An appeal to all the medical students  
Dr. Abdul Gafar (From Vol: 10 No: 3)
    One more batch of students is entering the various colleges in Kerala including the Homoeopathic Medical Colleges. This is an appeal to all the medical students who are the aspiring young physicians of tomorrow. This is equally applicable to all the senior students as well the practitioners in this noble profession.

    Dear aspiring young physicians. Please understand that the future of the system is in your hands. You are the successful practitioners of tomorrow as well as the teachers of the system at various levels. Definitely it is you who decides whether the system is to flourish or to doom. As young Homoeopaths you have a still serious role to act as the system is on the verge of establishing its scientificity to the satisfaction of the so called learned men. Here please understand that Homoeopathy never lack the scientific approach but only the ‘learned men’ always failed to understand it or better said they pretend that they never understood it! But you can change that too with your more refined knowledge and yet more powerful tools available.

    To make that decision of yours more worthwhile you have to digest some aspects that are peculiar to the medical profession.  

    With some luck anybody with basic qualifications can get past the barrier set for medical study that is the medical entrance examination. And except for a very few, all those who get into the medical colleges come out of it with a degree attached to their names and labeled as doctors. But the cardinal question is how many of them are re-formed into real medical men? Because prescribing or dispensing medicines is not much a Herculean task. Many of the less knowledged people are doing the same even without a four-letter tail attached to their name, under various systems of medicine. What makes the so called physicians different from them is not that four letter tail. But the rigorous and intense tests of humanity and kindness they get passed.

    We should think aloud about all these now, because of the precarious situation of medical profession. You should well remember that the doctor is always in a position between man and God. Even if he is not the omnipotent it is he who delivers the life, health, disease and some times the death offered from above. The dignity and respect we get from all over underlines this point. But, to the greater misfortune of all of us the dignity of medical men is at the lowest now.  There are increasing number of reports of violence on doctors and hospitals. Equally increasing are the reports of indecent, unethical, indiscriminate practices from medical men. In short the interpersonal relationship between the man and the god-similar is deteriorating fast. There may be some aspect to the problem, which is out of our hands. But most of them can be solved easily and simply by some acts from our part.

    There is a separate topic in the medical system called medical ethics that deals with the conduct and behaviour of the physician during his practice or rather his life time as a physician. Medical ethics is not a subject to be taught at the end of the curriculum. It s not at all a subject to be taught! Rather it should be a process in the minds of every medical man. A continued process that starts from the very first day of them stepping in to a medical college and ends only with their last breath.

    To begin with one should have a clear perspective about why he/she is here. Because majority of the problems start with the fact that majority of the medicos are in the medical colleges for reasons other than to be true physicians. One can’t blame them either. They may be having a hundred reasons ranging from unfulfilled wishes from their parents’ to today’s ever-spiteful competition for a secure job. The result is that those with true inclination towards medical field and a matching mentality to serve the suffering humanity is getting a rare commodity. Not only the people but the medical field also bear the grudge of this often paradoxical situation as evident from the scenario around us.

    Let’s emphatically remind ourselves that it is always the patients’ benefit for which we have to become physicians. Absolutely nothing holds water in against that! And despite the popular belief, in the medical field the path laid before you is full of thorns. From today onwards you are about to be disturbed from your normal life in countless number of times and ways! So prepare yourself for the inevitable. On the other hand you have the benefits too. Being part of the noblest profession available and countless privileges attached with it are only one portion of it. The real reward comes from the feeling of inner well being and intense satisfaction one gets after curing a sick person, after bringing one back from a suffering death or even accompanying one with soothing words and medication in to a pleasant journey from this world. Ironically these are available to only those medical men who are completely devoted to this profession. You have to take in this notion seriously from now itself even though your days of medical practice are a few years away.

    How can you cultivate such an attitude? Start from the very first day itself. Understand that all the Anatomy, Physiology etc. you learn give you a very good insight about what is the man, in material! But always remember that there is a person behind every individual who is more than the Anatomy or Physiology. He/she is just like you and me, with a mind, feelings and emotions. Who suffers and enjoys. All the other details you learn are only to understand this ‘person’ in a better way. Because it is this ‘person’ you have to encounter in your career as a doctor, not the Anatomy or Pathology. Whoever brings in this solid fact in to their brain wins the first battle. To this you can add all the medical knowledge you acquire in your lifetime. Try to connect every bit of knowledge you receive with this ‘person’ so that it gets completed more and more in your imagination. Because no body has succeeded hundred percent in understanding this phenomena we called man. Next try to be open minded and challenging. At the same time keep your arrogance in the back stage so that by the time you are ready to get out of the colleges you will be having an aptitude towards the medical field.

    Anybody knows that we can’t do a thing successfully if there is no interest in it. So as you have already entered yourselves in to this non-return path, you should as well acquire an interest in it too. For this focus on all the positive points of this profession and all the glory you can achieve by becoming a successful physician. And never approach this as a secure and successful career for this is only a service not a career! The remuneration part comes only the second. If you cannot cultivate a deep interest in medical filed it is highly recommended that you quit this programme altogether so that vast amounts of effort, money and time are not wasted of you and of the establishment! 

