Neural therapy


Neural therapy is classified as integrative medicine and it is a method of diagnosing and treating illness and pain caused by disturbances of the body's electrophysiology. These electrical disturbances, called "interference fields," are manifestations of cell membrane instability and typically trigger abnormal autonomic nervous system responses. Interference fields are usually cause by trauma, surgery and chronic inflammation. Neural Therapy is widely used in Europe and South America. 30% of german physicians use it on their daily practice.

History and Background

Two German physicians practicing in the early 1900s, Ferdinand and Walter Huneke, are considered the founders of Neural Therapy. Neural Therapy evolved and developed along with the discovery of local anesthetics.
The first local anesthetic, cocaine, was discovered to have anesthetic effects by the famous Sigmund Freud. Dr. Freud shared his knowledge with his friend ophthalmologist Koller, who was the first physician to perform eye surgery using a cocaine solution in 1884., Spiess and Schleich discovered that infiltration of procaine into a wound greatly enhanced healing. This healing lasted much longer than the duration of action of the actual anesthesia. In 1925, the great French surgeon, Leiche, was the first to successfully treat a migraine headache with a local anesthetic nerve block injection and observed healing reactions produced by local anesthetics administered before an operation, sometimes avoiding the need for that surgery Leiche called procaine “the surgeon’s bloodless knife.”
In 1925, the brothers Dr. Ferdinand and Walter Huneke, both sons and grandsons of physicians, without any prior knowledge of the work of Spiess, Schleich or Leriche, discovered the healing aspects of procaine. This occurred by accident when, in 1925, Ferdinand Huneke gave his nurse, who he had been treating for rheumatism, an infusion of procaine and her previously therapy-resistant migraines disappeared. This “lightening reaction” impressed Dr. Huneke and he realized he may have found a new therapy for pain. He named this new therapy “Healing Anesthetics.” Ferdinand Huneke, along with his brother, Walter, first reported the results of their research into the healing properties of local anesthetics with the publication of “Unknown Distant Effects of the Local Anesthesia” in 1928.
The Hunekes reported that reaction to the injections could help organs at a distant site and described this phenomenon as a reflex. It has been stated that “a correctly applied Neural Therapy injection can often instantly and permanently resolve chronic long-standing illness and chronic pain.”24 While usually more than one injection is needed to this end, this instance of a “lightening reaction” has been noted by researchers and physicians over the years.
After becoming popular in countries such as Germany, Sweeden, Switzerland, France and Italy, Neural therapy arrives to South America, specifically to the country of Colombia through Dr. Peter Dosh a collaborator of the Huneke brothers.

Action mechanisms and safety

Over the years it has been possible to study the action mechanism of neural therapy Neural therapy is practiced mostly in Europe, South America. A 2007 survey of family physicians in Germany found neural therapy to be among the most used of medical techniques.
Neural Therapy is based on the theory that any trauma, infection, or surgery can damage a portion of the autonomic nervous system and produce long-standing disturbances in the electrochemical or electromagnetic functions of these tissues.These disturbances are also known as “interference fields” because they interfere with normal function and healing. When these “interference fields” persist and the autonomic nervous system is injured or not functioning correctly, various consequences can result such as incomplete healing.
Membrane potential:
Normal resting nerve cells have a “resting membrane potential” which is the difference between the electrical charges inside the cell and outside the cell. While at rest, a healthy nerve cell does not generate nerve impulses. In most neurons, this resting membrane potential has a value of approximately 70 mV.
If there is a stimulus to the cell, the membrane resting potential drops. When it drops to approximately 45 mV there is an “action potential” generated12 and the nerve fires an impulse. In a nerve cell damaged by surgery or trauma, the resting membrane potential is chronically low—for example, it may be at 47 or 50mV. This means the nerve will fire off a nerve impulse with much less of a stimulus..
While different theories exist as to the mechanism of action for local anesthetics, it is well known that these substances raise the resting membrane potential, making the nerve less likely to fire a nerve impulse even with more stimuli. In addition, studies with procaine have shown its ability to increase the refractory period. “A pathological reduction or increase in membrane resting potential leads to a reduced threshold of excitation within the affected tissue. The lower threshold creates chronic low-grade excitation, impaired intracellular metabolism and ion exchange, and persistent inability to maintain a normal resting potential, resulting in chronic neurophysiologic instability.”
Inflammation:
Since the beginning of the 21st century, several researchers have found interesting evidence about the role of the nervous system in inflammation. One of the perhaps most surprising investigations, showed that electrical stimulation of the vagus nerve in an experimental model of lethal endotoxemia, decreased the level of TNF preventing shock. Borovikova et al. Found that parasympathetic stimulation inhibits macrophage activation, while other investigations found that stimulation of the acetylcholine receptor, in addition to TNF, also reduced levels of IL-1, IL-7, IL-18 in human macrophage cultures..
SAFETY
Neural Therapy is safe and side effects are occasional. As with all injection therapies, there is a possible adverse effect of bruising or infection. The risk of infection is very low and uncommon, as the injections are subcutaneous and therefore superficial.