MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS

An autoimmune, inflammatory, demyelinating condition affecting CNS, which runs a variety of course from progressive to intermittent to fulminating, it is a debilitating condition which greatly affects the work and quality of life of a person in the long run.

This disease shows predilection for sex, affecting more females than males under 50 yrs of age

Clinical features

• Extreme fatigue and other constitutional symptoms that interfere with patients’ life making it difficult for them to do any physical or mental work
• Sensory disturbances such as paraesthesia, impaired proprioception etc. leading to gait disturbances
• Neuralgic pains such as trigeminal neuralgia
• Neuropathic pain of demyelination characterized by burning or shooting
• Motor symptoms such as paresis and weakness of limbs
• Vertigo, diplopia etc. when brain stem lesions are present
• Ataxia when cerebellum affected
• Emotional changes such as delusions, euphoria etc.
• Uhthoff’s phenomenon- worsening of weakness or vision with heat (this can happen after exertion, exposure to sun, hot bath or even fevers)
• Recurrent facial palsy
• Lhermitte sign- tingling in spine on neck flexion

KALMIA LATIFOLIA

The following symptoms are suggestive of multiple sclerosis in kalmia

• Affection of – nerves of spine, Eyes and Face (R).
• Weariness in all muscles; shuns all exertion, can hardly go upstairs. Weary and giddy, with diarrhoea. Weakness the only general symptom with neuralgia.
• Weakness and paralytic condition of limbs.
• Aching, bruised, stiff feeling. Tingling, numbness, trembling or paralytic weakness. Changing pains; shoot outward along nerves; or dull tearing, crushing, moving downward, then suddenly, to heart or alternating with cardiac symptoms, or between upper and lower limbs. Neuralgia
• Pains shift rapidly
• Neuralgia; pains shoot downwards, with numbness.
• Fulgurating pains of locomotor ataxia
• Paralytic sensations; pains and aching in limbs accompany nearly every group of symptoms.
• Pains affect a large part of a limb, or several joints, and pass through quickly. Weakness, numbness, pricking, and sense of coldness in limbs.
• Pain down back, as if it would break; in localized regions of spine; through shoulders. Lumbar pains, of nervous origin.
• Vertigo; worse stooping.
• Confusion of brain
• Vision impaired. Stiff, drawing sensation when moving eyes
• Prosopalgia (rt); pains, rending; agonising; stupefying or threatening delirium; with alkaline taste in mouth. Neuralgia involving upper teeth, but not from caries. Rt sided neuralgia after exposure to cold, going down r. arm; attended or succeeded by numbness in the parts; pains shooting downward, irregular; < by worry or mental exertion, > by food.
• Pain in eyes, which makes it painful to turn them.
  Sensation of stiffness in muscles around eyes, and of eyelids.
  Asthenopia; stiff, drawing sensation in muscles upon moving eyes
• Aggravation
  • Heat
  • With the sun.

It is amply evident from the above symptomatology that KALMIA covers the symptomatology of multiple sclerosis. think of this condition in kalmia when MS develops on a background of rheumatic complaints. As kalmia is not mentioned anywhere in multiple sclerosis, this exercise was to bring point the home that many remedies are still underused and less understood and their powers are not completely unearthed.

There are many more remedies in homeopathic literature that cover symptomatology of Multiple sclerosis.

We will add and discuss those medicines with time and try to differentiate between them to make a homeopathic prescription.

(It might be noted that some of the symptoms also point towards other conditions like myasthenia gravis. This is actually the strength of homoeopathy. Many conditions can be recognized and treated even before a formal diagnosis is reached. It will depend on the analytical prowess of the physician backed by right remedy.)

Reference

Davidson’s Principles and Practice of Medicine

Harrison’s Internal Medicine

Boericke Materia Medica

Clarke Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica

The Guiding Symptoms of Our Materia Medica by Hering

Boger Synoptic Key

NB: This similarity is found only while studying the medicine from a pathological point of view. The confirmation can only be done by applying this knowledge in such a clinical condition in a patient.

