See, how a proper understanding of the protein molecular kinetics of regulatory mechanisms of chemical conversions, transfer of genetic information and other physico-chemical processes in the living cells, help us in evolving a scientific and rational explanation to the prime Homoeopathic therapeutic principle– Simila similibus curentur’. Try to re-explore this most vital and contentious concept in the light of modern revelations regarding various forms of bio-molecular inhibitions and activations that constitute the complex mechanisms of disease and cure. The famous ‘lock and key model’ hypotheses promoted by Fischer and Coshland, illustrating the decisive role played by the spatial configuration of biological molecules in ensuring their specific recognition and interactions may be particularly noted. The therapeutic properties exhibited by highly diluted homoeopathic medicines could be hereafter satisfactorily explained on the basis of modern concepts of molecular imprinting and hydrosome formations.

Homoeopathic technique of drug potentisation may be viewed as an indirect process of synthesizing artificial ‘locks’ exactly fitting to the molecular ‘ keys’, whereas the ‘keys’ are the disease-causing molecules or ions. Sophisticated methods developed by the emerging technologies of ‘Molecular Imprinted Polymers’ and ‘Molecular Imprinted Gels’ have to be considered in this connection. Information regarding the phenomenon of shape-memory property and various so called ‘smart’ materials is also valuable. The extraordinary and wonderful physico-chemical properties of water have serious implications in the scientific study of Homoeopathy. The observation that water, with its super-molecular structure behaving somewhat like a polymer, exhibits shape-memory property is very exciting. Further studies are needed to verify whether various disaccharides and oligosaccharides such as cane-sugar and milk-sugar exhibit any shape memory or molecular imprinting capabilities.

According to the observations so far made by the author, Cellulose, a natural polysaccharide glyco-polymer with its various bio-friendly and shape memory characteristics, appears to be a very promising candidate for homoeopathic molecular imprinting and target-oriented drug delivery systems of coming days. Ultimately, the theory of Hydrosome therapy will help us demonstrate how an ultra-minute dose of the highly diluted homoeopathic medicine, not having even a remote chance of a single drug molecule contained in it, displays ‘dynamic’ therapeutic powers, when administered in specifically indicated clinical conditions. The homoeopathic theory of chronic diseases and ‘miasms’ could be re-validated in the light of latest concepts of molecular imprinted proteins, antibodies and ‘prions’. In short, the revolutionary concepts introduced in the following articles may pave the way in gaining a new and refined understanding of Homoeopathy. This scientific re-reading is expected to raise this noble healing art to its rightful status of a specialized branch of modern molecular medicine, thereby liberating it from the centuries-old ridicule and contempt.

A couple of articles collected from various inimical sources, vehemently attacking and denigrating Homoeopathy, are also included herewith. These articles may enable the reader to sort out the main criticisms leveled against Homoeopathy by its opponents, and seek to scientifically disprove their arguments. To march ahead into the new millennium not as mere ‘magic healers’ but men of science, homoeopaths have to settle accounts face to face with their own predecessors as well as adversaries simultaneously. It is hoped that this dialectical approach advocated by the author will empower homoeopaths to stand theoretically and materially fortified in winning such a double-sided ideological battle. Let us proudly keep the banner of scientific homoeopathy high!

Molecular Mechanism of ‘Disease’ and ‘Cure’
According to the modern scientific view, disease should be understood as a state of vital activity, deranged to such an extent that the normal physiological functions of the organism are negatively affected. These derangements are expressed as groups of more or less subjective and objective manifestations and sensations called symptoms. Normal vital activity gets deranged due to a break in the continuity of molecular conversions in one or other underlying biochemic pathways, due to any defect or non-availability of some essential biological molecules such as enzymes, receptors, transporters, hormones, chemical mediators, structural molecules and various substrates playing crucial roles in the regular biochemic interactions.

Molecular defects amounting to pathology may be caused by diverse factors such as :-
1) There may be abnormalities associated with primary protein synthesis. In this category, one or more particular types of essential protein molecules could not be synthesized, or defective proteins are synthesized owing to some inherent structural disorders of concerned genes. Apart from this, defects or non-availability of regulatory enzymes or other proteins associated with the expression of gene functions may also result in such a situation. Moreover, obstructions in diverse molecular conversion pathways also could affect the availability of various essential molecules and substrates required for normal protein synthesis. Nutritional deficiencies of essential amino acids and co-factors may also affect the synthesis and spatial stabilization of various types of proteins.