    If you did have the interest the next essential quality is the determination, to fight till the very end and to succeed. With this if you put in hard work the story will never be the same! Hard work means the real thing. Put every thing else aside and concentrate on your mission. From now onwards entertainment for you means getting more knowledge, more courage and more power in this battle against the evil that is unending.

    Finally a word to all the professional organisations in Homoeopathy also. Let our mission be the one to enhance the progress of the system. Let it also help these young brigade to see clearly what is Homoeopathy and use it for the greater benefit of all. It is a happy thing to know that Kerala Homoeopathic Medical Graduate Association (KHMGA*) is showing an appreciable model in this regard. KHMGA* is doing a number of things ranging from keeping in constant touch with the student community, distributing prizes for excellence among them, constantly bringing updated knowledge through various seminars and symposiums and inviting and making them participate in various activities of the association.

    This system is having powers still untapped. Pearls yet to be discovered. And a promise greater than everything offered so far to the suffering humanity. Lets work together to a brighter future for the medical fraternity and the system of Homoeopathy.
* Now the outfit is IHMA (Indian Homoeopathic Medical Associaiton)- EB
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Homoeopathy Explained
Dr. Achamma Lenu Thomas BHMS 

Man's quest for knowledge makes him to enquire into the essential process of nature.  Curiosity and necessity makes him stumble upon many discoveries.  Science grew from man's wild fancies and imaginations.  But now, it dictates and directs our thinking process.  Man has condensed every bit of knowledge into a series of scientific formulas and mathematical equations.  Anything beyond these formulations is branched as unscientific, illogical and therefore unacceptable.

Homoeopathy couldn't be laid down as a matter of equation and formulas, so many remain skeptical about its scientific basis. Science has failed to explain Homoeopathy because it still lacks in the essentials to explain its process. Therefore homeopathy remains enigmatic to the scientific community. To clear this there is a need of extensive research through paths untreaded so far. Also the science has to develop into new heights.

But one can also utilise the resources available presently to shed light into at least some aspects regarding the scientificity of the system. Homeopathy has not only got a large mass of accumulated evidence of its success over the last 200 years but also much experimental data, which shows the efficacy of high dilutions, minimum dose and the law of similars. 

Experimental data

Research done on animals, plants and cultures of microorganisms shows that

homoeopathic medicines are effective even in dilutions that pass the Avagadro's limit.  Research workers have studied the action of Korsakovian dilutions on cultures of staphylococcus.  They have also shown the inhibitive action of calendula on staphylococcus.  Thuja in dilute doses was found to disturb the psychic balance of rats.  Many such experiments have been done and the data are recorded.

One of the famous experiments carried out was by Jacques Benveniste, who published the results in his paper 'Human basophilic degranulation triggered by very dilute antiserum against IgE'.  In this experiment he treated basophils having IgE attached to it with anti IgE.  Basophils were found to undergo degranuation.  The antiserum containing anti IgE was then diluted upto 10-2 to 10-120 times, until no molecules of the original anti IgE existed.  This diluted antiserum was then treated with IgE attached to it. Surprisingly basophilic degranulation still occured.  So even in the absence of original IgE molecules, the reaction or cure can take place. 

Concepts explaining homeopathy

Some of the scientists have taken a step forward to propose new scientific models to explain ‘the homeopathic process’. 

1) Light isotopic model

Light isotopic model is proposed by Dr. A.C.Dutta to explain the action of potentised medicine.  According to him in the process of homeopathic potentisation increasingly strong electrical fields are produced, which help in the formation of electron-positron pairs otherwise called  positronium units.  In the vicinity of drug molecules, these positronium complexes, which imitate the electronic arrangement of drug molecules.  These positronium complexes behave like the very therapeutic properties even in their absence.  These light isotopic molecules also act as auto-catalyst giving rise to next generation of positronium complexes resembling drug molecules.  Thus potencies become more and more powerful with higher dynamisation. 

2. Biological specificity and resonant promotion of lone pair electrons

The concept of biological specificity and resonant promotion of lone pair electrons is put forward by Dr. Rati Ram Sharma.  The open International University of Complementary Medicine, Colombo, even nominated his studies for the prestigious Nobel Prize.

According to this concept, the lone pair of electrons in the vehicle molecules (alcohol, water and lactose) gets resonantly promoted during dynamisation.

During this process, the vehicle molecules achieve the same number of active electrons and same exchangeable energies as the drug molecules.  Thus the vehicle molecules exhibit the properties of drug molecules.  He also introduces a new concept of Xenobiotics, which he equates to drug molecules, foreign bodies or any disease causing organisms and explains all biological phenomenon on the basis of it. 

3. Forward and reverse reaction of biomolecules/ biotemplates on water

This concept is introduced by Dr.Mahata.  According to him water molecules are capable of taking the imprint of foreign molecules in its vicinity.  Therefore highly potentised medicine will contain water molecules having the imprint of original drug molecules.

Mahata says that disease occurs by forward reaction of biotemplates/biomolecules upon water. i.e. diseased biomolecules of body gives a specific imprint to the water content of the cells. Thus the imprint of the disease is stamped on the water content of the cells. The reversed reaction of water upon biomolecules/biotemplates is brought about by potentised medicine. Here the water molecules having the imprint of drugs exert a corrective influence upon biomolecules thus changing them into healthy form. 

