SIGNALS AND IMAGES Signals and Images Selected Papers from the 7th and 8th GIRI Meeting, held in Montpellier, France, November 20-21,1993, and Jerusalem, Israel, December 10-11, 1994 Edited by Madeleine Bastide Faculty ofPharmacy, University ofM ontpellier 1, Montpellier, France Groupe International de Recherches sur l'lnfinitesimal GIRI .. SPRINGER SCIENCE+BUSINESS MEDIA, B.V. A C.I.P. Catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress ISBN 978-94-010-6451-4 ISBN 978-94-011-5804-6 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-94-011-5804-6 Printed on acid-free paper AlI RiJthts Reserved © 1997 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht Originally published by Kluwer Academic Publishers in 1997 Softcover reprint of the hardcover lst edition 1997 No part of the material protected by this copyright notice may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical' including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the copyright owner. 2 Scientific Committees GIRl Meeting, Montpellier, France, 20-21 November 1993 A.J. Gabius Professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University ofM arburg, Germany M. Manfait Professor of Physics, University of Reims, France J. Michel Professor of Medicine, Hebrew University and Hadassah, Jerusalem, Israel GIRl Meeting, Jerusalem, Israel, 10-12 December 1994 z. Bentwitch Professor of Immunology, Kaplan Hospital, Rehovot, Israel P.Y. Turpin Professor of Physics, Curie Institute and Paris VI University, Paris, France R. van Wijk Molecular Biology, Utrecht University, The Netherlands Organizing Committee M. Bastide Professor of Immunology, University of Montpellier, France J. Cambar Professor of Cellular Biology, University of Bordeaux, France R. Halm Doctor, Pharmacist, Nice, France M. Manfait Professor of Physics, University of Reims, France M. Oberbaum MD, Kaplan Hospital, Rehovot, Israel H. Wagner Professor of Pharmacology, University of Munich, Germany 3 CONTENTS Scientific Committees ...................................................................... 2 Organizing Committee...................................................................... 2 Contents......................................................................................... 3 Preface............................................................................................ 7 List of Contributors ......................................................................... , 9 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................ 13 The Perennial Challenge ofA nomalies at the Frontiers of Science. B. RUBIK....................................................................................... 15 CHAPTER I: HORMESIS........................................................ 29 Radiation Hormesis. T.D. LUCKEy................................................................................. 31 Stimulation of Self-recovery by Low Doses of Arsenite-intoxicated Cells. F.A.C. WIEGANT, J.H. OVELGONNE, J.E.M. SOUREN, AND R. VAN WIJK......................................................................... 41 Stimulation of Cellular Self-recovery by Application of the Similia-principle. R. VAN WIJK AND F.A.C. WIEGANT. ...... .............. .............. ........ ... 53 Preventive Effect of a Monoclonal Anti-idiotypic Antibody Compared to a Hormetic Model on Rat Sarcoma. S. FAIDERBE, J.L. CHAGNAUD, M. BASTIDE, P. DORFMAN AND M. GEFFARD......................................................................... 63 Evidence and Mechanistic Approach of the Protective Effects of Heavy Metal High Dilutions in Rodent and in Renal Cell Cultures. A.DELBANCUT, M.P. BAROUILLET AND J. CAMBAR................... 71 4 CHAPTER II: IN VITRO AND IN VIVO MODELS ............... 83 From Stimulus to Message in Biological Systems, an Illustrated Survey C. BONNE...................................................................................... 85 Modification of 4 MHz N.MR. Water Proton Relaxation Times in Very High Diluted Aqueous Solutions. J.L. DEMANGEAT, P. GRIES AND B. POITEVIN ...... · .. · .. · .. · ............ .. 95 Dose-dependence of the Various Functional Responses of Neutrophils to Formylpeptides. P. BELLAVITE, S. CHIRUMBOLO, C. SANTONASTASO, D. BIASI, S. LUSSIGNOLI AND G. ANDRIOLI... ............................. . 111 The Role of the Bursa of Fabricius and Highly Dilute Bursin in Immunoendocrine Interactions in the Chickens. B.1. YOUBICIER-SIMO. F. BOUDARD, M. GUELATI, M. MEKAOUCHE, J.D. BAYLE, AND M. BASTIDE .......................... . 