2) Molecular defects may arise from the influence of various physical factors such as temperature, ionizing radiations, medium pH, hydration levels etc. Variations in any of these factors beyond certain limits are found to effect harmful changes in the three-dimensional spatial configuration of protein molecules, thereby rending them incapable of performing their specific functions.

3) Raw materials required for the synthesis of biological molecules inside the organism are obtained from the environment through various routes such as nutrition, respiration etc. Any deficiency in the regular supply of these essential components may invariably result in some kind of derangements in the synthesis of biological molecules and associated vital activities.

4) Most important and universal category of pathological bio-molecular defects are those arising from the inhibitions caused by the binding of some exogenous or endogenous molecules or ions on to the essential biological molecules, thereby rendering them incapable of performing their normal functions.

Bio-molecular inhibitions or blockages coming under the latter type are the major cause of the commonly encountered pathological conditions. Such bindings may disturb the specific three-dimensional spatial configurations of those molecules, preventing them from discharging their normal functions of recognition, binding, conversion, transportation etc. If such inhibitions occur to the mediatory enzymes regulating the gene expression, the resultant pathological condition may resemble very much that of original genetic disorders. Even in the case of disorders of purely genetic origin, metabolites accumulated due to the primary derangements may bind to various biological molecules, resulting in secondary inhibitions in different biochemical pathways.

When a particular type of disease-causing molecules bind to and block a particular type of biological molecules, a particular biochemical channel is broken or deranged, resulting in a particular disease condition expressed by a particular train of subjective and objective symptoms. Metabolites accumulating at various molecular sites due to the break in the continuity of related biochemical pathways might create further molecular blocks in other channels. Toxic or harmful metabolic by-products such as as various types of free radicals and super oxides may also attack biological molecules. Exogenous materials such as bacterial and viral toxins, chemicals, glycosides and alkaloids of plant origin etc. are capable of producing pathologic molecular inhibitions. Antibodies, hormones, neuro-mediators and various other endogenous substances also are capable of creating troublesome molecular blocks. This process of serial blockages and inhibitions ultimately lead to a complex totality of multiple derangements and pathological symptoms. In general, this is the molecular mechanism of pathology.

The famous ‘lock and key model’ hypotheses of Fischer and Coshland, describing the decisive role played by the spatial configuration of biological molecules in ensuring their specific recognition and interactions may be borne in mind while discussing the molecular kinetics of bio-molecular inhibitions and reactivations. Any rational therapeutic intervention, under the label of whatever medical system, should be knowingly or otherwise aimed at the removal of such pathological molecular inhibitions and reactivating the obstructed pathways. It should also eliminate those disease-causing molecules from the system, and prevent the occurrence of secondary molecular blocks.

‘Simila Similibus Curentur’ or ‘Law of Similars’
This great doctrine, formulated by Samuel Hahnemann, constitutes the basis of Homeopathic therapeutic system. It means ‘like cures like’, that is, diseases are cured by agents capable of producing symptoms resembling those found in the disease under treatment. According to this theory, since a state of disease is expressed essentially as a group of subjective and objective symptoms, the proper medicine for any disease is the one, which is capable of producing a similar group of symptoms when given to a healthy person. Homoeopathic Materia Medica contains nothing other than a systematic and more or less complete recording of symptoms elicited by different substances, when administered to persons in health.

Equipped with the latest scientific understanding regarding the kinetics of the intricate molecular mechanisms of vital activity, disease and cure, we are now in a position to examine the ‘Law of Similars’ in a new perspective.

A drug is essentially a sample of substance of vegetable, animal, mineral, or synthetic origin. Such a sample may contain one or more types of molecules or ions. A sample of simple substance, containing only a single type of molecules is very difficult to obtain. Even purely synthetic drugs may contain some foreign molecules in the form of one or other kinds of contaminations at various stages of preparation, preservation, handling etc. Heterogeneous drugs of vegetable or animal origins may be composed of hundreds or thousands of types of molecules.

