In Ancient Greece, Hippocrates classically taught that there were two approaches to the treatment
of disease, namely the principle of contraries and the principle of similars. Treatment
according to the
principle of contraries employs drugs that act contrary to or by palliating (“anti-”)
the symptoms of
the disease (e.g., anti-inflammatories, antacids, antidepressants, etc.). This is
the main approach to
treatment applied by conventional medicine, also known as “allopathy”. Treatment according
to the
principle of similars is used by homeopathy, and it employs medicines that cause symptoms
similars
(“homeo”) to the symptoms of the disease (e.g., coffee causes insomnia, and is homeopathically
used to
treat insomnia; chamomile causes colic, and is homeopathically used to treat colic;
belladonna causes
fever, and is homeopathically used to treat fever, etc.).
Upon founding homeopathy in 1796, Samuel Hahnemann grounded this homeopathic therapeutic principle
on the careful observation of the drugs used in his time on the human body, and postulated
a universal
“mechanism of action of drugs”:
“Every agent that acts upon the vitality, every medicine, deranges more or less
the vital force, and causes a certain alteration in the health of the individual for
a longer or a
shorter period. This is termed primary action. […]. To its action our vital force endeavours
to oppose its own energy. This resistant action is a property, is indeed an automatic
action of our
life-preserving power, which goes by the name of secondary action or
counteraction”.
(Organon of Medicine, paragraph 63)
To illustrate this natural phenomenon, Hahnemann listed the primary actions of the
medicines employed in his time that promoted alterations in the different systems of the human
body, and the following secondary action of the organism (vital reaction or conservation force).
The latter acts by neutralising the primary disorders caused by drugs, in an attempt
to maintain the
balance of the internal milieu or homeostasis:
“[…] Excessive vivacity follows the use of strong coffee (primary action), but
sluggishness and drowsiness remain for a long time afterwards (reaction, secondary
action), if this
be not always again removed for a short time by imbibing fresh supplies of coffee
(palliative).
After the profound stupefied sleep caused by opium (primary action), the following
night will be all
the more sleepless (reaction, secondary action). After the constipation produced by
opium (primary
action), diarrhoea ensues (secondary action); and after purgation with medicines that
irritate the
bowels, constipation of several daysʼ duration ensues (secondary action). And in like
manner it
always happens, after the primary action of a medicine that produces in large doses
a great change
in the health of a healthy person, that its exact opposite, when, as has been observed,
there is
actually such a thing, is produced in the secondary action by our vital force”.
(Organon of Medicine, paragraph 65)
Based on this postulate or “natural law”, homeopathy makes use of the secondary action of the organism
as a therapeutic reaction, and prescribes to ill individuals medicines that cause symptoms
similar to the disorders they themselves cause (principle of therapeutic similitude),
thus stimulating
the organism to react against its own disease.
Although little was divulged by modern pharmacology, since it opposes conventional
treatment, this same
secondary action or homeostatic reaction of the organism has been observed with the
use of several types of modern palliative (antipathic or enantiopathic) drugs as a
rebound effect
or paradoxical reaction of the organism. We have been systematically studying for the last
fifteen years the rebound effect of modern drugs, and thus we were able to confirm
by means of
scientific evidence both Hahnemannʼs postulate (a drug primary action is followed by the
secondary and opposite reaction of the organism) and the homeopathic principle of healing
[1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8], [9], [10], [11].
To illustrate: drugs classically used in the treatment of angina pectoris (β-blockers,
calcium channel blockers, nitrates, etc.) with beneficial effects in their primary
effect (anti-angina),
might awaken a paradoxical increase of the frequency and intensity of chest pain after
discontinuation
or irregular use of doses, which sometimes does not respond to any therapeutic means.
Drugs used for the
control of arterial hypertension (α-2 agonists, β-blockers, ACE inhibitors, MAO
inhibitors, nitrates, sodium nitroprusside, hydralazine, etc.) might produce rebound
arterial
hypertension as a paradoxical reaction of the organism to the primary stimulus; antiarrhythmic
drugs (adenosine, amiodarone, β-blockers, calcium channel blockers, disopyramide, flecainide,
lidocaine, mexiletine, moricizine, procainamide, quinidine, digital, etc.) may awaken
rebound
exacerbation of basal ventricular arrhythmias when treatment is interrupted. Anticoagulant drugs
(argatroban, bezafibrate, heparin, salicylates, warfarin, clopidogrel, etc.), employed
due to their
primary effect in the prophylaxis of thrombosis, can promote thrombotic complications
as paradoxical
reaction of the organism. Drugs that have a vasculoprotector (pleiotropic) primary
effect (statins, for
example) can wake up stroke paradoxically.
In the use of psychiatric drugs such as anxiolytics (barbiturates, benzodiazepines, carbamates,
etc.), sedative-hypnotics (barbiturates, benzodiazepines, morphine, promethazine, zopiclone,
etc.), stimulants of the central nervous system (amphetamines, caffeine, cocaine, mazindol,
methylfenidate, etc.), antidepressants (tricyclic, MAO inhibitors, serotonin reuptake
inhibitors, etc.)
or antipsychotic (clozapine, phenothiazines, haloperidol, pimozide, etc.), a paradoxical
reaction of the
organism may be observed in the attempt of keeping organic homeostasis, thus promoting
the appearance of
symptoms contrary to the ones expected from their primary therapeutic use, and consequently
worsening
the initial clinical picture.
