GIRIGIRI
International Research Group on Very Low Dose
and High Dilution Effects
_______________________________________________________________________________________
GIRI, due to its international structure,
organises workshops yearly throughout the world. It convenes systematically
in congresses during each of the International Encounters of Monaco. The aim
of the GIRI is to bring together pharmacologists, biologists, physicians, chemists
and physicists to communicate, exchange experiences and develop joint research
projects; the distinctive feature of the research activities of the group is
the study of ultra low dose impulses or very high dilutions, homœopathics included.
Although the mechanism of action of the very diluted solutions of active principles
on biological systems is an important concern of the GIRI, the major interest
of the Group is directed towards the possible medicinal and therapeutic relevance
of the very low doses. More than one hundred persons are GIRI members, coming
from 20 different countries.
Le GIRI, Groupe International de Recherche sur l'Infinitésimal, organise des réunions de travail chaque anné partout à travers le monde. Il se réunit en congrès lors de chacun des Entretiens Internationaux de Monaco. Le GIRI a pour but de rassembler des pharmacologistes, des biologistes, des médecins, des chimistes et des physiciens afin qu'ils puissent communiquer, échanger leurs expériences et développer des projets de recherche commun. Il s'agit d'étudier les effets des hautes et très hautes dilutions de substances y compris les dilutions homéopatiques dans une approche scientifique rigoureuse. Plus de 100 chercheurs,venant de 20 pays différents sont membre du GIRI.
President:
Prof.
Jean Cambar,Faculty of Pharmacy, 33076 Bordeaux, France
Vice-Présidents: Dr. Endler Peter-Christian, Boltzman Institute, Graz,
Austria
Dr. Michel Van Wassenhoven, european Committee for homeopathy, Brussels, Belgium
Secretary:Prof M. Bastide, Faculty of Pharmacy, Montpellier, France
Treasurer: Dr. R. P. Halm, Entretiens Internationaux de Monaco, MC 98000
Monte-Carlo, Monaco
LIST OF GIRI MEMBERS ( click here )
Forum reserved to GIRI's members
THE FIRST BOOK ON THE SUBJECT ( totaly downloadable!) :
"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 of Pharmacy, University of Montpellier I, France
Kluver
Academic Press
Scientific Committees
GIRI Meeting, Montpellier, France, 20-21 November
1993:
A.J. Gabius
Professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University
of Marburg, Germany
M. Manfait
Professor of Physics, University of Reims, France
J. Michel
Professor of Medicine, Hebrew University and Hadassah,
Jerusalem, Israel
GIRI 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.P. 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
PREFACE
The GIRI is designated by the letters of its french name "Groupe International de Recherches sur l'Infinitésimal" 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 GIRI 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 GIRI 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 GIRI 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.
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 "Introduction" debates the question of scientific evolution and revolution in the context of modern 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.MB
INTRODUCTION
In the context of the History of Science, the scientists who challenge the dominant paradigm are ignored or attacked by the scientific mainstream. Modern science is totally devoted to the mechanistic paradigm and biology is totally linked to a physico-chemical reductionism: in this context, scientists are very resistant to new discoveries which like homeopathy or high dilution effects chip away the molecular dogma. But "considering that major changes in Science have never been brought about by isolated findings, but by collective evidence", it is fitting that such a text should introduce this book of "anomalies" at the frontier of science . MB
B.
RUBIK.
The
Perennial Challenge of Anomalies at the Frontiers of Science.
CHAPTER I
HORMESIS
The modern notion of hormesis originated with the observations of Southam and
Erlich (Phytopathology, 33, pp 515-524, 1948) and was developped
by Stebbing (Aquatic Tox., 1, pp 227-238, 1981). Hormesis is a
very well known phenomenon which demonstrates the reverse toxic action of a
substance which becomes a stimulating agent at a lower concentration. This was
demonstrated with ponderal doses, the reversion of the effect being obtained
only by a small decrease of the concentration (10-100 times lower). Models have
been created with various poisons and on all possible organisms whatever their
level in evolution, from procaryotic cells to plants, from eucaryotic cells
to mammals This reverse effect is studied here by Luckey who observed that cancer
mortality rates were lowered by exposure to low doses of ionizing radiations.