121 Non-molecular Information Transfer from Thyroxine to Frogs. P.e. ENDLER, W. PONGRATZ, e.W. SMITH, J. SCHULTE, F. SENEKOWITSCH AND M. CITRO .......................... . 149 Pharmacodynamic Effects of Very High Dilutions of Belladonna on the Isolated Rat Duodenum. A. CRISTEA, S. NICULA AND V. DARIE ....................................... . 161 Chamomilla Homeopathic Dilution Effect on Central Nervous System. A. CRISTEA, S. TEODORESCU-NEGRES AND V. DARIE.................. 171 High Dilutions of Antigens Modulate the Immune Response to KLH. Z. WEISMAN, M. OBERBAUM, R. TOPPER, N. HARPAZ AND Z. BENTWICH .................................................... 179 Healing Chronic Woun~ Performed on Mouse Ears Using Silica (Si02) as a Homeopathic Remedy. M. OBERBAUM, Z. WEISMAN, A. KALINKOVICH AND Z. BENTWICH........................................................................ 191 CHAPTER III : THERAPEUTICS AND PROVINGS.. ................. 201 On Modelling Complex System AppLied 10 Homeopathy I. On Modelling Complex System: Wonderful but not Incomprehensible 1.L. LE MOIGNE ..................................................................... 203 II. Contribution of Systemic Modelling to the Renewal of Homeopathic Theory Understood as a Complex Phenomenen H. CARREE ........................................................................' .... 210 5 Effect ofB elladonna 12 CH and 30 CH in Healthy Volunteers H. WALACH, S. IllEBER AND E. ERNST-HIEBER........................... 215 The Value of using Homeopathy at the End of the Gestation in the Dog and Pig. Y. GRANDMONTAGNE AND A. RIAUCOURT................................ 227 Arsenicum album and Neurotoxic poisoning in Dogs and Cats R. BLOSTIN................................................................................. 237 Malaria and Homeopathic remedies in Ghana V.M.A. van ERP AND M. BRANDS................................................ 245 AIDS and Integral Medicine M. BRANDS.... ..... ....... .............. ............... ....... ......... ..... ..... .... ..... 253 CHAPTER IV: EPISTEMOLOGIC APPROACH................. 263 Notes on Conceptual Basis of Science A. LAG ACHE............................................. .................................. 265 What is Information? A. LAG ACHE... ......................................................................... ... 279 Index........................................................................................... 293 7 PREFACE The GIRl is designated by the letterspf its french name "Groupe International de Recherches sur l'Infinitesimal" which is actually translated as the "International Research Group on Very Low Dose and High Dilution Effects". This group was created in 1987 by 15 researchers in response to the need for a platform where scientists working with very dilute solutions including homeopathic ones could communicate and compare their results. The aim of the GIRl was to bring together pharmacologists, biologists, physicists, chemists and physicians in order to exchange experiences and develop joint research projects. The distinctive feature of the research activities of the group was the study of very low or ultra low dose impulses or very high dilutions similar to those which are used in homeopathic therapy and considered as devoid of any molecule. The group is also interested in the possible medicinal and therapeutic relevance of these doses or dilutions as well as the mechanism of action of the very diluted solutions of active principles on biological systems. These last ten years were very fruitful thanks to the possibility of organizing an annual meeting. The first meetings were very unproductive because of the small number of experiments. However each year, the number of research teams increased, different models were proposed, serious discussions took place and the proceedings of the 3rd and 4th meetings was edited in 1990 (Signals and Images: New Pharmacological Approaches and their concepts, M.Bastide ed. • Ateliers Alpha Bleue Publisher, Paris). Only five full papers were published corresponding to the questions raised by this kind of research. The 5th and 6th meetings were not published. We are now able to propose a book which includes 23 full papers from more than fifty contributors corresponding to the two last GIRl meetings: the 7th (held in Montpellier, France, on 20-21 November 1993) and the 8th (held in Jerusalem, Israel, on 10-11 December 1994). The GIRl gets bigger every year and now includes more than 100 members from 22 different countries. This evolution stimulates more and more researches on this subject often considered as scientific nonsense or a scientific error. All these papers have been reviewed according to the standards of scientific publications and many of them are now published in regular scientific journals. They illustrate perfectly the evolution of the ideas and the new experimental and theoretical approaches of this uncommon research. It becomes obvious that different hypothesis can enlighten the interpretations of these different papers. Part of them can be interpretated according to the classical way of thinking; but the true interpretation of the similia law of homeopathic medicine is quite different from the mechanistic approach. 