This kind of approach is especially helpful when:

• The patient is not able to give refined symptoms and sensations
• One is not able to find any characteristic symptom or
• The attendants are not able to give one,

• There is time constraint or
• The physician has not seen the patient but has received a diagnosis from attendants.
• Pathology is advanced enough to wipe out the PQRS of the case.

The results in such prescriptions would nonetheless depend on the accuracy of diagnosis and its pathological similarity to chosen medicine.

(This post is for the practitioners of Homoeopathy and not for patients for diagnosis and treatment of the said entity.)

Aude Sapere

Shivangi Jain
BHMS, MD, PGDMLE, PGDHHM
drshivangijain79@gmail.com
https://drshivangihomoeopathy.com/

Homeopathic provings are empirical way of knowing the symptomatology/ manifest phenomenon of a given drug. Even today many of the symptoms remain unexplained. Homeopathic Materia Medica is a treasure trove of unknown conditions and symptom syndromes yet unrecognized and identified. As the knowledge and time progressed, symptoms that were earlier thought to be absurd, could be explained by advancing knowledge The following is an attempt to explain hitherto unexplained symptoms, bringing together the understanding of the Materia Medica in the light of modern medicine.

• SHORT DESCRIPTION OF CONDITION

SOMATOPARAPHRENIA– A delusional belief in a person that the paralysed limb on one side of the body (contralateral to the lesion in brain; sp of right sided lesions in brain) does not belong to them. (More extensive lesion may cause ASOMATOGNOSIA in hemiplegia). It is believed that the brain lesion causes disruption in the sensory-motor cohesion of the information that leads to a congruent body representation. This may lead to unilateral neglect of affected side.

ASOMATOGNOSIA– complete loss of awareness of limb not just a delusion as in somatoparaphrenia.

(d/d Hemi-spatial neglect)

• HOMOEOPATHIC REMEDIES from Repertories

Kent repertory

Delusion

Arms do not belong to her- AGARICUS

Knerr repertory

Delusion

one half of the body cut off- STRAMOMIUM

Complete repertory

Delusion

left half does not belong to her- COLCHICUM, SILICEA

• MATERIA MEDICA

Clarke Materia Medica

SILICEA– Sensation as if she were divided into halves and that the left side does not belong to her.

AGARICUS– Feels as if her limbs did not belong to her

STRAMONIUM- sensation as if limbs were cut off from the body)

• (D/D of medicines that could be used in somatoparaphrenia

BAPTISIA in Allen’s keynotes- Cannot go to sleep because she cannot get herself together; head or body feels scattered about the bed; tosses about to get the pieces together; thought she was three persons, could not keep them covered (PETROLEUM).

PETROLEUM– delusion that another person lies alongside of him in same bed (Allen’s key notes)

Delusion body parts scattered about bed, tosses to bring pieces together- BAPT, CAJUP, DAPH, PETRO, PHOS, PYROG, STRAM)

As can be seen above, medicines like SIL, AGAR and COLCH show clearcut coverage of these pathologies. It’s true that such syndromes baffle even neurologist, most of whom in the early phase of development of neuroscience disregarded such presentations as either useless or related them to deep psychological conflicts. It is only in recent times that some keen observers in neurosciences have started explaining and studying such phenomenon in patients. We as homeopaths have always given such symptoms their due importance, but may rarely come across such patients, but when we do, we should be ready to take the bull by its horns.

• REFERENCES

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

https://jnnp.bmj.com/content/81/3/276

Clarke Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica

Knerr Repertory

Complete Dynamis repertory

Kent Repertory

Allen’s key notes

NB: This similarity is found only while studying the medicine from a pathological point of view. The confirmation can only be done by applying this knowledge in such a clinical condition in a patient.

This kind of approach is especially helpful when:

• The patient is not able to give refined symptoms and sensations
• One is not able to find any characteristic symptom or
• The attendants are not able to give one,

• There is time constraint or
• The physician has not seen the patient but has received a diagnosis from attendants.
• Pathology is advanced enough to wipe out the PQRS of the case.

The results in such prescriptions would nonetheless depend on the accuracy of diagnosis and its pathological similarity to chosen medicine.

(This post is for the practitioners of Homoeopathy and not for patients for diagnosis and treatment of the said entity.)

