Marco Lombardozzi

Homotoxicology is a discipline originally proposed by the German physician Hans Heinrich Reckeweg in the 20th century, homotoxicology claims to treat diseases by eliminating toxins from the body.

According to the principles of homotoxicology, in fact, diseases are caused by the accumulation of toxins in the body, (homotoxins) that can derive from external or internal sources. Reckeweg argues that these toxins interfere with the proper functioning of the organism, leading to a variety of disorders and diseases.

According to Homotoxicology, the disease must therefore be interpreted as the result that arises from the interaction between pathogenic noxa and reactivity: diseases would be the expression of the organism's fight against toxins, in order to neutralize and expel them; therefore they would be the expression of the struggle that the organism carries out to compensate for the damage caused by homotoxins.

Depending on the extent of the aggression and the integrity of the defense system, the organism would manifest different clinical pictures that can be classified into 6 phases. In his Table of Homotoxicoses (synoptic table that classifies the different pathologies), Reckeweg represents the various degrees of reactivity through which the organism tries to maintain or restore its homeostasis, its balance, its state of health.

Each phase would represent the expression of the different reactive (inflammatory) capacities of the organism, the expression of as many types of flow balances reached by the organism to maintain its own restricted homeostasis. We distinguish 2 Humoral phases, 2 Fundamental Substance phases and 2 Cellular phases.

I have been studying Homotoxicology for years and I consider it a valid discipline, just as I consider the concept of disease as a result of toxins and the body's reactivity to eliminate them very acceptable. There are specific homotoxicological drugs that are based on this concept in carrying out the therapeutic action. Valid drugs in my personal experience.

But there is a but. After much study and reflection I am no longer convinced of the validity of the homotoxicosis table, in fact, I am not convinced at all. At this point some of my colleagues who are experts in homotoxicology as much as me and more than me will already be pricking up their ears and frowning, I understand them.

I address them with humility, encouraging the comparison and dialogue that are the basis of science, understood in a healthy sense, science and comparison that in recent years I no longer see represented, but that's another story.

I invite colleagues to reflect that the table of homotoxicosis today is limited and limiting. Fixedly and stereotypically circumscribing the phases of a disease in 6 rigid and fixed aspects, makes us lose the knowledge that over the decades, from Reckeweg onwards, has enriched medical knowledge. In the table of homotoxicosis, for example, the possibility of interpretation based on epigenetics is missing, and this does not seem like a small thing to me. Furthermore, the wealth of knowledge of medical psychology, the P of PNEI, is missing, as it is only very marginally mentioned.

These two aspects alone can significantly change the projections of a disease, the prognosis, the therapeutic choices. In the table of homotoxicosis there is a deep and, in my opinion, unbridgeable deficiency that requires a radical updating.

I launched the idea and I will be happy if the esteemed colleagues who read me would like to share their insights, reflections and analyses on the matter. The scientific debate is open, we are willing to make this space available to all those who want it.

If you want to be updated on the latest news, sign up for the newsletter