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HOMEOPATHY

INTRODUCTION
Homeopathy was founded in the 1790s by Germany physician, Samuel Hahnemann. Derived from Greek roots meaning "like the disease," homeopathy treats constellations of symptoms with very dilute quantities of remedies that have been found to produce the same symptoms in healthy persons. Homeopathy flourished in America for about one hundred years, but lost favor when allopathic medicine became mainstream. It has continued to enjoy a great deal of use in Europe, India and South America where more than half of consumers use homeopathy. Because it operates at such low dose levels, its mechanisms of action are postulated to be informational, but not necessarily chemical in nature.

PURPOSE
The Samueli Institute currently funds several basic projects in the US, Europe and Asia examining theories to explain the information signaling aspect of homeopathy. Other funded research is evaluating the effectiveness of homeopathic preparations on cells in culture, the rate of wound healing and in both acute and chronic disease states.

CURRENT PROJECTS
Several intramural research programs on homeopathy are conducted in Samueli Institute affiliated laboratories.

• CANCER
Dr. Radha Maheshwari and Dr. Wayne Jonas
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
This collaborative work concentrates on projects that measure the amount of repair or damage to cancer and normal cells in culture and animals after exposure to homeopathic preparations.

• NEUROPROTECTION
Dr. John Ives and Dr. Wayne Jonas
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
Homeopathic remedies and low doses of chemicals appear to have neuroprotective characteristics. Very low doses of amino acids can block nerve damage associated with stroke, and might protect against neurotoxic effects of bioterrorist nervedamage weapons.

• CLINICIAN-PATIENT RELATIONSHIP
Professor Harald Walach
Samueli European Laboratory, Germany
Clinical research studies are being conducted on the connectivity or entanglement between clinician and patient during homeopathic treatment. This research will help us to understand the mechanisms of placebo and intention, and their impact on clinical symptoms and brain wave patterns in clinical settings, and during homeopathic pathogenic trials (provings).

• CONDITIONED SPACES
Professor William Tiller
Stanford University
This work on conditioned spaces is investigating the effects of degassing and homeopathic succussion of various concentrations of these remedies on heat and other properties of the environment.

• WATER STRUCTURE
Dr. David Anick
Harvard Medical School\
Dr. Todor Todorov
Armed Forces Institute of Pathology
NMR spectroscopy is being applied to explore whether homeopathic remedies exhibit a form of stable water clusters known as zwitterions, which may convey information to stimulate healing in patients. An extension of this work involves FT-IR spectroscopy studies of low and ultra-low dilutions.

Professor Yakin Aharonov
Tel Aviv University
The focus of this work is to ask if it is possible to imprint in water, information that mimics the effects of various substances, such as antibiotics. The unique tool that has been developed for this study is the growth of bacterial colonies exposed to frequency-treated water.

• CORE FACILITY
Dr. Jose Centeno
Armed Force Institute of Pathology
This core chemistry laboratory provides quality control and dose verification for other Samueli Institute low dose and homeopathy projects.  This lab contains state of the art measurement technology.

• BIOSHIELD DEVELOPMENT
Dr. Wayne Jonas
Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences
Can low and ultra-low dose toxin exposures induce rapid protection to biological and biochemical terrorist agents? Preliminary research in this laboratory has demonstrated a 25 percent reduction in mortality to the biowarfare agent Tularemia in animal models. The program seeks to develop an induced internal bioshield against infectious and chemical attack.

• IMMUNE SYSTEM REGULATION
Dr. Florence Rollwagen
Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences
Can low dose immune factors protect against resistant and emerging infections? This project is examining if low dose immune factors can influence and effect control of the immune system.

PARTNERSHIP GOAL
The goals of this program are to determine the mechanism of action, differentiate placebo from homeopathic efficacy, determine the role of the provide and evaluate the validity and reproducibility of homeopathic treatments. The Samueli Institute welcomes partners interested in the understanding and investigation of homeopathy.