Cell sensitivity, non-linearity and inverse effects.

It has been claimed that the homeopathic principle of 'similarity' (or 'similia') and the use of individualized remedies in extremely low doses conflicts with scientific laws, but this opinion can be disputed on the basis of recent scientific advances. Several mechanisms to explain the responsiveness of cells to ultra-low doses and the similarity as inversion of drug effects, have again been suggested in the framework of hormesis and modern paradoxical pharmacology. Low doses or high dilutions of a drug interact only with the enhanced sensitivities of regulatory systems, functioning as minute harmful stimuli to trigger specific compensatory healing reactions. Here we review hypotheses about homeopathic drug action at cellular and molecular levels, and present a new conceptual model of the principle of similarity based on allosteric drug action. While many common drugs act through orthostatic chemical interactions aimed at blocking undesired activities of enzymes or receptors, allosteric interactions are associated with dynamic conformational changes and functional transitions in target proteins, which enhance or inhibit specific cellular actions in normal or disease states. The concept of allostery and the way it controls physiological activities can be broadened to include diluted/dynamized compounds, and may constitute a working hypothesis for the study of molecular mechanisms underlying the inversion of drug effects.

"Life-bearing molecules" versus "life-embodying systems": Two contrasting views on the what-is-life (WIL) problem persisting from the early days of molecular biology to the post-genomic cell- and organism-level biology.

"What is life?" is an ultimate biological quest for the principle that makes organisms alive. This 'WIL problem' is not, however, a simple one that we have a straightforward strategy to attack. From the beginning, molecular biology tried to identify molecules that bear the essence of life: the double helical DNA represented replication, and enzymes were micro-actuators of biological activities. A dominating idea behind these mainstream biological studies relies on the identification of life-bearing molecules, which themselves are models of life. Another, prevalent idea emphasizes that life resides in the whole system of an organism, but not in some particular molecules. The behavior of a complex system may be considered to embody the essence of life. The thermodynamic view of life system in the early 20th century was remodeled as physics of complex systems and systems biology. The two views contrast with each other, but they are no longer heritage of the historical dualism in biology, such as mechanism/materialism versus vitalism, or reductionism versus holism. These two views are both materialistic and mechanistic, and act as driving forces of modern biology. In reality, molecules function in a context of systems, whereas systems presuppose functional molecules. A key notion to reconcile this conflict is that subjects of biological studies are given before we start to study them. Cell- or organism-level biology is destined to the dialectic of molecules and systems, but this antagonism can be resolved by dynamic thinking involving biological evolution.

From the cell of Schwann to schwannoma--a century's fruition.

The word "schwannoma" is pervasive throughout the neurosurgical community. However, little is known about the origin of the cell of "Schwann cell," the manifestation of the tumor's nomenclature, or the prominent physicians who studied its etiopathogenesis. Schwann was a founding father of cellular theory and one of the greatest scientists of the 19th century. He not only proposed cell theory but also discovered the "secondary" nerve cell and hypothesized its possible function in myelination. It took a century to confirm Schwann's hypothesis. In 1954, Geren, aided by the electron microscope, demonstrated that the cell of Schwann is responsible for nerve myelination. Concurrently, researchers worked to understand the etiology and pathogenesis of peripheral nerve neoplasms. Several attempts were made; Older, Virchow, and von Recklinghausen were the first pioneers who worked on the classification of these neoplasms. However, Masson first used the word "schwannoma" to describe peripheral nerve neoplasms other than neuromas. His French colleague Nageotte used the term "peripheral-glioma" to denote these tumors. These schwannomas were considered to have a malignant course. In 1932, Penfield attempted to classify peripheral nerve neoplasms into 3 categories: peripheral fibroblastoma, peripheral glioma, and neurofibroma of von Recklinghausen. He classified "Verocay's neurinoma," "Masson's schwannoma," and "cerebellopontine angle" tumors as perineural fibroblastoma. He believed that these tumors have a non-nerve cell, non-Schwann cell origin. He classified the tumors arising from the Schwann cell sheath as peripheral gliomas and articulated, "If any tumors are to be called schwannomas, these should be." The neurofibroma of von Recklinghausen was recognized as a separate entity, as described by von Recklinghausen himself. Murray and Stout proposed that schwannomas are essentially benign in nature clarifying the abstruseness of the benign or malignant nature of schwannoma.

