Defining ‘Similimum’ In Scientific Terms Is Essential To Make Homeopathy A Science

Normally, a drug is said to be ‘similimum’ to a given case if the symptomatology expressed by the patient is matching to the recorded symptomatology of that drug. In other words, if the drug picture is similar to a disease picture, the drug is said to be ‘similimum’ to that disease. This ‘matching’ of drug symptoms and disease symptoms are the basis of homeopathic prescriptions guided by the principle of ‘similia similibus curentur’

Since ‘life’ consist of complex chains of inter-related biochemical pathways involving interactions of diverse biological molecules, pathology also should be understood at molecular level. Every state of pathology has an underlying ‘molecular error’ created by an endogenous or exogenous factor that inhibits the normal functioning of a biological molecule. These molecular errors lead to deviations in related biochemical pathways which amount to a state of pathology. Such molecular errors are expressed in the living organism through subjective and objective ‘symptoms’.

Molecular processes being inter related and inter dependant, a particular ‘molecular error’ happening in a particular biochemical pathway may inevitably lead to cascading of molecular errors and biochemical deviations. This is expressed as ‘trains’ of symptoms called ‘symptom complexes’. Observing the ‘symptom complexes’ carefully, we can infer the type and character of molecular errors underlying them. This is the basis of homeopathic methodology of therapeutics.

When crude drugs are introduced into the healthy organism as part of homeopathic drug proving, the constituent drug molecules binds to various biological molecules resulting in diverse types of ‘molecular errors’ expressed in the form of different groups of subjective and objective symptoms. These symptoms are called ‘drug symptoms’ representing molecular level states of ‘drug pathology’.

If the ‘symptom complexes’ expressed by a particular state of pathology happens to be ‘similar’ to certain ‘symptom complexes’ produced by a particular drug, that means, the ‘molecular errors’ underlying that state of pathology was same as the ‘molecular errors’ that could be created by the constituent molecules of that drug in a healthy organism. Obviously, the drug substance contains some molecules that could bind to the biological molecules in the same way as the particular pathogenic molecules did. It further means that the drug contained some molecules that have molecular configurations exactly similar to the particular pathogenic molecules.

Potentized drugs contains ‘molecular imprints’ of constituent molecules contained in the drug used for potentization. These ‘molecular imprints’ are nothing but ‘supra-molecular’ clusters of water/ethyl alcohol molecules, into which the three dimensional special configuration of individual drug molecules are imprinted in the form of ‘nanocavities’. Due to their complementary configuration, these nanocavities can specifically bind to the drug molecules or pathogenic molecules having similar configuration. This is the molecular mechanism of homeopathic therapeutics explained as the fundamental principle of ‘similia similibus curentur’.

Exactly, a ‘similimum’ is a drug that contains some molecules that can produce ‘molecular errors’ in a living organism similar to the ‘molecular errors’ underlying a given state of pathology, attacking same biological molecules.

Since ‘symptoms’ are the only indicators available to identify the exact molecular errors underlying a state of pathology, homeopaths collects these symptoms and try to find out a drug that could produce similar ‘symptoms’ in a healthy organism.

If we could identify the exact molecular errors involved in a state of pathology by any way other than observation of symptoms, we can select a ‘similimum’ that way also. That means, ‘matching disease symptoms and drugs symptoms’ is not the only way to decide a similimum. If we know the exact pathogenic molecules that caused a given pathologic condition, we can select the molecular imprints of that pathogenic molecule as the homeopathic therapeutic agent without matching the symptomatology.

This is what happens when we prescribe various specifics, nosodes and sarcodeswhich are not selected by ‘matching of symptoms’. Autopathic and  tautopathic prescriptions are also not based on similarity of symptoms. When we prescribe PEPSINUM 30 for gastritis, it is not based on ‘similarity of symptoms’, but the knowledge that PEPSIN can cause gastritis.  Many wonderful homeopathic prescriptions are made without any ‘matching of disease symptoms and drug symptoms’.

This deliberations show that similimum does not necessarily mean only a drug selected on the basis of similarity of symptoms.  ‘Similimum’ exactly means ‘similiarity of drug-induced molecular errors and pathological molecular errors’, or  ‘similarity of configurations of pathogenic molecules and drug molecules’.

If I am asked what is similimum, I would say similimum is the drug that contains ALL the diverse molecules that could produce ALL the diverse molecular inhibitions and symptoms in healthy organism EXACTLY SIMILAR to the molecular inhibitions and symptoms existing in the patient before us, by binding to same biological target molecules. Potentized forms of the similimum would contain molecular imprints of constituent molecules of the drug substance, which can bind to the pathogenic molecules due to complementary configurational affinity and remove the pathological molecular inhibitions.

To be a PERFECT SIMILIMUM, our drug should contain ALL the diverse molecules that could produce ALL the diverse molecular inhibitions and symptoms, so that in potentized form it would contain ALL the diverse molecular imprints required to remove ALL the diverse molecular inhibitions in the patient. If the selected drug does not contain ALL the diverse molecular imprints required for the patient, it will be PARTIAL SIMILIMUM. In such cases, we can make a PERFECT SIMILIMUM by combining two or more PARTIAL SIMILIMUMS indicated by the symptoms.

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