HOMEOPATHIC RESEARCH

-GEORGE VITHOULKAS N.O. Simarubaceae. Family: Jussieu [vegetable substance] Mode of preparation: For Homeopathic use we use the tincture from the fresh shoots, leaves and blossoms. The essential features Ailanthus has come down to us with a reputation for malignant scarlatina, where the normal rush of the disease does not appear but instead we see sparse patches of a dark bluish colour, like mahogany and symptoms of cerebral intoxication. But this remedy, like every one of our remedies, is indicated in both chronic and acute conditions as long as the general picture agrees. It is very unfortunate that the old masters left none of their personal experience of the action of the remedies apart from those indications that have always been in our books. In my understanding Ailanthus is a remedy that could easily be confused with Baptisia in acute cases and with Lachesis in chronic cases. We shall speak about the chronic conditions first, after which we will consider its action

-GEORGE VITHOULKAS Garlic is a very old remedy. It was known in ancient Indian, Egyptian, Roman and Greek medicine as a very potent remedy against many diseases. The only reason why it is not used more frequently in Homeopathy seems to be the insufficient experience that we have with this plant. Since Allium sativum has been proved by Petroz and Teste in the year 1852, homeopaths have mainly used it in chronic dyspepsia and chronic bronchial catarrh, but also in other parts of the body such as in the region of the head and of the lower limbs, where we can find interesting symptoms. The classical description of Allium sativum is a dark complexioned, well-fed person with a strong constitution and firm flesh although he may be disposed to corpulence and obesity quite frequently. He likes a good living, loves eating very much, this being indeed one of his favorite occupations in which he can indulge with excessive abandon. He is nevertheless rather a gourmand than a glutton. He may no

-GEORGE VITHOULKAS Alumina silicata Andalusite rock - Alumina 63, Silica 37 parts. The essential features This is another interesting remedy about which we do not have enough information. Most of the symptomatology comes from Kent and from the few cases where I have prescribed it so far. I am convinced that this is going to prove to be a very important remedy once we know more about it. You may need this remedy in the deepest and most stubborn cases you meet in your homeopathic career. It is a remedy that contains in its pathogenesis elements from all three remedies : Alumen, Alumina and Silica and yet it has its own individuality. What is striking in my experience is the fact that those patients who need this remedy may present symptoms which are not very obtrusive, but deep and disturbing on a permanent basis. It seems that once an Alumina silicata symptomatology sets in there is no interval in the suffering of the patient, it is there all the time, day and night. In this wa

-GEORGE VITHOULKAS Generalities As we have already said in this remedy we see indurations of glands, of tonsils, of uterus, of mammary glands etc... Indurations that are really very hard. We see ulcerations on mucous membranes, especially cervix, vagina, urethra, mouth, stomach, intenstines, lupus erythematodus, cancer, epitheliomas, scirrhus. It is important to perceive this tendency of the remedy for hardening, infiltrating, indurating the tissues. In studying this medicine one perceives easily that this is a remedy that can produce malignancy. It is indicated also in old people, susceptible to common colds with a lack of reaction, with bronchial catarrh, with lung abscesses or cancer of the lungs, with hemoptysis. Another striking feature of this remedy is the paralytic weakness of the muscles. The muscles lose their tone, their strength. Paralysis from lead poisoning. Weakness during pregnancy. Faintness, fainting due to a feeling of emptiness in the stomach in chronic

-GEORGE VITHOULKAS Alumina has a general aggravation in the morning upon waking. This aggravation may take the form of anxiety, as previously mentioned, or it may consist of irritability, aversion to company, sadness or confusion. There is an amelioration in the evening and night; there may also be an amelioration or aggravation at 4 PM or from 4 to 8 PM, as in Lycopodium. Alumina patients are generally warm, and there is often an aggravation from heat or from the heat of the bed. (Some cases can be aggravated from cold.) This warm-bloodedness, together with the marked dryness of the skin, explains the amelioration from snow that can be seen in Alumina. Alumina is one of the driest remedies in all of the Materia Medica, which explains the aggravation from dry weather of this remedy. There can also be an aggravation from both walking and talking. On the other hand, there is a general amelioration from eating. There is also an amelioration from lying down and a strong desire to lie dow

-GEORGE VITHOULKAS French: Ambre gris German: Graue ambra English: Ambergris; Gray amber Animal substance Ambra grisea or Ambergris is a grayish, waxy pathologic secretion from the intestine of the sperm whale and is found floating in tropical seas. It occurs as a flammable, waxy mass, insoluble in water with a melting point of 60o C. It contains cholesterol and benzoic acid. Along with its Homeopathic use it is also used as a base for perfume. Mode of preparation: Trituration and tincture The essential features The key word that best describes the mental emotional state of an Ambra grisea case is INHIBITION. Most of the symptomatology of this remedy revolves around the idea of not being able to loosen up, to relax and "exchange", to let go when in the company of other people. Yet when we read the excellent exposition of Kent on this remedy this idea does not come across clearly. Stress has been given to the state where the patient talks incessantly, without

-GEORGE VITHOULKAS Generalities This is a remedy for people who are primarily prematurely old, lean, emaciated, marasmic. Over-impressionable patients, worn out, tired, suffering in their majority from a nondescript vertigo with high blood pressure, headaches or colitis. The peripheral nervous system is affected with twitches, jerks and nervousness. The symptoms are most erratic, they look inconsistent and therefore the general idea of the remedy should be taken into account. There seems to be a definite and strong connection between the emotional complaints and the effect that these have upon the alimentary canal. In younger people we shall see mostly duodenal ulcers, gastritis and colitis, while with older people we see high blood pressure, dizziness, vertigoes, headaches and mental weakness. Aggravated in the presence of others, from music, from emotional upsets, from embarassment, in spring time. Aggravation in the morning on waking. Trembling on rising, with dizzine

-GEORGE VITHOULKAS Generalities Ammonium carbonicum is a remedy that is indicated in constitutions which have difficulty in oxygenating the blood; this is the first remedy indicated for asphyxia from charcoal fumes. It is one of the best remedies for emphysema with cyanosis. The circulation becomes sluggish. This remedy will be indicated when there is a defective reaction to severe febrile diseases, such as typhoid fever, diphtheria, malignant scarlet fever, erysipelas, etc., especially when several incorrect remedies have been prescribed, confusing the case and leaving the patient looking exhausted and almost pulseless with a weak heart. The remedy should be remembered in cases of cerebrospinal meningitis when the patient is first striken by the disease, falling into a semi-comatose state. The body is cold, the pulse very weak, the surface of the body cyanotic. This remedy will help to establish a reaction. Another general characteristic of this remedy is a tendency to hemorrhag