Prevención del cáncer del cuello uterino: material bilingüe en Español y en lengua Cubeo / Cervical cancer prevention: bilingual material in Spanish and the Cubeo language

Esta cartilla es parte de un proyecto que comenzó en el año 2019 en el Resguardo de Paujil con mujeres de los pueblos Puinave, Curripaco, Sikuani, Cubeo y Piapoco. La idea surgió de nuestras propias lideresas, especialmente de Irene Rojas Acosta, quien logró motivar a investigadores de tres universidades en Bogotá para que se escribiera y se presentara un proyecto de salud para las mujeres indígenas ante el Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación. Invitó a 5 lideresas representantes de cada etnia para que hicieran parte activa del proyecto y le dieran continuidad; escrita en lenguas ancestrales y en español, representa un paso adelante en el trabajo por uno de estos derechos, como es el de la salud sexual y reproductiva de la mujeres. Con su lectura conoceremos cómo se entiende la enfermedad del cáncer de cuello uterino en la medicina occidental y cómo se puede evitar que las mujeres mueran por este motivo.

This booklet is part of a project that began in 2019 in the Paujil Reservation with women from the towns of Puinave, Curripaco, Sikuani, Cubeo and Piapoco. The idea arose from our own leaders, especially Irene Rojas Acosta, who managed to motivate researchers from three universities in Bogotá to write and present a health project for indigenous women to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation. She invited 5 female leaders representing each ethnic group to take an active part in the project and give it continuity; Written in ancestral languages ​​and in Spanish, it represents a step forward in the work for one of these rights, such as that of women's sexual and reproductive health. By reading it we will learn how the disease of cervical cancer is understood in Western medicine and how women can be prevented from dying from this reason.

La Biometría hemática desde la optica de la homeopatía: hemograma, citometríahemática, citología hemática / The biometrics from the viewpoint of homeopathy: CBC, citometría hemática, hematic cytology

Las pruebas de laboratorio son un complemento importante para que el médico homeópata recopile la totalidad de los datos con que se manifiesta la enfermedad de sus pacientes. Uno de los exámenes más habituales a los que se puede recurrir es la biometría hemática, el cual ofrece una orientación conveniente sobre los mecanismos que se activan en el organismo ante un estímulo nocivo determinado,mediante información detallada sobre los elementos formes de la sangre: serie blanca, serie roja y plaquetas. Se presentan a continuación las consideraciones más importantes sobre las variables que se estudian mediante un hemograma, pues aunque ninguno delos valores que nos puede proporcionar se encuentra en los repertorios clásicos,es evidente que nos ofrece información sobre signos tan importantes o comunescomo anemia, hemorragias, trombosis, tromboflebitis o abscesos, todos ellos ensus diferentes modalidades.

Laboratory tests are an important complement to the homeopath. They help to collect all the data manifested by the patient´s disease. One of the most common tests to which the homeopath can turn to is the Cell Blood Count, which offers a convenient guidance of the mechanisms that are activated in the body to a determined noxious stimulus, through detailed information about the blood cells: white,red and platelets count.The following are the most important considerations of the variables that are studied by a CBC, as though none of the values that we can find is in the classical repertoire, it is evident that offers very important information on common signs such as anemia, bleeding, thrombosis, thrombophlebitis or abscess, all in their different ways.

La Biometría hemática desde la Óptica de la Homeopatía: hemograma, citometríahemática, citología hemática / ff

Las pruebas de laboratorio son un complemento importante para que el médico homeópata recopile la totalidad de los datos con que se manifiesta la enfermedad de sus pacientes. Uno de los exámenes más habituales a los que se puede recurrir es la biometría hemática, el cual ofrece una orientación conveniente sobre los mecanismos que se activan en el organismo ante un estímulo nocivo determinado,mediante información detallada sobre los elementos formes de la sangre: serie blanca, serie roja y plaquetas. Se presentan a continuación las consideraciones más importantes sobre las variables que se estudian mediante un hemograma, pues aunque ninguno delos valores que nos puede proporcionar se encuentra en los repertorios clásicos,es evidente que nos ofrece información sobre signos tan importantes o comunescomo anemia, hemorragias, trombosis, tromboflebitis o abscesos, todos ellos ensus diferentes modalidades. (AU)

Laboratory tests are an important complement to the homeopath. They help to collect all the data manifested by the patient´s disease. One of the most common tests to which the homeopath can turn to is the Cell Blood Count, which offers a convenient guidance of the mechanisms that are activated in the body to a determined noxious stimulus, through detailed information about the blood cells: white,red and platelets count.The following are the most important considerations of the variables that are studied by a CBC, as though none of the values that we can find is in the classical repertoire, it is evident that offers very important information on common signs such as anemia, bleeding, thrombosis, thrombophlebitis or abscess, all in their different ways. (AU)