4. IE Crystals

Even though this concept was not put forward to explain the action of homoeopathic medicine, homoeopaths think that there is a possible link between IE Crystal theory and the action of homoeopathic medicines.

According to this theory water can exists as minute ice crystals in a solution. The shape of these crystals is influenced when a substance is placed in distilled water and vigorously shaken and diluted. And these crystals, even though minute in size are extremely stable in a wide variety of environments. Applying this to homeopathy we can possibly state that potentised medicines contain IE crystals having specific shapes depending on the original drug molecule.

5. Bioinformatics

Bioinformatics is built upon the concept of genome.  Human Genome Project states that there are 30,000 genes in human beings.  Understanding how gene works provides clue to how diseases are caused and how a cure can be effected. Human genome points out the need of individual medicine for each person's peculiar genetic make up. Modern Medicine is finally, thinking of the concept of individualization, which homoeopathy was insisting for the past 200 years.

Dr. P.N.Varma, the renowned homoeopathic scientist and the founder of Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia Laboratory and of Central Council of Research in Homoeopahty uses bioinformatics to give an explanation for homoeopahty. He took inspiration from the works of scientists of ‘Kalaya University’, who suggested gene expression as possible mode of action in ‘radiation protection’ (protection from the hazardous effects of radiation) by homoeopathic medicine Ginseng 200 on biological models. Dr.P.N. Varma says that the idea of individualistic medicine suggested by genomics is similar to ‘constitutional medicine’ which homoeopathy is speaking for so long.  He uses immunology to explain that, the self regulatory mechanisms of body, which is in turn controlled by genes, could be influenced by homoeopathic medicines.  He replaces the word 'vital force' with a new terminology 'biological responses'.

He says this concept requires more scientific work so that gene expression can be linked to homoeopathy.  This scientific model based on bioinfomatics explains the concept of health, cure, vital force  (biological responses) and the action of medicines to effect a cure. 

Many such concepts are now proposed, so also many new discoveries are adopted by homoeopaths to suggest a possible scientific explanation for the system of Homoeopathy. 

Merits of the new concepts

They are able to surpass the restrictions set by Avagadro's Law. Viewing in light of Avagadro's law a potency above 12x or 24c will not have any original drug molecules. Therefore it becomes impossible for high potencies to have medicinal value. This is over ruled by the new concept, which shows that an imprint of original drug molecules could be made upon vehicle molecules. So even in absence of original drug molecules vehicle molecules bear the properties of drug molecules.

Many of the new concepts have experimental basis to support it.

Some of them are even consistent with ‘wave mechanisms’ and ‘thermodynamics’. 

Limitations

Some of the new concepts still have a hypothetical base and are backed by indirect evidences.

These concepts could explain only, the action of potentised medicines, some could be extended to explain drug providing and dynamics of health and disease but they fail to explain other phenomena like susceptibility, primary and secondary actions of medicines, idiosyncrasy etc. They also fail to explain and define the vital force, except may be the bioinformatics/genome theory.

One wonders at the necessity of having such an explanation for homoeopathy. But, surely the advantages of having a firm scientific basis weighs much. The genius of scientific community will have their attention turned to this relatively new system of healing by such a feet. Subsequently the amount of research invested into this field will increase, which in turn will expand our horizon.

References

1) Homoeopathy in the light of modern science- A.C Dutts
2) Journal-Homoeopathic Update  Vol-6/96
3) Journal - Homoeopathic Heritage Vol-4/97
4) Homoeopathic Medical Panorama  Vol-9/2
5) Homoeopathy for all Vol-3/5
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The Ghost and Homoeopathy
Dr. Abdul Gafar. BHMS

     A ghost came to my clinic one day.

     The story goes like this. Miss. J, a fourteen year old girl, was under my care for some times now for ‘Allergic Rhinitis’ and related symptomatology. One day her father came to the clinic to report that she is having some kind of a fear. He sounded troubled.  “In the last evening”, as he told me, “she had an attack of freight. She was studying in the portico of the house, as her school final exams were only two weeks ahead. It was almost twilight around six forty five. All of a sudden she came running inside screaming. She clutched her mother and tried to say something. But could not articulate due uncontrollable sobbing and the anguish. She was shaking like a leaf and her face was ashen. Finally, after some time she managed to explain it. While she was sitting there in the ‘varandha’ reading her text somebody called her name and shook her shoulders. She only had a dim vision about the person as it happened so quickly and the figure disappeared quickly as well. There was no body in sight in the entire portico, which was rather a large one, after the incident, which increased her apprehension”.

    “Her mother ventured to go out to see who was it but she adamantly refused. Clutching her even firmly and telling that he will harm her too. She neither allowed her younger brother or even the grand father both were there in the house, to investigate the matter. She was repeatedly telling all of them to stay away from the varandha and even refused to look at that direction. In short she was behaving like she was mad!”

     “Was there any body, who tried to injure her in some way”? I asked her father. “That’s the most interesting thing”, he told me. “During the whole episode her ‘grandpa’ was sitting there in the portico itself reading newspaper. He observed nothing but her starting up suddenly from the chair and running inside screaming and rushed behind her to see what’s it. But she did not notice him nor was aware of his presence there!”