8 To help the reader, the papers will be organized into four chapters; each chapter will be introduced by a short analysis of the papers included. The '1ntroduction" debates the question of scientific evolution and revolution in the context of modem science. The 1st chapter "Hormesis" gathers together all the papers related to this concept: these models are often evoked to demonstrate or to explain the similia law although hormesis is always based on a relationship of identity. The 2nd chapter "In Vitro and in Vivo Experimental Models" includes many experiments which demonstrate low dose or high dilution activity and is introduced by a summary of classical receptology. The 3rd chapter "Therapeutics and Provings " discusses the question of analysis of the symptoms in a systemic way of thinking and also includes pathogenetic studies (provings) as well as homeopathic therapeutic studies in humans or in animals. The last chapter presents an "Epistemologic Approach" which become necessary in order to enlarge the possibility of interpretation of the law of similarity and the high dilution effectiveness considering that these dilutions are above the Avogadro number. This new field of research is very exciting and introduces new scientific concepts supported by experimental results. Above all, we observe that this nascent science is totally concerned by "living" organisms and as such, it becomes necessary to define what we design as "information" brought by non-molecular high dilutions. This book presents the brain-storming work of this research group and is one of the starting points of a scientific evolution: " The proliferation of concurrent variants of the conventional paradigm, the fact of being willing to try anything, the expression of marked discontent, recourse to philosophy and discussion on the theoretical foundations, all signs are many symptoms of a passage from normal research to extraordinary research". T.S.Kuhn, 1962, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago. Madeleine BASTIDE 9 LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS ANDRIOLI G. Institute of Chimica Microscopia Clinica, University of Verona, Laboratorio Centrale, Ospedale Policlinico, 37134 Verona, Italy. BAROUILLET M.P. Renal Physiology and Physiopathology Research Group, Faculty of Pharmacy 146 av Leo Saignat, 33076 Bordeaux ,France. BASTIDE M. Laboratory of Immunology and Parasitology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Montpellier I University, 15 av Charles Flahault, 34060 Montpellier cedex I, France. BAYLE J.D. Laboratory of General Physiology, Faculty of Sciences, Montpellier II University, PI. E. Bataillon, 34090 Montpellier cedex 5,France. BELLAVITE P. Institute of Chimica Microscopia Clinica, University of Verona, Laboratorio Centrale, Ospedale Policlinico, 37134 Verona, Italy. BENTWICH Z. R. Ben Ari Institute of Clinical Immunology, Kaplan Hospital, Rehovot, Israel. BIASI D. Institute of Patologia Medica, University of Verona, Laboratorio Centrale, Ospedale Pcliclinico, 37134 Verona, Italy. BLOSTIN R. Dr Veterinary, 42 rue F. Poulenc 77430 Champagne sur Seine, France. BONNE C. Laboratory of Physiology, Faculty of Pharmacy, 15 Avenue C.Flahault, 34060 Montpellier Cedex 0 I, France. BONNE C. Laboratory of Physiology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Montpellier I University, 15 av Charles Flahault, 34060 Montpellier Cedex 1, France. BOUDARD F. Laboratory of Immunology and Parasitology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Montpellier I University, 15 av Charles Flahault, 34060 Montpellier cedex I, France. BRANDS M. MD, Homeopaths without Borders Netherlands, Laurier Gracht 47 B, 1016 RG Amsterdam, The Netherlands. CAMBAR J. Renal Physiology and Physiopathology Research Group, Faculty of Pharmacy 146 av Leo Saignat, 33076 Bordeaux ,France. CARREE H. MD -Lecturer at the Faculty of Medecine of Marseilles, Residence Ste Victoire, Av. de Craponne, 13100 Aix-en-Provence, France.