Homeopathy and Autism – Part 1

The strange case of homeopathy Original title: The Strange Case of Homeopathy

Text: Michael Castleman

Translation: Felipe de Souza

In 1994, computer scientist Amy Lansky of Portola Valley, California, began to worry about her two-year-old son. Max knew the alphabet and could beat adults at memory games, but he rarely spoke and, despite hearing normally, he didn’t seem to understand the language. In preschool he avoided the other kids. His main form of communication was poking others with his finger. Consequently, school officials recommended Lansky to have a psychological evaluation with his son.

The diagnosis was autism, a neurological and behavioral disorder for which there is no known remedy. But Lansky refuses to believe that Max has an untreated disease. Her search for an answer led her to homeopathy, the healing art created in the 18th century that is enjoying great popularity because of American interest in alternative therapies. Homeopathy involves treating diseases with extremely diluted doses of plants, animal substances and chemical compounds, in the final medication not even a molecule of the diluted substance remains. Homeopathy defies the known laws of science, not to mention common sense. But rigorous studies show that it can work.

In a trial in Germany, homeopathic treatment for vertigo outperformed traditional pharmaceutical remedies; at Harvard, subjects with severe brain damage showed greater and more significant improvement with homeopathic treatment than with placebo. And homeopathic remedies have also been studied in conjunction with conventional treatments. In a case of infectious diarrhea, a study at the University of Washington showed that children who received the standard rehydration containing water, sugar and salt, plus the homeopathic remedy, recovered after two and a half days – a day and a half sooner than usual. than those who only received standard rehydration.

“I believe new science is going to explain how homeopathy works,” says Ellen Feingold, a pediatrician in Wilmington, Delaware, who left conventional medicine to practice homeopathy. “But research is not my field. I want to cure patients. As a traditional healer I just suppressed the symptoms. Now, with homeopathy, I really cure them.”

“Critics of homeopathy say that because the mechanisms of its action cannot be explained, it cannot work,” says Michael Carlston, a physician from Santa Rosa, California, who has combined standard medicine with homeopathy for more than 30 years. “But this is hypocritical. Aspiration was used for 90 years until its effectiveness was explained – and not a single doctor criticized it.”

Strange Medicine

Shortly after his son’s diagnosis, Lansky came across an article in a magazine about alternative treatments for children with behavioral problems.

Lansky’s acupuncturist referred him to homeopath John Malnychuk. He did not perform a physical exam, nor order diagnostic tests. He just asked a few questions, including many that doctors would consider irrelevant. He explored Max’s craving for milk, about fitful sleep, about spots under his eyes and their intensity, his sweetness, his stubbornness, his difficulty resting and his anti-perfectionism.

Then, using reference books, he looked for substances that produced the same effects in healthy people. This is the fundamental principle of homeopathy, the Law of Similar. It is the idea that illness can be cured by substances – plants, animals or minerals – that evoke the same symptoms in those who are well. Melnychuk decided to give Max Carcinosin, a treatment made from an infinitesimal amount of human cancer tissue.

“There are two types of homeopathic remedies” explains Melnychuk. “Some treat symptoms; for example, arnica works well for bruised muscles. And there are also ‘constitutional’ remedies, which match the patient’s personality. Max appears to fit the Carcinosin profile, which includes symptoms of perfectionism, restlessness and agitation, sleeping difficulties, and cravings for milk.” However, Melnychuk cautions that not every autistic child should take Carcinosin. “You have to tailor the medicine to the patient’s unique traits.”

Lansky mixed some Carcinosin into the water and gave it to Max each morning. Within two weeks, she noticed changes: “Max’s speech improved, and he seemed more socially aware.” Over the next two months the path towards improvement continued.

maybe not doing anything

Homeopathy was developed during the 18th century, a time when doctors knew very little about disease. They treated most illnesses with laxatives and bloodletting. Such treatments were called “heroic measures”, but the heroism was on the side of the patients, many of whom suffered more from these interventions than from the disease itself.

One eighteenth-century physician, Samuel Hahnemann, became so bored with heroic medicine that he closed his practice. But Hahnemann did not reject medicine. He was impressed by cinchona, a South American tree bark that was the first effective treatment for malaria. In 1790, Hahnemann ingested cinchona and became cold, pale, anxious and thirsty – all symptoms of malaria. This experience led him to postulate the Law of Similars.

Hahnemann tested hundreds of substances on himself – plants, animal parts and chemical compounds including salt, zinc, gold and cloves – cataloging their effects. In his time, he reopened his practice but prescribed only homeopathic remedies. Continue reading: Homeopathy and Autism – Part 2

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