     Any way the out come was that she was now resting at her relative’s house some distance away as she altogether refused to remain in her home. It should be particularly noted that she exited from her house through the back door to avoid the portico. More over she was much concerned about her grand parents who remained in the house. She couldn’t focus on her studies, which was worrying too due to the imminent exams.

    Thinking over the problem and analyzing her history, which will be explained now, I dispensed with him two doses of our ever reliable, second best remedy saccharum lactis officianale, to be administered one immediately on reaching home and one at early morning next day and to report in the evening.

    Before proceeding further we have to look at some of the backgrounds.

    She cam to me first some seven months back with chronic sneezing fits at infrequent intervals at any time of the day. The complaints started more than a year back. Her nasal septum on examination showed deviated to the left side and there were also polyps. But the funny thing was her complaints occurred only at her home and mostly –if not, only- during Saturdays and Sundays. To be more correct there was also sneezing fits on any other day when the school is off! No complaints at all at the school or school days! 

    It took two more sessions with her to fish out the real reason behind her troubles. Despite being an average student she managed just to pass the exams. Lately as she entered her tenth standard her marks plummeted and she even failed in two subjects in the quarterly exams. Nevertheless she found to be much interested in securing more marks and a decent grade. Even getting a rank was not a farfetched dream in her plans. In fact some times she was quiet worried about her memory and ability to learn. Complaining all the times she cannot cop up with study.

    That explained her low marks. The anxiety induced by higher ambition without considering her real mettle was tapping from her energy as well as ability. This created failure to comply with the academic performance required and the vicious cycle generated further conflicts. This is evident from the fact that her complaints accentuated in their intensity once she got first prize in a district wise essay competition, which might have boosted her belief in herself.

    But it didn’t stop there either. Gradually she developed a craving for excellence so that she despised days without school. A somewhat complex scenario as it was against the usual outcome of such cases. The natural sequence of the allergic symptoms gave her a good base to build up the disease. So whenever there was no school the allergy was the worse! I explained

    Part of all these to her parents as they seemed not that much educated to understand all the technicalities behind this. But I did say this much to them that it is easy to control her allergy but unless we do something about her studies it may persist or will manifest in some other form. She took drugs regularly and her sneezing fits almost disappeared. But interestingly, now she developed a kind of headache. The pain comes mostly on temples and aggravates by reading, but the thing to be noticed is that it occurred almost always on no school days.

    As it is the case she was subjected to counseling. The main objective we achieved was resetting her aim as to get 60-65% marks in the school final exams instead of her ambitions of higher marks. She was also advised about improved study techniques as well as memory enhancing techniques. With all these she showed marked improvement and was having a healthy appetite for study. Even her grades were improving as shown by her class-test assessments. 

    This may have given readers some idea about the state of her mind and the vulnerability of her psych. That’s why I interpreted her acute mental abrasion as a manifestation of hysteria. One other fact also has to be considered along with this. This year due to technical reason there was uncertainty about the date of commencement of the school final exams to which every body attaches so great an importance here.  The same was announced to begin after two weeks and the announcement came just two days before her ordeal. Any girl of her kind in this state will be more than worried. So, I thought, I correctly diagnosed her and prescribed the placebo.

    The next day he telephoned to say that she is not at all better and is bringing her in.  She came with both her parents. A beautiful kid with pleasant attire, who normally presented herself smartly whenever she came, now resembled a crumbled bit of paper to me.  The wear of suffering was etched there so clearly on her face. Her eyes were all uncertainty. I began with some mild questions and then asked her to explain in full what occurred on that evening.

    “I was reading my books there in the varandha when all of sudden somebody called out my name. I was so alarmed and ran inside. There was definitely somebody who even tried to shake me up”.

    “Who was that? Can you recollect him now?”

    “I didn’t see any one in particular. Usually there will be nobody around and it do not make me so frightened.”

    I was startled! “Usually means, did you have similar experience before?” 

    “Oh, it happens all the time! But usually there will be only a voice calling out. It generally happens when I am alone at the kitchen or at any remote area of the house”

    “Did you do anything about this? Was there any thing other than this happening to her?” I asked the parents.

    It was her mother, who startled me even more now. “We do not mind that much about it. The voice calls out the names of all of us whenever one of us is alone in any part of the house. My mother and sisters all had it. Ours is an old large house with so many rooms. All of the upstairs is left unoccupied. Nobody go there after sundown because something or somebody will be there. We can here noises and voices from there. In the ground floor the mischief is limited mainly to kitchen and the prayer room.”

    So that’s it. A typical haunted house. But it attacks only the female population or it seemed.

    “No”, the father corrected me.

    “Once her uncle and his newly wedded wife spent the night in one of the rooms upstairs. He being in the Middle East for the last four years did not believe in any of these tales. After midnight at about three o’clock an apparition clad in white robes and a big white turbine came up and greeted them! Without uttering anything they came down and some how completed their sleep. After that the area is permanently unattended. Occasionally two or three of us together go up there to clean up. That’s all.”

    To tell the truth, I felt something slowly creeping up my spine! It was getting bigger all the time.

