source material can cause (cross-adaptation and cross-sensitization). Evidence for nanoparticle-related quantum macro-entanglement in homeopathic pathogenetic trials. This paper examines research implications of the model, discussing the following hypotheses: Variability in nanoparticle size, morphology, and aggregation affects remedy properties and reproducibility of findings. Homeopathic remedies modulate adaptive allostatic responses, with multiple dynamic short- and long-term effects. Simillimum remedy nanoparticles, as novel mild stressors corresponding to the organism's dysfunction initiate time-dependent cross-sensitization, reversing the direction of dysfunctional reactivity to environmental stressors. The NPCAS model suggests a way forward for systematic research on homeopathy. The central proposition is that homeopathic treatment is a form of nanomedicine acting by modulation of endogenous adaptation and metaplastic amplification processes in the organism to enhance long-term systemic resilience and health.

Using hormetic strategies to improve ischemic preconditioning and postconditioning against stroke

Both ischemic preconditioning (IPreC) and ischemic postconditioning (IPostC) trigger endogenous neuroprotective mechanisms in cerebral ischemia. IPreC is defined as a brief ischemia that protects against a subsequent severe ischemia, while IPostC refers to a series of brief cerebral blood vessel occlusions performed at reperfusion following an ischemic event. Hormesis describes a biphasic dose-response relationship in toxicology, where a low dose of toxicant stimulates and a high dose inhibits biological responses. In general, any minor stress will stimulate a biological system to generate an adaptive response; in most cases, if not all, such an adaptive response to a minor stress is beneficial to the biological system. Proponents of hormesis suggest that this effect is independent of any models, either in vivo or in vitro, from animal, plant, fungi, yeast, to bacteria, by any measurement of end points, survival ratio or time, growth, tissue repair, life span, cognition, learning and memory. In this review, we examine whether IPreC and IPostC are actually sub-forms of hormesis and whether quantitative hormetic strategies can be used to study IPreC and IPostC. By integrating the concepts of IPreC and IPostC with hormesis, we aim to broaden the avenues leading to clinical translation of IPreC and IPostC in stroke treatment.

Advances in Integrative Nanomedicine for Improving Infectious Disease Treatment in Public Health

INTRODUCTION

Infectious diseases present public health challenges worldwide. An emerging integrative approach to treating infectious diseases is using nanoparticle (NP) forms of traditional and alternative medicines. Advantages of nanomedicine delivery methods include better disease targeting, especially for intracellular pathogens, ability to cross membranes and enter cells, longer duration drug action, reduced side effects, and cost savings from lower doses.

METHODS

We searched Pubmed articles in English with keywords related to nanoparticles and nanomedicine. Nanotechnology terms were also combined with keywords for drug delivery, infectious diseases, herbs, antioxidants, homeopathy, and adaptation.

RESULTS

NPs are very small forms of material substances, measuring 1-100 nanometers along at least one dimension. Compared with bulk forms, NPs' large ratio of surface-area-to-volume confers increased reactivity and adsorptive capacity, with unique electromagnetic, chemical, biological, and quantum properties. Nanotechnology uses natural botanical agents for green manufacturing of less toxic NPs.

DISCUSSION

Nanoparticle herbs and nutriceuticals can treat infections via improved bioavailability and antiinflammatory, antioxidant, and immunomodulatory effects. Recent studies demonstrate that homeopathic medicines may contain source and/or silica nanoparticles because of their traditional manufacturing processes. Homeopathy, as a form of nanomedicine, has a promising history of treating epidemic infectious diseases, including malaria, leptospirosis and HIV/AIDS, in addition to acute upper respiratory infections. Adaptive changes in the host's complex networks underlie effects.

CONCLUSIONS

Nanomedicine is integrative, blending modern technology with natural products to reduce toxicity and support immune function. Nanomedicine using traditional agents from alternative systems of medicine can facilitate progress in integrative public health approaches to infectious diseases.

Hurdles to clear before clinical translation of ischemic postconditioning against stroke

Ischemic postconditioning has been established for its protective effects against stroke in animal models. It is performed after post-stroke reperfusion and refers to a series of induced ischemia or a single brief one. This review article addresses major hurdles in clinical translation of ischemic postconditioning to stroke patients, including potential hazards, the lack of well-defined protective paradigms, and the paucity of deeply-understood protective mechanisms. A hormetic model, often used in toxicology to describe a dose-dependent response to a toxic agent, is suggested to study both beneficial and detrimental effects of ischemic postconditioning. Experimental strategies are discussed, including how to define the hazards of ischemic (homologous) postconditioning and the possibility of employing non-ischemic (heterologous) postconditioning to facilitate clinical translation. This review concludes that a more detailed assessment of ischemic postconditioning and studies of a broad range of heterologous postconditioning models are warranted for future clinical translation.

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.

Multiweek resting EEG cordance change patterns from repeated olfactory activation with two constitutionally salient homeopathic remedies in healthy young adults

OBJECTIVES

Electroencephalography (EEG) offers psychophysiologic tools to improve sensitivity for detecting objective effects in complementary and alternative medicine. This current investigation extended prior clinical research studies to evaluate effects of one of two different homeopathic remedies on resting EEG cordance after an olfactory activation protocol on healthy young adults with remedy-relevant, self-perceived characteristics.

METHODS

Ninety-seven (7) young adults (N=97, mean age 19 years, 55% women) with good self-rated global health and screened for homeopathic constitutional types consistent with one of two remedies (either Sulphur or Pulsatilla) underwent three weekly laboratory sessions. At each visit, subjects had 5-minute resting, eyes-closed EEG recordings before and after a placebo-controlled olfactory activation task with their constitutionally relevant verum remedy. One remedy potency (6c, 12c, or 30c) used per week, was presented in a randomized order over the 3 sessions. Prefrontal resting EEG cordance values at Fp1 and Fp2 were computed from artifact-free 2-minute EEG samples from the presniffing and postsniffing rest periods. Cordance derives from an algorithm that incorporates absolute and relative EEG values.

RESULTS

The data showed significant two-way oscillatory interactions of remedy by time for ß, α, θ, and δ cordance, controlling for gender and chemical sensitivity.

CONCLUSIONS

EEG cordance provided a minimally invasive technique for assessing objective nonlinear physiologic effects of two different homeopathic remedies salient to the individuals who received them. Time factors modulated the direction of effects. Given previous evidence of correlations between cordance and single-photon emission computed tomography, these findings encourage additional neuroimaging research on nonlinear psychophysiologic effects of specific homeopathic remedies.