The proving of dioxin

Abstract

Background: Dioxins are usually found adhering to or dissolved in fatty tissue where they can (bio)accumulate. Dioxins are not manufactured as commercial products or ingredients. They occur as unintended by-products of incomplete combustion (low temperature), photochemical and some chemical processes. These processes include waste incinerators, motor vehicles, wood burning, smoking, forest fires etc. Most human exposure to dioxins is through the food chain, such as tobacco smoke and other products finished by roasting or smoking (coffee, barbecue, smoked fish and ham). Symptoms of exposure to a large quantity of Dioxins are allergic dermatitis, hepatic necrosis, haemorrhage, lymphoid depletion and chloracne, and it may cause Hodgkin's lymphoma or psychiatric disturbances (neurasthenic, depressive syndromes). Aims of the study: We conducted a homeopathic drug proving (HP) of 2,3,7,8 tetrachloridibenzeno-p-dioxin (2,3,7,8-TCDD), one of the most toxic „man-made“ substances. The homeopathic preparation of Dioxin was tested on healthy volunteers, in an attempt to get information of the effects of this substance, prepared into 30th centesimal homeopathic dilution (after the twelfth dilution, the homeopathic preparation goes beyond what is called „Avogadro's limit“, where there is no discernible trace of the original substance). Design: The proving of Dioxin was conducted in Rio Grande do Sul state in Brazil with volunteers as provers, using the modified Protocol of National Proving – Homeopathic Pathogenetic Trials in Human Beings from the Brazilian Medical Association of Homeopathy. The total number of subjects involved included 30 healthy volunteers. They were randomly assigned to the placebo or verum group. ‘Healthy’ was defined by medical judgement and laboratory tests. Both trial investigators and the volunteers did not know the remedy. Keywords: Homeopathic pathogenetic trial, Tetrachloridibenzeno-p-dioxin (2,3,7,8-TCDD), modified Protocol of National Proving, Brazil. Schlusselworter: Homoopathische Arzneimittelprufung, Tetrachloridibenzeno-p-dioxin (2,3,7,8-TCDD), modifiziertes Protokoll nationaler Prufungen, Brasilien. Korrespondierender Autor: Miriam Sommer MD, Angela AL Vieira, MD Matheus Marim MD, The Netherlands E-Mail: miriamsommer@planet.nl