    Now I was in a dilemma. The girl was not showing any signs of true psychosis. To subject her to psychiatric treatment will most probably worsen the whole affaire. But there was either no time to waste because of her exams.

    Any way I prescribed two doses of Aconitum 1M to be taken at bed time and the next morning. I gave her a strong suggestion too to concentrate in the studies and forget all about the affair. I then secretly instructed her father to wait for only two days and then if there is no change to consult a psychiatrist, of which, I gave the name of one with whom I am having a good rapport.  

    After about ten days her grand father came to the clinic as part of his routine visit for some of his ailments. He reported that she is perfectly all right by the next day itself and is actively engaged in her study. More over she is in her own house now.  

    He also further enlightened me on the fact that there is provision for the ghost in the legal document of house itself. It is written there that spiritual rituals should be conducted at regular intervals for their satisfaction. The new generation, he remarked is not observing all these rules and will have to face the natural consequences.    

    A fitting anticlimax occurred when I asked him the real sequence of the events, as he was the only witness on that day. He looked at around himself, as if afraid somebody will hear him, before answering. “You please do not tell anybody about it. What really happened was this. She was sitting there in a recliner reading the books. I was sitting some distance away reading newspaper. Once when I looked up she was fast asleep with the book on her lap. It was also getting dark. So I went up and shook her by shoulder calling out her name! She woke up from the sleep with a start and rushed inside screaming. I was so frightened that I didn’t say anybody about it till now!” 

    I assured him that I will not disclose this to her as by this time she is out of the ordeal any way.  

    Now about two months have passed. Last week I got the word that now she is quite well. She got passed her exams with decent marks and is looking forward to continuing with plus one. Most important of all, she did never have the ghost after her anymore.

    Even though, I would very much like to spend one night –of course not alone but with someone else with me- there in that haunted house preferably in one of the upstairs rooms so that I can see what a real ghost is like.

(Contact info: dr.gafar@homeoweb.com, for more such interesting cases/stories go to www.homeoweb.com/cases.htm)
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Dr. Christian Friedrich Samuel Hahnemann; Reminiscence
Dr.Deepu Keshavan MD (Hom) 

“Dearest Friend,

For eighteen years I have departed from the beaten track in medicine. It was painful to me to grope in the dark, guided only by our books in the treatment of the sick, to prescribe, according to this or that (fanciful) view to the nature of diseases, substances that only owed to mere opinion their place on the materia medica; I had conscientious scruples about treating unknown morbid states in my suffering fellow creatures with these unknown medicines, which being powerful substances, may, if they were not exactly suitable or not, seeing that their peculiar, special actions were not yet elucidated easily, change life into death, or produce new affections and chronic ailments, which are often much more difficult to remove than the original disease.  To become in this way a murderer, or aggravator of the sufferings of my brethren of mankind, was to me a tearful thoughts, so fearful and distressing was it that shortly after my marriage I completely abandoned practice and scarcely treated any one for fear of doing him harm, and as you know - occupied myself solely with chemistry and literary labours. 

But children were born to me, several children, and in course of time serious disease occurred, which, because they afflicted and endangered the lives of my children, my flesh and blood, caused my conscience to reproach still more loudly, that I had no means on which I could rely for affording them relief. 

But whence could I obtain aid, certain positive aid, with our doctrine to the powers of medicinal substances founded merely on vague observations, often only on fanciful conjecture, and with the infinite number of arbitrary views respecting disease in which our pathological works abound? A labyrinth in which he only can preserve his tranquility who accepts as gospel those assertions relative to the curative powers of medicines because they are repeated in a hundred books, and who receives, without investigation, as oracles, the arbitrary definitions of diseases given in pathological works, and their pretended treatment according to hypothetical notions described in our therapeutic works, who ascribes all the cases to death that occurs under his treatment, not to his own practice to shooting blindfold at the mark, who does not attribute the aggravation and prolongation of the acute  diseases he treats and their degeneration into chronic maladies, and the general fruitlessness of his efforts when he has to treat diseases of longstanding, to the uncertainly and impotence to his art. No! He ascribes death and ill-treated disease and all, solely to the incurableness to the disease, to the disobedience to the parent, and to other insignificant circumstances, and so accommodating and obtuse is his conscience, that he satisfies himself with these excuses, though they are in many ways delusive, and can never avail before an omniscient god; and thus he goes on treating diseases (which he sees through his systematic spectacles) with medicinal substances that are fast from being without influence on life and death, but to whose powers nothing's known.”  

In this "extracts from a letter to a physician to high standing on the great necessity of a regeneration of Medicine" from Dr.C.F.Samuel Hahnemann, we can visualise this inner repercussions, which compelled him to differ.  But pause for a moment, and shake your self out of the cocoon cultivated around all of us for so long. This criticism is not significant for other systems of medicine alone.  It may be a startling truth, but when we introspect into the system of Homoeopathy, his standards of differences may appear true to us as well.  

It is easier to bark at the shadow of other systems without knowing the reason for it. The great man, but only growled at it, with ample reason too. The repercussions of that grunting is not dead yet. Actually we still reap from those old seeds. He also had ample justifications to his disgust. For he produced an entire system, gentle and at the same time very much effective as compensation. Now what have we done with it? It is a question bigger than all of us think.  

