What is Homeopathy?
The word homeopathy is derived from the Greek word "homeo", meaning like or similar and "pathos" meaning disease or suffering. Homeopathy is a system of healing the whole person that uses extremely small doses of wholesome organs, tissues, metabolic factors, recombinant materials, plants, animals and minerals to stimulate the body's own immune system. It is an established natural system of medicine based on the practice of treating like with like.

The Origin of Homeopathy
Homeopathy was developed in the 19th century by Samuel Hahnemann M.D. (1755-1843), a successful German physician frustrated with modern medicine. In a time of dangerous bloodlettings, blistering, use of toxic drugs and raging epidemics, homeopathy's gentle yet powerful effects made it immediately popular. According to historical records, death rates in homeopathic hospitals were 1/8 the rates in orthodox hospitals! Homeopathy quickly expanded throughout Europe and America, which by the early 1800s had 22 homeopathic medical schools, over 100 homeopathic hospitals, and thousands of practicing homeopaths. However, with the advent of modern medicine, homeopathy began to look old and stodgy and its popularity took a nose-dive.
In 1997 adverse drug reactions were the 4th leading cause of death in the U.S., killing over 100,000 people every year, according to a University of Toronto study. Today with clear evidence regarding the dangers of drug toxicity, homeopathic formulations are receiving much wider acceptance because of their safety and effectiveness. A significant resurgence of interest in homeopathy is taking place in the United States as millions of Americans are rediscovering homeopathy. Homeopathic books can now be found in many bookstores and homeopathic physicians are available in most major cities.

The Law of Similars
Hahnemann noted in his studies that, from the days of Hippocrates, Cinchona (a Peruvian Bark extract containing quinine) had been used as a remedy for swamp fever. Cinchona's effect as a stomach tonic was considered to be the reason for its success. Hahnemann didn't understand the connection between a stomach tonic and swamp fever, so he investigated further.
Even though perfectly healthy himself, Hahnemann took small doses of the Peruvian Bark extract. After ingestion, he was surprised to find he demonstrated many of the symptoms of swamp fever. And the symptoms disappeared as soon as he stopped taking the extract. This discovery led Hahnemann to develop "The Law of Similars" or let like cure like.
This concept is also used today by practitioners of traditional medicine in vaccines and allergy therapies. In vaccines, minute amounts of dead or weakened bacteria or viruses are introduced to stimulate your body to produce antibodies. Allergy therapy uses small amounts of allergic substance to build the body's natural defenses against that substance. In each case, the body does the real work, not the medicine

Homeopathy: A Holistic Approach
Homeopathy could be considered a complete medicine as it goes beyond the simple treatment of illness or disease. In the process used to determine the appropriate medication for a particular patient's symptoms, the whole person is taken into consideration. This means the physical symptoms are evaluated as well as the patient's mental and emotional well being.

Homeopathy is effective in treating various disorders and ailments. All functional troubles can be helped by this approach. Irreversible or degenerative conditions cannot be cured by homeopathy. However, homeopathy can play an important role in such cases by providing physical as well as psychological support that will aid the body in defending itself against the disease.

Should Other Treatments be Stopped?
In most cases, homeopathic and conventional treatments are compatible and in fact may be of benefit when used together. Homeopathy can be used in conjunction with other therapeutic methods to decrease the toxic effects or to treat the general state of the patient. However, only a properly trained health professional is capable of judging the compatibility of treatments.

Does the Strength of the Homeopathic Medicine Vary With the Dilution?
The concept of the strength in a medicine does not exist in homeopathy. The effectiveness of a medicine depends on its ability to provoke a cellular reaction, not on the quantity of medication taken. Only the correct dilution or potency will provoke this cellular reaction by sending specific messages to each cell. Biomed Comm does clinical studies to accurately determine the most effective potency for each of its Cell Signal Enhancers.^®

Are There Side-Effects?
All homeopathic medicines contain only minute amounts of the active ingredients, therefore making them safe, nontoxic and generally without side-effects. However, the symptoms of an illness can sometimes appear worse for two or three days after a homeopathic remedy has been taken. This is a normal reaction to homeopathic remedies and a sign that the body is reacting positively and the healing process has begun. Most patients feel nothing more than an overwhelming sense of well being.

