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Department of Family and Community Medicine, The University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA. ibell@email.arizona.edu
Frontiers in Bioscience (Scholar Edition) [2013, 5:685-708]
Type: Journal Article, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
DOI: 10.2741/S400
DOI: 10.2741/S400
| This paper presents an evidence-based model for the nature and mode of action of homeopathic remedies. Recent studies reveal that homeopathic remedies contain nanoparticles (NPs) of source materials formed by “top-down” mechanical grinding in lactose and/or succussion (forceful agitation) in ethanolic solutions. Silica nanostructures formed during succussions in glass and/or biosynthesized by specific plant extract tinctures also may acquire and convey epitaxial information from remedy source materials into higher potencies. NPs have enhanced bioavailability, adsorptive capabilities, adjuvant reactivity, electromagnetic and quantum properties compared with their bulk forms. NPs induce adaptive changes in the organism at nontoxic doses (hormesis), serving as salient, low level danger signals to the biological stress response network. Activation of stress response effectors, including heat shock proteins, inflammasomes, cytokines and neuroendocrine pathways, initiate beneficial compensatory reactions across the interconnected networks of the organism as a complex adaptive system. Homeopathic remedies act by stimulating hormetic adaptive rather than conventional pharmacological effects. Updating terminology from “homeopathy” to “adaptive network nanomedicine” reflects the integration of this historical but controversial medical system with modern scientific findings. |