Dr. Hahnemann, who remained a fugitive throughout his life from the "Francoscianeum" in Meissen to the solace in Paris, devoted his entire life and experimentation to the field of Medicine.  Had he changed his track somewhere, as the renowned chemist Berzelins remarked, "That man would have made a great chemist, had he not turned out a great quack." As for him, the high and only call to a physician was to restore the sick to health, and in this search for the art of curing, he not only went through the logical ways of hygiene and the psychosomatic approach towards diseases, ill understood and unexpected during his days, but also through the frustration of the modern student, dragged himself though for a shorter distance when compared to his followers like Dr. J.T. Kent, along the darker and confusing lines of often illogical metaphysics.  

This is an era, where the basic conclusions in medicine are constantly challenged by the developments in the field of genetic engineering.  This is an era where the good old concepts on health are quite pathetically viewed thanks to the ever increasing pollution, ever growing population and ever glooming poverty.  

The concept of a permanent cure may forever remain  a dream.  Genetics can work out the very basics of living cells but even that will fail to reveal the mystery of the phenomenon of life.  We may be compelled to dilute the accepted definition on health again and again, but some of the principles highlighted by the likes of Dr. Hahnemann, Paracelsus, and Boyle etc. will always retain their significance throughout the history of medicine.  

Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, outside the homoeopathic fraternity, is still considered as an under achiever.  Naturally there would have to be some reason for that as well.  Perhaps, the fault lies with us, his followers. For we idolized him, we dogmatized the principles and methods of treatment vindicated by him, we failed to understand what is to be understood and we failed to do what is to be done for him. We even failed to follow him in essence!  

For him, life was a struggle right from the beginning. By taking a retrospective on his achievements, we can only wonder at the clarity of vision he held about his surroundings.  This is true not only for the field of medicine but also about the socio-political arena. In his ‘Organon’, what he had predicted about a western conquering of Germany and Germany's final resurrection came true, nearly about a hundred years later (of course after Adolph Hitler had unified Germany which even Bismark was unable to do and filled the German minds with pride and patriotism). The amount of dedication and work he applied in the pursuit of truth is astonishing. Indeed, many of the principles highlighted by him existed even before his time and many of the physicians like Paracelsus and many of the scientists like Boyle have strongly appreciated those principles. It is arguable how much he had achieved. But the important thing is that he was able to effect a change in the attitude of the physicians towards diseases and he was able, upto an extend to induce simplicity in the practice of medicine.  

Like Hippocratus, he also stood strongly for the regimen, which is emphasized not in one place in his Organon. Astonishingly this correction of habits and diet is still often wanting in the practice of medicine, even in this modern era of high-tech medicine. Otherwise we could have quite successfully defended epidemics like the ‘cola and the fast-food culture’ and the invasion of 'the synthetics'. What is more interesting is that some critics even using to say that Homoeopathy works only because it relies on the hygiene and regime! You take away that only, and YES Homoeopathy works because it relies on the hygiene and regime!  

He was one of the early pioneers who went after the interactions between the body and mind and the other processes attached with it in the evolution of illness. Later, Sigmund Freud used the same method but in a different manner.  Both had their obsessions, reasoning and defaults. Freud adamantly refused to develop beyond the concepts of sexuality and aggression. Samuel Hahnemann, who fought against theories and speculations, himself had to fall back to hypotheses and often speculations in his description of the origin and nature of the chronic diseases.  But please, his writings are to be visualized as an evolution and then there'll be contradictions and under statements but there are always some sparkling somewhere.  

Though his descriptive method seems disgusting in today’s faster world, he'll be remembered in the future for his denial of the errors in judgment and management of the illnesses prevailed during his time, his highlighting of the psychosomatic approach and his theories on individualisation.  The reason for which he is ignored nowadays may be the too much highlighted vitalism and such other metaphysical hypotheses, instead of his lesser known works on the interaction between the processes of body and mind, related to the evolution of diseases. That also is mainly because the present day science with its self-applied constraints cannot digest most of this high voltage philosophy.  

Unfortunately there was some mistake from the part of Hahnemann too. What confuse his followers are the striking contrasts in his literature. At times his talent successfully parades through the logical conclusions on the multi factorial approach towards the causation and progression to diseases but at times he just over generalises the concept, quite unsuccessfully into syphilis, gonorrhoea, itch, scabies and all such superficial, often wrong and highly speculative narratives.  These and the like are the areas mentioned earlier when said we cannot do him justice by idolizing him to a legend, by worshipping the icons or chanting the aphorisms.  We can do him justice only by evaluating his life and works and putting our self into the down streams of evolution. Then only do this system bloom into a full fledged healing art.  In that process, we may have to blast off the icons, we'll have to introspect deeper and deeper, and have to rediscover the essence of the therapeutic system described by the great Master. In short we have to scrutinise the system in the context of the advancements in different fields of science including medicine.  