What Evidence is There That Homeopathy Works?
Homeopathy has a two hundred-year track record of curing illness. It first came to widespread public attention through its effectiveness in curing epidemics of cholera in the 19th century. During the great influenza epidemic after World War I, homeopathic hospitals reported very low death rates, while hospitals employing conventional medicine reported death rates of 20% to 30%. Since Wold War II, the double blind clinical trial has become the "gold standard" for determiningthe effectiveness of medical treatment. A number of double blind trials have been done on the use of homeopathy on a number of medical conditions. Although not every study has shown a positive outcome, the majority of studies have shown that homeopathy is effective. Biomed Comm has conducted more than three double blind placebo controlled clinical studies on Cell Signal Enhancer products involving over 150 people.
Three meta-analyses of clinical trials of homeopathy have been done in the last decade and all have reached the same conclusion: homeopathy is an effective system of medical treatment. The most recent study was published in the September 20, 1997 issue of Lancet. This study, conducted by Dr. Wayne Jonas, head of the Office of Alternative medicine, and Dr. Klaus Linde, concluded that when the evidence of the 89 studies of homeopathy judged to be of good quality was pooled, homeopathy was 2.45 times more effective than placebo. The Homeopathic Medicine Research Group, formed by the European Union to determine the effectiveness of homeopathy conducted another study in 1996. This study is notable in that skeptics of homeopathy were involved in its design. The study pooled results from 17 clinical trials involving 2,001 patients and found that homeopathy was more effective than placebo with a 0.027% probability that this result was due to chance. Unfortunately, this study has not been published in a medical journal, so it is not readily available. The third meta-analysis was published in the February 9, 1991 issue of the British Medical Journal. It was performed by two Dutch researchers, who were asked to assess the efficacy of various forms of alternative medicine. Although they were skeptics of homeopathy and alternative medicine generally, they reported. "The amount of positive results came as a surprise to us." and, "The evidence presented in this review would probably be sufficient for establishing homeopathy as a regular treatment for certain indications."

Bioelectric Medicines
Bioelectromagnetic medicine is an emerging science which studies the interactions between electromagnetic fields and the electrical properties of biological tissues and cells. Electromagnetic fields induce selective electrical changes in the micro-environment around and within cells.

Classical Homeopathy
A method of homeopathic prescribing in which only one remedy, based on a totality of the patient's symptom is given at a time, followed by a period of waiting, to evaluate the action of the remedy.

Combination Remedy
A mixture containing more than one homeopathic medicine.

Double-Blind Placebo Clinical Trials
Refers to experiments in which neither the experimenter nor the subjects know whether a specific treatment was prescribed or a placebo (a "fake" medicine that looks and tastes like a homeopathic medicine).

Energy Medicine
The theme of energy permeates many areas of health care, from acupuncture to homeopathy, as well as many systems of bodywork and movement therapy, and increasingly mainstream medicine (MRI scans for example).

Hahnemann, Samuel
The founder of homeopathy (1755-1843) was a German scholar, physician and chemist.

High Potency Remedies
Remedies of a 100C potency or higher.

Homeopathy
The use of medicinal substances to treat a particular set of symptoms based on the principle of "like cures like" called the Law of Similars.

HPCUS
The Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia Convention of the United States.

Materia Medica
A book which includes individual homeopathic remedies and their indications.

Mother Tincture
The initial, standardized alcohol preparation from which homeopathic dilutions are subsequently made.

Potency
The specific strength of a homeopathic medicine determined by the number of serial dilutions and succussions. For example: X, C, M

Repertory
A book which lists symptoms and the medicines known to have produced such symptoms in experiments and patients.

Succussion
The systematic and repeated shaking of a homeopathic medicine after each serial dilution.

Suggested Readings

The Consumer's Guide to Homeopathy
Dana Ullman, M.P.H. A Jeremy P. Tarcher
Putnam Book ©1995

Homeopathy: A Frontier in Medical Science
Dr. Paolo Bellavite & Dr. Andrea Signorini
North Atlantic Books ©1995

The Similia Principle as a Therapeutic Strategy:
A research program on stimulation of self- defense in disordered mammalian cells
R. Van Wijk & F.A.C. Wiegant
Alternative Therapies in Health & Medicine 1997 3(2):33-38