Aude Sapere

Shivangi Jain
BHMS, MD, PGDMLE, PGDHHM
drshivangijain79@gmail.com
https://drshivangihomoeopathy.com/

The felt passage of time, a discernment of external clock in relation to inner is an estimation made by the brain to keep the consciousness rooted in environment. This time lapse judgement can be altered in some neurological conditions, with intense practice, meditation or even during heightened emotional states.

The following short discussion tries to connect neurological perspective to homeopathic symptomatology and unravel the mysteries of mind and time.

Time passes quickly- an underestimation of time

Time passes quickly- an underestimation of time happens when more time seems to have elapsed whence the person thinks only some time has passed, i.e., durations are judged as shorter than actual.

In conditions like Parkinson’s Disease patients generally show this duration underestimations. To them their movements seem to take the normal time while in actuality there has been a slowing of speed of motion i.e bradykinesia.

Medicines like COCCULUS INDICUS and THERIDION manifest this symptom during proving. These medicines also show affection for brain tissue in general and have many symptoms related to nervous system in their symptomatology.

Time passes slowly- an overestimation of time

On the other side of the coin, overestimation of time i.e too much time seems to have passed when only little time has passed.

Under normal conditions this happens during:

• Happening in extreme threatening situations, like accidents, people have been said to observe things in slow motion. They report having gone through their whole life like a movie vividly in matter of seconds or even less. This apparent perception may increase chances of survival in emergency situation by extreme focus of brains attention.
• Similar happens when you are very bored and are acutely aware of every passing second.
• Deep meditative state and the flow state of an athlete who has Intense concentration achieved continued, repetitive and gruelling training making his movements fluid and reflexive may be other examples where the time slows down.

Abnormal conditions are:

ADHD– This happens in children and adolescents with ADHD who tend to overestimate (i.e., durations are judged as longer than controls) the time lapse. In these conditions more sensory information is absorbed with passage of time. This too much information gathering, cognitive engagement and processing seems to stretch the time.

Medicines like AMBRA GRISEA, ARGENTUM NITRICUM, NUX MOSCHATA, CANNABIS SATIVA, CANNABIS INDICA, ANHALONIUM have states where the time seems to be too long and does not pass. These medicines should be thought of when considering the pathological development of sense of expansion of time.

The other pathologies such as schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s also alter the time keeping function of the brain in a different manner where the functions such as mental time travel and time rooting in reality are affected.

NB: this similarity is found only while studying the medicine from a pathological point of view. The confirmation can only be done by applying this knowledge in such a clinical condition in a patient.

This kind of approach is especially helpful when:

• The patient is not able to give refined symptoms and sensations
• One is not able to find any characteristic symptom or
• The attendants are not able to give one,

• There is time constraint or
• The physician has not seen the patient but has received a diagnosis from attendants.
• Pathology is advanced enough to wipe out the PQRS of the case.

The results in such prescriptions would nonetheless depend on the accuracy of diagnosis and its pathological similarity to chosen medicine.

(This post is for the practitioners of Homoeopathy and not for patients for diagnosis and treatment of the said entity.)

Aude Sapere

Shivangi Jain
BHMS, MD, PGDMLE, PGDHHM
drshivangijain79@gmail.com
https://drshivangihomoeopathy.com/

This reactive arthritis is an

• Immune mediated syndrome
• Characterised by a triad of arthritis urethritis and conjunctivitis
• Post an infection (a couple of days to weeks prior to presentation) usually the gastrointestinal infection (caused by Salmonella, Shigella, Campylobacter, Yersinia or Chlamydia etc) or genitourinary (Chlamydia Trachomatis, Neisseria Gonorrhoea, Mycoplasma Hominis, and Ureaplasma Urealyticum etc)
• Where the response to infection causes an aberrant autoimmune response by triggering autoantibodies to self-antigens following molecular mimicry.

A majority of these patients may be HLA b-27 positive; however, it is not used to diagnose the cases.

There may be a positive F/H/O ankylosing spondylitis or psoriasis.

Found very commonly in HIV patients, the patient presenting with new onset disease should be screened for HIV. Such patients may also have psoriasiform lesions on body.