Taking the Homoeopathic establishment at large, the roles of the present day Governments and the Homoeopathic medical colleges are practically a minimum in the development of this system. We can only repent on our idleness when we look at the way by which the academic curriculum in the homoeopathic medical colleges is allowed to drag behind the fast developing fraternities.  In this century of instant communication, while information can be conveyed from one part of our globe to another distant one within a split second, we can understand the frustration an average student feel when he was compelled to go back to the 18th or 19th century.  But even that can be presented in attractive colours if it is put forwarded in its essence, emphasizing the real importance of the thing and more over in a realistic manner.  

And about the different research organizations, the less said the better! The master was not only a scholar but a meticulous researcher too. Had he not there would not have so many Homoeopathic provings, the beautiful merging of science and the philosophy. If science is systematised knowledge, then homoeopathy still has a long way to go, as we have to continue with the systematisation of the principles and methods forwarded by Hahnemann. Like any other system of medicine, it is high time for Homoeopathy to justify its existence. It is no use to blame the immaturity of the scientific world and waiting endlessly for them to grow up so that every body can understand Homoeopathy with ease. For so many of us the thought of putting some research into the system is not even there in the far away dreams. This positively means the system is well as dead!  

It is said that a politician thinks to the next election but statesman, of the next generations.  In that aspect, Hahnemann was really a statesman in the world of medicine. He was not for opportunism, his broad outlook always believed in the capabilities of human mind and body. Perhaps the number one reason why he was an outcast was his understanding as well as adherence to the intimacy of the material body and the ever indwelling mind. Even to such an extend that he foresaw the connection between our sins, past and present with our sufferings. Which was very good when spoken by a priest but alas the last good thing to come out from a physician.     

In this era where the art of medical practice is degenerating into the art of skillful cheating, we are always ready either to praise Hahnemann or to burry him. But the true need of the hour is to understand and learn him; and to condense the vast data that is Homoeopathy into a logical comprehensive form.  The mysteries clouded around Homoeopathy should be cleared through extensive researches in biophysics. Researches and workshops are to be conducted at the organizational level (where we can expect more honesty and more dedication when compared to the present day establishments). The oedematous physique of our literature is to be corrected and trimmed and then, only then, can we claim that we are the flag bearers of a divine healing art, then only we can claim that we're followers of science, then only we can claim that we are the followers of Dr. Hahnemann.  

Epilogue: All over Britain there were thousands of incompetent doctors distinguished for nothing but their stupidity and acquired capacity for bluffing their parents. ‘The Citadel’ p 27!
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Aesculus Hippocastanum: A Pharmacological Approach.
By.Dr.K.S.Gopi  BHMS.

Aesculus hippocastanum L. (Family: Hippocastanaceae) horse chest­nut which is also known as Hippocastanum Vulgare Gaertn, is a plant today widely distributed all over the world, and is known for its beauty and resistance to environmental conditions.  It is a native of western parts of Asia, from where it was introduced in Iran, Northern India, Asia Minor, South-East Europe from the Balkans to the Caucasus and USA.  The tree is chiefly grown for ornamental purposes, so it is widely cultivated in parks and gardens, and along city streets.

Aesculus, the Latin name for an oak with edible acorns, was attributed to this tree by Linneo in 1737.

Etymologically, aesculus (or esculus) perhaps derives from the name of a species of Oak which was sacred to Jove, namely Ischio (Quercus esculus L.).  According to others “esculus” derives from the latin, “esca” in the sense of nutrient, because its acorns are edible.  Applied to the horse chestnut the name is inappro­priate because the seeds are not edible, but it might have been given because of the similarity of the tree with the oak (Quercus sp.) Hippocastanum derives from the Greek “ippos”, means horse and “castanon”, means chestnut, that is to say “horse chestnut”. This name was used because the seeds were thought to be good for broken-winded horses or for the similarity of the seeds with the horse’s eyes.

A. hippopcastanum was described for the first time in 1565 by Mathiole, who received a branch and some fruits sent by the Flemish doctor Guillaume Quackelbeen.  Only in 1615 the horse chestnut became known in France when it was brought by Bachelier from Constantinople to Paris.  By 1691 it was known as far as Stratsbourg.  During the 18th century, it spread so quickly over the greatest part of Europe to allow Murray in 1796 to get a patent to extract starch from horse chestnuts.  At first this tree was thought to come from Constantinople and Creta, later on from India.  In 1806 Hawkins stated that it could be found both in the Pindo and in the Pelio.  But his observations were not taken seriously till Tzhihatscheff declared that the horse chest­nut had spontaneously grown in Greece and at last Helreich (1879) studied that it is a typical tree in the Balkanian woods, in the Caucare, in the northern part of Persia and in the Himalaya. From 1720 Bon proposed the bark of horse chestnut as a febrifuge substituting quinine.  In the 18th century several practitioners acknowledged this property and claimed, successful results.  Later on this property was wholly put aside and only upon the continen­tal block it was recovered in the medical practice for some years (1808-1809). In 1896 Artault de Vevey reported the antihemorrohidal properties of horse chestnuts.  It was proved and introduced in Homoeopathic practice by Helbig.

