[Omeo33] Art 0852 - Med Hypoth, 1997, 49 (3), 203-212

[Gino Santini]

A scientific reappraisal of the 'principle of similarity'
P. Bellavite, G. Andrioli, S. Lussignoli, A. Signorini, R. Ortolani 
and A. Conforti

In the history of therapeutics, the 'principle of similarity' - the 
treatment of 'same by same' or of 'like by like' - may be traced back 
to a number of medical traditions, including the systems of 
Hippocrates, Paracelsus and Hahnemann. Although in recent years we 
have witnessed a renaissance of interest in traditional medicines and 
'holistic' medical practices, the reliability of the principle of 
similarity has still to be demonstrated on experimental grounds, and 
very few studies have been conducted to understand the underlying 
mechanism(s). Acceptance of this phenomenon requires supporting 
evidence of possible mechanisms and high-quality studies exploring 
its effectiveness in clinical medicine. The aim of this work is to 
provide a rational approach to the analysis of the various aspects of 
this historical yet also modern medical principle, in order to 
construct a plausible framework of ideas capable of facilitating 
further basic and clinical research into this field.

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