Homeopathic treatments modify inflammation but not behavioral response to influenza antigen challenge in BALB/c mice

• Published in: Homeopathy : the journal of the Faculty of Homeopathy Vol. 105; no. 3; pp. 257 - 264
• Main Authors: Siqueira, Camila Monteiro, Motta, Priscila Dias, Cardoso, Thayná Neves, de Paula Coelho, Cideli, Popi, Ana Flavia, Couceiro, José Nelson, Bonamin, Leoni Villano, Holandino, Carla
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Stuttgart · New York Elsevier Ltd 01.08.2016; Georg Thieme Verlag KG
• Subjects: Animals; B-Lymphocytes - immunology; Behavior; Behavior, Animal; Hemagglutinin Glycoproteins, Influenza Virus - immunology; Homeopathy; Immunology; Inflammation - therapy; Influenza A Virus, H3N2 Subtype; Influenza hemagglutinin antigen; Influenza virus; Internal Medicine; Male; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Original Paper; Orthomyxoviridae Infections - immunology; Orthomyxoviridae Infections - therapy; Random Allocation; T-Lymphocyte Subsets - immunology; Thymic Factor, Circulating - chemistry; Thymulin; Thymulin; Immunology; Behavior; Influenza virus; Influenza hemagglutinin antigen; Homeopathy
• ISSN: 1475-4916; 1476-4245
• DOI: 10.1016/j.homp.2016.04.002

Background Influenza affects thousands of people worldwide every year, motivating the development of new therapies. In this work, the effects of two homeopathic preparations (influenza biotherapies and thymulin) were chosen following two different rationales: isotherapy and endo-isotherapy models. The homeopathic effects were evaluated individually considering the inflammatory and behavioral responses against influenza virus antigen were studied in BALB/c mice. Methods Male adult mice were treated orally and blindly for 21 days with highly diluted influenza virus or with thymulin, and were divided in two sets of experiments. The first series of experiments aimed to describe their behavior, using an open field (OF) device. In the second series, mice were challenged subcutaneously with influenza hemagglutinin antigen (7 μg/200 μl) at day 21. At day 42, behavior and inflammation response were evaluated. Results No behavioral changes were seen in OF tests at any time point after treatments. Flow cytometry and morphometry revealed significant changes in T and B cell balance after influenza antigen challenge, varying according to treatment. Conclusion The results show that both homeopathic treatments induced subtle changes in acquired immune anti-viral response regulation. A deeper understanding of the mechanism could elucidate their possible use in influenza epidemiological situations.