A. hippocastanum is a tree up to 30m in height and 2 m in circum­ference with many braches, and a smooth, white bark.  The leaves are opposite, up to 20 cm length and 10 c.m. width, composed of 5-7 large sessile leaflets and with 15-20 c.m. long petioles.  The blades are obovate or oblong, cuneately tapering at the base, dilated and rounded above, abruptly mucronate, glabrous above, softly-hairy beneath along the nerves, irregularly serrate at the margins, median leaflet largest, the outer much smaller.  The flowers appear in June on terminal erect dense panicles, usually up to 20-30 cm long, the lower branches shorter than the middle ones, often polygamous, the greater portion with imperfect flowers.  Pedicels jointed, the rachis and pedicels are rufoushairy.  The calyx is cylindrical campanulate and pubesecent.  The flower has five petals with orbicular limb, fimbriate at margin, while, with yellow spot at the base, later turning pink.  The stamens are declined and hairy at the base, the ovary is covered with soft hairs and prickles.  The capsules are spiny, usually with one large seed.

The seeds are used in the preparation of the mother tinctures.  The fruit of the horse chestnut is a somewhat prickly small globular capsule which becomes leathery as it matures, and opens into one or three valves, containing 2 to 4 large seeds.  The seeds are round and smooth with large, light base areas.  The seeds in transverse section shows an outer most thick yellowish layer of cuticle; a single layer of thick walled palisade like epidermal cells, followed by a wide zone of sclereids and thick walled highly sinuous yellowish or yellowish brown lignified cells with finger like projections on their walls, a zone of 5 to 6 layers of tangentially elongated, polygonal thin walled yellow­ish brown parenchyma cells, 2 to 3 layers of polygonal thick walled tangentially elongated disorganised cells over the large endosperm, which consists of large, oval, oblong parenchyma cells, each of which containing several crystal-bearing chambers.

Chemical Constituents

Escin(mp.2240); quercetin-3-xylosidoglucoside (mp.1980); Kaempfer­ol-3-diglycoside (mp.2030); quercetin-3-glucosidorhamnoside (mp.2060); Kaempferol-3xylosidogulucoside (mp.1890); Kaempferol-3-glucosidorhamnoside (mp.1860), quercetin-3-gulucoside(mp 1770), quercetin-3-diglucoside (mp.2050); quercetin 3,4-diglucoside; kaempferol-3-aL-arabinofuranoside (mp.228) Kaemp­ferol-a-L-rhamnofuranoside (mp.1730); avicularin, quercetin-3-aL-rhamnofuranoside (mp.1770); castaprenol-11, castaprenol 12, casta­prenol 13, Enzymatic hydrolysis of pure saponin yielded a mixture of genins whose main constituent is protoaesci­genin-21-tiglate-22-acetate. Escin is found to be a mixture of a- and b-escins which on hydrolysis gave glucuronic acid, glucose and protoasescigenin-22-acetate acylated by either angelic or tiglic acid at C-21, Tiglic acid was actually found in escin.  It was found that -escin was a mixture of more than 30 different components derived from two aglycones, protoescigenin and barringtogenol C in an 8:2 ratio.

R= Glu.Acid (2à1)                                                       

Glu (4à1) Glu.

R1=Tigloyl/Angeloyl

Seed also contains O.b.D. fructofurano-syl-(2à6)-b-D-Fructofuranosyl a D-glucopyranoside (mp.1430). Anthocyanins, (-)-epicatechin, its dimer proanthocya-nidin A2 and tannins have been reported to be present in the integument of the seeds and in the bark of the tree.

Other constituents are: the coumarins esculin, fraxin and their aglycones, esculetin and fraxetin have been found in the bark, buds and pericarp of the fruit, but not in the seed of horse chestnut.  Purines, including adenine, adenosine, guanine anduric acid, have been isolated from seeds and their presence has also been reported in the flowers and leaves.

L-(+)-Iysine and L-(-)-tryptophan (9.44% and 2.7%, respectively) have been found in hippocastaine, the globulin extracted from the cotyledons.  Group B vitamins were assayed microbiologically in fresh seeds without integument by Haenel.

 Vit.C has been found in seeds and fresh leaves.

A provitamin D has been obtained (0.76%) from a phytosterolic fraction (0.012% of the dried drug). Vitamin K1 (800 Dam units in 1g. of dried drug) has been found in the leaves.

Vitamin                                     Assay(Mg/g)               Vitamin                                        Assay(Mg/g)

Vitamin                                            B6 4.2                     Folic acid                                                0.23

Inositol                                             2000                      Vitamin B12                                          0.0007

Choline                                             1080                      Nicotinic acid                                         106

Anexurine                                          1.2                        Riboflavin                                              1.42

Biotin                                                 0.25                       P-Aminobenzoic acid                            0.2

Pantothenic  acid                              9.3                        Methionin                                             1400

Table-1.Group B Vitamins in A.hippocartanum fresh seeds

Synthesis of 3,5,3'-trihydroxy-7,4',5'-trimethoxyflavone, isolat­ed from oil secreted by buds.  A tannic compound acetylcretanin-along with isoquercitrin, hyperin, astragalin, trifolin and nicotiflorin isolated from galls.

Protoescigenin                        Barring togenol C

(-) Epicatechin                           Proanthocyanidin A2

Esculin                                       Fraxin

  The seeds also contain starch, sugars, fatty oil and variable quantities of proteins (Table.2).