Conversely, the administration of low doses of a poison to an organism increases the resistance towards that poison. The famous king Mithridate, using small daily doses of various poisons, could not be killed by poison and eventually died by a sword-thrust.
This model is presented here by Faiderbe et al. in a tumoral induction model provoked in rats by a chemical agent by comparison with the internal image of this toxic agent built by the immune system (anti-idiotypic antibody). A molecular hormetic protective effect was observed although the protection was much more effective when the animals were pretreated by the internal image of the chemical agent.
A "post intoxication" treatment was also tested by Wiegant et al. and van Wijk by administration of ponderal lower concentrations of the poisons. They could observe a protective mechanistic effect by increasing the heat shock protein production. This effect was not strictly specific to the poison and cross-reactions were observed. It resembles an amplification of the defense process thus demonstrating a "mechanistic" similia-law which is rather different from the similia-law of homeopathy based on the observation of the "symptoms".(see the next chapter). On the contrary, Delbancut et al. protected rats or cultured cells by succussed (or potentized) high dilutions 10-30 or 10-40M of mercury chloride (non-molecular succussed solutions) against the same chemical (mercury chloride). In this case, the protection seems to be strictly specific to the same toxic (no cross reaction) and the protective metallothionein is not released directly by the treatment but only at the intoxication time.
It seems that pretreatment or post-treatment by molecular doses only amplifies the "protective process" whatever the inducing agent (cross-reaction) while pretreatment by succussed high dilutions (non molecular) induces a learning process in the living organism aimed to establish a protection against the "waited danger". Specific appropriate protective tools are therefore conceived and performed by the living organism only at the poisoning time by the "same poison" (law of identity). We can propose an informative function of the succussed high dilution differs from the molecular function. MB
T.D.LUCKEY
Radiation Hormesis.
F.A.C.WIEGANT
et al.
Stimulation of Self-recovery by Low Doses of Arsenite-intoxicated Cells.
R.VAN
WIJK et al.
Stimulation of Cellular Self-recovery by Application of the Similia-principle.
CHAPTER II
IN VITRO AND IN VIVO MODELS
This point raises a question: is the pharmacology
of succussed high dilution a classical one related to stimulus in biological
systems (Bonne) or are these high dilutions informative structures different
from the molecules and able to be received (and treated) directly by the organism
? The physical study by Demangeat et al. opens the door to potentially
a modification of succussed high dilutions (succussion or potentization is obtained
by a strong vertical manual or mechanical agitation of the dilution for at least
30 seconds). This appears as a physical modification of the agitated dilutions
whatever the real phenomenon which occurs. All the pharmacological papers presented
here (except the Bellavite et al. results) were performed with non-molecular
succussed high dilutions (beyond the Avogadro number), either diluted endognenous
molecules as hormones (Youbicier-Simo et al. and Endler et al.)
or homeopathic remedies (Cristea et al. and Oberbaum et al.).
High dilutions of antigens were also tested in immune response (Weissman et
al.). The Bellavite paper is more related to the mechanistic models reviewed
by Bonne. One may think that some low dose effects can be interpreted in the
framework of classical science. However, as soon as the work is performed with
non-molecular succussed solutions, either it must be considered as nonsense
in the context of the molecular dogma, or "something" is present in
the solutions which can be received and interpreted by the organism. The highly
diluted hormones are significantly active in frogs or chickens as soon as they
bring a lacking and important piece of information (thyroxine is important for
tadpole metamorphosis and bursin is crucial for the bursectomized chick embryos).