Drugs with anti-inflammatory primary action (corticoids, ibuprofen, indomethacin, paracetamol,
salicylates, etc.) might trigger paradoxical reactions of the organism that increase
inflammation
together with its mediatorʼs serum concentration. Drugs with analgesic primary action (caffeine,
calcium channels blockers, clonidine, ergotamine, methysergide, opiates, salicylates,
etc.) may exhibit
significant hyperalgesia as a rebound effect. Diuretics (furosemide, torasemide, triamterene,
etc.), enantiopathically used to diminish the volume of plasma (oedema, arterial hypertension,
congestive heart failure, etc.), may cause rebound retention of sodium and potassium,
thus increasing
the basal volume of plasma. Drugs primarily used as anti-dyspeptic (antacids, H2
antagonists, misoprostol, sucralfate, proton pump inhibitors, etc.) in the treatment
of gastritis and
gastroduodenal ulcers might promote, after the primary decrease of acidity, a rebound
increase of the
production of hydrochloric acid by the stomach, eventually causing perforation of
chronic gastroduodenal
ulcers. Bronchodilators (adrenergic drugs, sodium chromoglycate, epinephrine, ipratropium,
nedocromil, salmeterol, formoterol, etc.) used in the treatment of bronchial asthma
may worsen bronchial
constriction as a paradoxical response of the organism to the interruption or discontinuation
of
treatment. Drugs indicated for the treatment of osteoporosis (bisphosphonates, denosumab,
odanacatib,
among others) can cause paradoxical atypical fractures after the biological effect
(half-life) as a
result of an increased rebound of the osteoclastic activity. Immunomodulatory drugs
(natalizumab,
fingolimod, among others), used in the treatment of multiple sclerosis, can cause
paradoxical worsening
of the disease when treatment is interrupted. And others [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8], [9], [10], [11].
Although a rebound effect or paradoxical reaction of the organism usually occurs in a small
number of individuals as a function of idiosyncrasy, its effects can be dramatic (both
in intensity and
duration), thus strengthening the rationale for their use in homeopathy.
Admitting that the main premise of homeopathic treatment is the use of medicines that cause symptoms
similar to the disease to be treated, it may apply to any kind of medicine, either natural or
synthetic, in ponderable or infinitesimal doses provided that the principle of similitude
is observed.
Consequently, “allopathic” drugs may also be employed according to the principle of
therapeutic
similarity when their primary action (therapeutic, adverse and side) effects are similar to the
symptoms of the patient. By acting in this manner, we make profit of the rebound effect of
modern drugs for the sake of healing.
To illustrate this possible “off-label” use of countless classes of modern drugs according
to the
homeopathic principle, tens of drugs causing blood pressure to increase as a primary
effect (adalimumab,
cyclosporine, dopamine, anti-inflammatory agents, etc.) might be homeopathically used
to treat arterial
hypertension, since the drugʼs other pathogenetic effects show similarity with the patientʼs
individuality. Drugs increasing blood sugar (amprenavir, corticotropin, diazoxide, œstrogens,
etc.) might be homeopathically employed to treat hyperglycaemia/diabetes. Drugs that
cause
immunosuppression (cyclosporine, corticoids, immunosuppressants, etc.) might be used
to stimulate the
immune system in immunosuppressed patients. Drugs causing attention/concentration
disorders (amantadine,
interferons, topiramate, etc.) might be used to improve attention disorder in children,
and so
forth.
Grounded in Hahnemannʼs premise, since 2003 we systematically propose to employ modern
drugs according to
the homeopathic healing principle [12], [13], [14], [15], [16]. To allow for actual application of this proposal, a “Homeopathic Materia Medica of
Modern Drugs” was compiled including all the primary (therapeutic, adverse and side) effects of
1250 “allopathic” drugs as described in The United States Pharmacopeia Dispensing Information
(USP DI, 2004), following the chapter structure of the traditional works on homeopathic
materia medica.
To facilitate the selection of an individualised homeopathic medicine (similar to the totality
of symptoms of the patient), which is the essential requirement for safety and therapeutic
success of homeopathic treatment, the next step was to elaborate a “Homeopathic Repertory of Modern
Drugs”, where symptoms and their corresponding medicines are displayed analogously to classic
homeopathic repertories.
Due to the high pathogenetic power of modern drugs it is expected that infinitesimal
doses will be
sufficient to trigger the healing vital reaction of the organism. For this reason,
it is suggested to
start treatment with potency 6 C and adjust the potencies and the repetition of doses
to the individual
pattern of susceptibility of each patient. In this way it will be possible to evaluate
the therapeutic
results of these medicines in intermediate concentrations and to relate them to the
pathogenetic effects
of the substantial doses while avoiding aggravation and intense adverse events [14], [15], [16].
Entitled “New Homeopathic Medicines: Use of Modern Drugs According to the Principle of
Similitude”, this project comprises three parts: (1) “Scientific Basis of the Principle of
Similitude in Modern Pharmacology”; (2) “Homeopathic Materia Medica of Modern Drugs”; and
(3) “Homeopathic Repertory of Modern Drugs”.
To facilitate global access to this project, all three works extending along thousands
of pages are
available at a bilingual (English and Portuguese) website. Access is simple and free,
registration of
e-mail address, name and occupation are the only data required to obtain a password.
In this way, the
clinical protocol might be analysed and used by homeopaths worldwide:
www.newhomeopathicmedicines.com
For this method to be included in homeopathic standard practice, homeopaths need to unite around this
project: physicians to apply it in clinical practice and describe results (case reports),
pharmacists to prepare the corresponding homeopathic medicines, and investigators to
design research protocols.
