Update on organon

RESEARCH REVIEW OF BIPHASIC ACTION OF arsenic and corroboration of law of

minimumFROM THE DESK OF :

DR. BIPIN JETHANI M.D. (HOM.)LECTURER, DEPARTMENT OF ORGANON OF

MEDICINE,NEHRU HOMOEOPATHIC MEDICAL COLLEGE,

NEW DELHIE-mail: drbipin.jethani@gmail.com

# 9810146343/ 9868396623

ARSENIC: MEDICINAL DOUBLE EDGED SWORD

• Since long, the homoeopathic posological principle of minimum has long been ridiculed by the conventional system of medicine and the very concept of BIPHASIC ACTION OF MEDICINE dependent upon the DOSAGE of medicine has been a subject of scorn.

• However the following study on the action of Arsenic as a carcinogen in moderate doses and its anti-cancer activity in low doses corroborates the therapeutic utility of LAW OF MINIMUM.

IMPORTANCE OF DOSAGE

'ALL SUBSTANCES ARE

POISONS ...... THE RIGHT

DOSE DIFFERENTIATES A POISON

AND A REMEDY

……PARACELSUS

ARSENIC AS A CARCINOGEN

• Scientific evidence of a link between cancer and arsenic dates back to the late nineteenth century when researchers found a connection between regular use of the medicinal Fowler’s Solution (solution containing potassium arsenite which was used empirically to treat a variety of disorders) and skin cancer.

ARSENIC AS A CARCINOGEN

• In the following decades, similar connections were found among people who had regular exposure to arsenic-based pesticides and to the fumes produced during metal smelting. Besides this, the evidence of an etiologic role of arsenic for angiosarcoma of the liver is highly suggestive.

ARSENIC AS A CARCINOGEN

• More recently, researchers have given considerable attention to incidence of cancer among users of water supplies with high concentrations of arsenic.

• Earlier this year, the New York Times reported on a five-year study in Chile that showed some 700 people in excess of the background rate died from cancer that was linked to arsenic in drinking water at concentrations of 500 µg/L.

ARSENIC’s ANTI-CANCER ACTIVITY

‘I cannot therefore advise, for instance, the local extirpation of the so-called cancer of the lips and face (the product of highly developed psora, not infrequently in conjunction with syphilis) by means of the arsenical remedy of Frere Cosme,…………’ FOOTNOTE TO § 205 OF ORGANON

OF MEDICINE

ARSENIC’s ANTI-CANCER ACTIVITY

In conventional medicine, Arsenic has also long been demonstrated to have anti-cancer activity in some cases. Arsenic's antileukemic activity was first reported in the late 1800s. In 1878, a report from Boston City Hospital described the effect of Fowler's solution on the reduction of white blood cell counts in two normal people and one patient with “leucocythemia”

ARSENIC IN TREATMENT OF CANCER:A RESEARCH STUDY

• During the last decade, the efficacy of arsenic trioxide in both newly diagnosed and relapsed patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL)  has been established. Arsenic trioxide can be used as a single agent and induces complete remissions with only minimal myelosuppression. Investigators in China introduced arsenic trioxide as a cancer therapeutic for patients with APL, achieving notable rates of complete remission

Zhang P., Wang S. Y., Hu X. H. Arsenic trioxide treated 72 cases of acute promyelocytic leukemia. Chin. J. Hematol., 17: 58-62, 199

Sun H. D., Ma L., Hu X-C., Zhang T-D. Ai-Lin 1 treated 32 cases of acute promyelocytic leukemia. Chinese Journal of Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine, 12: 172,1992.

↵ Shen Z-X., Chen G-Q., Ni J-H., Li X-S., Xiong S-M., Qiu Q-Y., Zhu J., Tang W., Sun G-L., Yang K-Q., Chen Y., Zhou L., Fang Z-W., Wang Y-T., Ma J., Zhang P., Zhang T-D., Chen S-J., Chen Z., Wang Z-Y. Use of arsenic trioxide (As2O3) in the treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL): II. Clinical efficacy and pharmacokinetics in relapsed patients. Blood, 89: 3354-3360, 1997.

In newly diagnosed patients, complete remission rates have

ranged from 70% to 90%, and in relapsed patients, rates of 65% to >90% have been reported. In one

study, long-term follow-up revealed that 16 patients (50%) survived >5 years, with survival

extending to >17 years. Myelosuppression was minimal.

Soignet S. L., Frankel S. R., Douer D., Tallman M. S., Kantarjian H., Calleja E., Stone R. M., Kalaycio M., Scheinberg D. A., Steinherz P., Sievers E. L., Coutré S.,

Dahlberg S., Ellison R., Warrell R. P., Jr. United States multicenter study of arsenic trioxide in relapsed acute promyelocytic leukemia. J. Clin.

Oncol., 19: 3852-3860,2007.

Additional studies conducted in the United States confirmed that low doses of arsenic trioxide can induce complete remission in relapsed APL patients. Twelve APL patients who had received extensive prior therapy were treated with arsenic trioxide in doses of 0.06–0.2 μg until visible leukemic blasts and promyelocytes were eliminated from the bone marrow. Complete remissions occurred in 11 of the 12 patients, with 8 of those 11 patients achieving molecular remissions as well.

LOW DOSES OF ARSENIC & ITS BIPHASIC ACTION

Dr. Soignet of the Leukemia Service of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center states that “low doses of arsenic trioxide” are “standard treatment for acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) in the relapsed disease,” which induces differentiation and apoptosis of APL cells.

Soignet SL Clinical Experience of arsenic trioxide in relapsed acute promyelocytic leukemia. Oncologist 2001;6 Suppl. 2:11-6

Jack W. Dini, “Poison or Medicine: Toxin or Drug?” http://www.junkscience.com/nov07/poison_or_medicine.html

More and more research studies are revealing that a little bit of some poisons can be quite helpful to human health. Arsenic isn’t the only toxic material that can offer benefits at low doses. Others include botulinum, carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide and epibatidine, the toxic that native Indians use to make poison darts.

ARSENIC: A POISON IN MODERATE DOSES BUT MEDICINE IN LOW DOSAGE

In the 15th century, William Withering, who discovered digitalis, was a strong proponent of arsenic-based therapies. He argued, “Poisons in small doses are the best medicines; and the best medicines in too large doses are poisonous”.

CONCLUSION

The above discussion has brought into focus the biphasic action of medicines dependent on dosage of medicine and corroborates the significance of Hahnemann’s posological concept of MINIMUM.