The "message" can be transmitted through the glass or by a compact
disk to tadpoles (Endler). We are a step further in the "information"
hypothesis. The use of homeopathic remedies are more difficult to perform considering
the results of Cristea and Oberbaum. The "receivers" (live organ,
living organism) have to interprete the transmitted information, either in an
Arndt-Schultz law in the Belladonna Cristea model (related to hormesis by inversion
of effects) or according to the true homeopathic "similia-law" based
on the framework of the symptoms (Chamomilla or Silicea). The reproducibility
of the results depends on the quality of the interpretation of the receiver
due to its "sensitivity". These experimental
models are well documented, scientifically accepted by academic journals and
will help us to understand the next chapter.MB
C.
BONNE
From Stimulus to Message in Biological Systems, an Illustrated Survey
P.C.
ENDLER et al.
Non-molecular Information Transfer from Thyroxine to Frogs.
A.
CRISTEA et al.
Pharmacodynamic
Effects of Very High Dilutions of Belladonna on the Isolated Rat Duodenum.
A.
CRISTEA et al.
Chamomilla Homeopathic Dilution Effect on Central Nervous System.
Z.
WEISSMAN et al.
High Dilutions of Antigens Modulate the Immune Response to KLH.
M.
OBERBAUM et al.
Healing Chronic Wounds Performed on Mouse Ears Using Silica (Sio2) as a Homeopathic
Remedy.
CHAPTER III
THERAPEUTICS AND PROVINGS
The therapeutical application of low doses or high dilutions occurs only in homeopathic medicine. Even though previous models could demonstrate the activity or the transfer of non-molecular information, the therapeutic application of "infinitesimal" dilutions depends on the law of similar which is the keyword of homeopathy. The similarity is that of the symptoms observed in a healthy subject receiving a certain remedy (pathogenetic effect or proving) being the same as those observed in a patient needing that same remedy to cure him. As the expression of the symptoms concerns the whole body and mind, the second principle of Homeopathy is the principle of totality. Thanks to Hahnemann's observations, the remedies chosen according to the principle of similarity are more powerful when they are diluted and succussed: the "potentization"(or dynamization) increases the effectiveness of the remedy even though no more molecules are theoretically present. The pathological symptoms may be considered as an attempt at communication by the patient's body: the symptoms become the process of communication about the pathology, the organism being unable to find itself the mechanisms of regulation necessary to find again the normal state. These symptoms are classically read by the physician either to identify the pathology and to find the corresponding treatment (allopathy), or to identify the remedy able to give the whole symptoms in a healthy subject (homeopathy). The allopathic therapy will consider the body as an object and try to cancel the main symptom by an opposite effect. The homeopathic therapy will consider the body as a whole and will transmit an information on the whole symptoms given by the remedy. The organisation of the symptoms is related specifically to a subject (individualisation). It is unique for each patient who develops pathologies related to specific morbid conditions throughout his life. These symptoms and related pathologic manifestations are not randomly observed but seem to follow an organisation: the complex system could be a model of understanding. The complex system (Le Moigne) was proposed as a model characterized by a "phenomenological hypothesis" and a "teleological hypothesis" which presents a non-traditional determinism based on the final cause or the intention. The patient himself is his own producer of symptoms (or the healthy subject in the pathogenesy or proving) and the diseases he produces represent his personal clinical production (H.Carée). In the model of complex system, the patient (pathological symptoms) or the experimenter (pathogenetic symptoms or proving) operates according to his own particular criteria, evolves in accordance with them and has a teleological project for his own self-realisation. As such, the proving of a remedy (symptoms developped by a healthy subject) should be tested according to rules. Walach et al. tested some of them and tried to define a protocol including a placebo. The criteria remain to be considered and the quality of a proving has to correlate with the informative function of a highly diluted succussed remedy received by a healthy subject according to his sensitivity; moreover, even in a proving, a memory of the information could continue to exist following administration of the remedy : is a cross-randomized design a good evaluation for a proving ? In the same way, randomized trials (van Erp et al.) or veterinary treatments (Grandmontagne et al., Blostin) show how classical rules of statistical evaluation can be employed more or less successfully. However they must be proposed for clinical evaluation of homeopathy (Brands).
M.B.
J.L.