When such a sample of drug is introduced into the living system, the constituent molecules undergo various chemical changes, ionization etc. The resultant molecules and ions behave exactly as foreign molecules in the system. Some of them may bind to various biological molecules and metabolites, resulting in bio-molecular blocks, deranging some of the biochemical channels, manifesting as groups of subjective and objective symptoms. Since a heterogeneous drug sample may contain different types of molecules, capable of binding to different molecular targets, they will be eliciting different groups or trains of symptoms.

Each specific group of symptoms represents a derangement in a specific biochemic cannel. If a particular group of symptoms produced by a particular drug resembles the symptoms of a particular known disease condition, it clearly indicates that the actual disease-causing molecules and some of the molecules contained in the drug sample could attack the same target molecules, producing same biochemical derangements. Here, the drug molecules and the disease-causing molecules should have some similar inherent characteristics, by which they could bind to the same biological molecules. As far as the particular molecular targets are concerned, the drug molecules and disease -molecules are said to be having a competitive relationship. This competitive relationship is due to the similarity of spatial configurations of the drug molecules and disease-causing molecules or their active groups. The important fact is that, due to this similarity in spatial configuration, they could bind to same target molecules, resulting in similar molecular inhibitions and symptoms.

Viewing from this standpoint, when a drug is said to be a homoeopathic similimum to a particular disease, it only means that the drug contain some molecules having spatial configurations similar to the particular disease-causing molecules, so that they can compete with them for binding with same biological molecules. In most cases, according to the kinetics of molecular inhibitions and reactivations, such a competitive relationship between disease-causing molecules and drug molecules result in the de-blocking and reactivation of biological molecules and the removal of inhibitions that underlie the particular disease condition. The disease is said to have been cured by the drug, which was homoeopathic to that particular disease. In the case of homoeopathic cures using highly potentised medicines, an entirely different mechanism is working.

 Here, instead of drug molecules, molecularly imprinted pockets of water, bearing the negative spatial configuration of drug molecules are utilized. These molecular pockets, by virtue of their special affinity due to the configurational similarity, acts as artificial locks for the molecular keys comprising of disease-causing molecules. The active groups of the disease-causing molecules are bound and entrapped by the molecular pockets of water, thereby liberating the biological molecules from inhibitions. This interpretation hopefully provides a reasonably reliable foundation for further scientific inquiries into the basic principle of Homoeopathy, ‘Simila Similibus Curentur’ at the molecular level!

‘Drug Proving’ in Homoeopathy
The Homoeopathic Materia Medica contains a systematic record of subjective and objective symptoms produced by each drug, when administered in healthy individuals. This method of eliciting symptoms is known as ‘drug proving’. In fact, this is an indirect way of studying the complex bio-molecular inhibitions that could be created in the living system by the various molecules contained in the particular drug sample. As far as modern science and technology has not advanced so as to identify and isolate each type of molecules in a given drug sample, and to understand the kinetics of the multitude of bio-molecular interactions and inhibitions those drug molecules could induce in the system, homoeopathic drug proving will remain the most effective and reliable technique for this study. More over, it still remains a dream for modern science to acquire necessary tools to identify and study the bio-molecular mechanism underlying the millions of subjective and objective symptoms elicited during health, disease and drug proving. Here lies the paramount importance and practical value of homoeopathic ‘Drug proving’.

‘Modalities’ or Conditions of Aggravations and Ameliorations
In homoeopathy, much importance is accorded to the ‘Modalities’ or conditions of aggravations and ameliorations of each symptom. A symptom unqualified with any modality is considered almost worthless in homeopathic case study. Along with modalities, factors such as causations, locations, sensations, extensions, alternations, concomitants, chronological order etc. associated with each symptom are also taken into account, in selecting a similimum. A singular subjective or objective symptom may not be by itself enough to indicate the exact molecular block. Molecular blocks of entirely different types may some times produce seemingly similar individual symptoms. Derangement in a particular biochemic pathway due to the inhibition of a particular biological molecule will exhibit a complex train of symptoms with particular modalities and qualifications. A singular symptom unqualified with any modality will not help us to identify the exact bio-molecular inhibitions or the deranged bio-chemic pathways underlying the particular disease condition. Here lies the importance of the whole train of symptoms accompanied by modalities, causations, locations, sensations, extensions, concomitance, alternations, chronological order etc. It is not any single unqualified symptom, but the complex train of symptoms that matter in identifying the exact similimum. In homeopathy, this is expressed by the aphorism ‘totality of symptoms’.

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