of editorial staff

A very interesting work has been published in “The Journal of Immunology”: Insights into the Mechanism of Action of Highly Diluted Biologics (Sergey A. Tarasov, Evgeniy A. Gorbunov, Elena S. Don, Alexandra G. Emelyanova, Alexander L Kovalchuk, Naveena Yanamala, A. Sylvia S. Schleker, Judith Klein-Seetharaman, Reno Groenestein, Jean-Pierre Tafani, Peter van der Meide and Oleg I. Epstein – The Journal of Immunology 2020, 205, 1345). The researchers are led by Oleg Epstein, who in the past has spoken disparagingly of homeopaths, but curiously the work he coordinates is further scientific proof of the effectiveness of ultra-diluted substances that he, to distance himself from homeopathic vocabulary, calls RAD (Release-Active-Drugs). The work starts from the action of antibodies against the cytokine Interferon gamma. It is known that interferon gamma has beneficial functions for the body but only in certain situations and concentrations. When this cytokine is produced in high quantities, for a long time and in abnormal situations, it produces negative responses for the state of health. Therefore, the use of antibodies against interferon gamma has a clinical rationale, but from a pharmacological point of view it presents some critical issues: it is very expensive and produces dangerous side effects. Here then is the idea of ​​Epstein's team to administer these ultradiluted antibodies and more precisely at 12 CH, 30 CH, 50 CH to use the Hanhemannian vocabulary. The result has demonstrated that the use of the ultradiluted antibody has hit the research objective, the diluted antibody has blocked the action of interferon gamma inducing “a conformational variation of the peptide chains responsible for interaction with the specific cytokine receptor”. The work therefore highlights how a molecule of a substance (antibody) can deactivate millions of molecules of a cytokine. Beyond Epstein's considerations on homeopaths, the work is truly important and worthy of appreciation. A further point of reference for those who approach the study of homeopathy and homotoxicology.