LE MOIGNE, H. CAREE
On Modelling Complex System: Wonderful but not Incomprehensible
Contribution
of Systemic Modelling to the Renewal of Homeopathic Theory Understood as a Complex
Phenomenon.
H.
WALACH et al.
Effect of Belladonna 12 CH and 30 CH in Healthy Volunteers
R.
BLOSTIN
Arsenicum album and Neurotoxic poisoning in Dogs and Cats
V.M.A.
van ERPet al.
Malaria and Homeopathic remedies in Ghana
M.
BRANDS
AIDS and Integral Medicine
CHAPTER IV
EPISTEMOLOGIC APPROACH
The three principles of homeopathy (the similia law, totality and the pharmacological effect of succussed high dilutions) are nonsense for mainstream science which is based upon the logic of objects according to the mechanistic paradigm. This paradigm has been so fruitful that we think it is the only law of rationality. However, other facts necessitate the creation of a rational new way of thinking whose roots can be found in previous centuries (Lagache). The functionning of the living body is one of these facts. The living organism cannot be considered as an object. It is continuously modified as a function of time. It is in a continual and irreversible learning process. As Lagache proposes, the living organism (body and mind) is a complex structure able to exchange information with the external world. Information also circulates in the internal world allowing exchanges at every level: the living organism is an informed-informing structure. Just as the mechanistic paradigm seizes the material interactions between objects and the symbolic paradigm assumes linguistic facts, we need a paradigm that allows the understanding of living structures: living beings communicate with their world in a non verbal way, whether on a somatic or psychological level. This paradigm takes place within the framework of the logic of analogy. Communication will be mediated by "semantic objects". Their application can be used to interprete the therapeutic effects of homeopathy as well as succussed high dilutions (infinitesimal). The dilutions will play the role of semantic objects bringing information to the body.
So, "what is information" (Lagache) ? The semantic object makes sense for the living organism: the circulation of this type of signifier has its own original laws. Each piece of information is not an object even if it has a carrier. For example, the information of the remedy is carried by the potentized dilution (the transmission of the information being due to the electromagnetic carrier obtained by the succussion of the solvent of the remedy as shown by Endler). The sense is non-local; it concerns the whole organism designated as the receiver. This receiver then creates the meaning and is able to modify its behaviour. The simplest mode of representation for living structures is a passive mimesis. But when the living organism receives this information brought by the semantic object (the succussed high dilution) , it receives it not as a material object but as information about this object which calls for a processing and active regulation by the whole organism. This is an operation of active mimesis. In order to be treated, this semantic object must fulfill certain conditions. It has to be alleviated, diluted, so as not to worsen the symptoms through too strong a presence. It has to be related to the receiver's referent.
The allopathic therapy will consider the body as an object and the pathology has a causality. The therapeutics must cancel the main symptoms by an opposite effect and treat the cause. The homeopathic therapy will consider the body as an informed-informing structure, and the symptoms in an complex organisation: it will transmit an artificial and alleviated information on the whole symptoms given by the remedy. Then, the body is able to recognize and treat the "semantic object" which allows the negation of the symptoms recognized as an erroneous adaptation. The more similar the symptoms of the patient and the remedy, the more effective the remedy. The medical device has to re-inform the patient and makes his symptoms move on towards a higher level of integration. The action of the remedies consists of a dynamic analogy between pieces of information as proposed by Lagache .
One can rationally propose that homeopathy belongs to the world of communication. Starting from this point, scientific experimentations have to be based upon the possibility for the receiver to understand and treat information. In each model, the question of the receiver's referent has to be asked. When the potentized dilution is used, ones must define the framework of information. For example, high dilutions of a poison are able to induce a learning process in a living system but only to fight specifically against this poison (law of identity) as an "expected danger". The endogenous molecules such as bursin, thyroxin, etc.. are automatically recognized according to the genoma. The similia law gives the framework of information by analogical communication when homeopathic remedies are used in animals or in humans.
M.B.
A.LAGACHE
Notes on Conceptual Basis of Science
A.LAGACHE
What is Information ?