Predominantly affects males.

Arthritis is characterised by asymmetrical involvement of weight bearing joints with night agg and morning stiffness. Chronic course may present as monoarthritis, heel pains or Achillies tendinitis.

Eye symptoms involve conjunctivitis or iritis with injection of ciliary vessels around cornea. Uveitis involves acute pain, photophobia, visual impairment, scleral injection, and hypopyon

Urethritis is characterised by dysuria, or a mucoid thread discharge just before urination. Occasionally haematuria may be there, prostatitis.

Skin may be involved with- mucosal ulcers, keratoderma blennorrhagica, circinate balanitis and erythema nodosum. There may plaque like lesions with hyperkeratosis, associated with severe nail dystrophy and subungual hyperkeratosis, nail pits.

Cardiac- carditis, aortic, conduction and valvular abnormalities

Geographic tongue

Sacroiliitis.

There may be systemic disturbances like fever, weight loss etc.

After understanding the diagnostic sphere let us now understand the closeness of this symptom constellation with SARSAPARILLA.

• Rheumatism after gonorrhoea

(Compare medicines for

Other medicines for above rubric include MEDORRHINUM, PULSATILLA, THUJA, CLEMATIS etc.

Rheumatism after diarrhoea– CIMICIFUGA, DULCAMARA, IODUM, KALI BICHROMICUM.

The above highlighted rubrics become the backbone of remedy selection in reactive arthritis.

These medicines may not cover the complete constellation but may be indicated remedies depending on presentation.)

(Since causation and past history is very important in this disease diagnosis other medicines to also consider are MEDORRHINUM, SEPIA and MERC SOL which come very close to SARSAPARILLA.)

• Urine- Severe pain before and while passing urine, pain in kidneys. Urine dribbles or passed in thin stream
• Crust sediment and shreddy urine
• Eruptions in groins and on genitals with offensive smell
• Eczema, crusta lactae or boils.
• Rhagades on fingers
• Itching pimply eruptions on body.
• Violent burning and agglutination of eyes in morning on awakening. Dimness of vision as if a gauze spread over eyes. Burning and stinging in eye with sensation of sand.

A prominent involvement of joints, genitourinary and skin along with eye symptoms makes this remedy a pathological simile of reactive arthritis.

NB: this similarity is found only while studying the medicine from a pathological point of view. The confirmation can only be done by applying this knowledge in such a clinical condition in a patient.

This kind of approach is especially helpful when:

• The patient is not able to give refined symptoms and sensations
• One is not able to find any characteristic symptom or
• The attendants are not able to give one,
• There is time constraint or
• The physician has not seen the patient but has received a diagnosis from attendants.

The results in such prescriptions would nonetheless depend on the accuracy of diagnosis and its pathological similarity to chosen medicine.

(This post is for the practitioners of Homoeopathy and not for patients for diagnosis and treatment of the said entity.)

References:

Boericke materia medica

Clark dictionary of materia medica

Phatak repertory

French diagnostic index

Harrison’s principles of internal medicine

Davidson’s Principles and practice of Medicine

Aude Sapere

Shivangi Jain
BHMS, MD, PGDMLE, PGDHHM
drshivangijain79@gmail.com
https://drshivangihomoeopathy.com/

• A neurological condition where pain, itching, burning, numbness and other sensations are felt in limb which has been amputated. This happens when brain does not receive inputs from the amputated part and tries to readjust by remapping. Sometimes neuromas can grow in the process enhancing the sensations. So it seems that the brain perceives a part falsely and also sensations from it, when actually the part is absent, hence the name phantom limb.

• The following resource can be searched for further details on the subject.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK448188

• Homoeopathically speaking medicines like allium cepa and ammonium muriaticum etc fall into medicines that can cover this pathology.

ALLIUM CEPA

Traumatic chronic neuritis; Allium cepa has neuralgia of stump after amputation; burning and stinging pains (allen’s key notes)

AMMONIUM MUR

Neuralgic pain in amputated limb

Other medicines include- SYMPHYTUM, PHOSPHORIC ACID The above medicines though cover the pathology should be given only after complete case consideration.