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A new Concept in the early Diagnosis of CancerB.Ya.Gurvits*, B.A.Krylov**, K.G.Korotkov**"Every body ... fills the surrounding air with infinite images of itself" Leonardo da Vinci INTRODUCTION Life sciences have traditionally been based on the assumption that the behaviour of the whole can be explained in terms of the properties of its components. It has always been thought that the complexity of an organism could best be understood by investigating the functions of its isolated organs, tissues, cells or molecules. This reductionist approach has had a very successful history success, with the discovery of many fundamental principles concerning the interactions of the parts which go to make up a whole living organism. Most recently one only needs to look at the achievements of molecular biology. It is becoming clear, however, that there are some fundamental aspects of life which cannot be understood from the reductionistic point of view. In the living state the parts - the molecules, cells and tissues - are never isolated, and are not free to function separately, but rather co-ordinate their activities, to generate a unique state of dynamic order which is not found in any non-living system. Thousands of reactions are going on simultaneously in living systems, to constitute the perfectly organised dance of life. Precise co-ordination is needed at each of a number of hierarchical levels: electronic, molecular, cellular, all the way to the whole organism. However, most of the experimental methods used in contemporary life sciences are not suited to study these co-operative mechanisms. And so they have until recently been mostly ignored. A famous biophysicist, Albert Szent-Gyoergyi, in his book ´Bioelectronics´ [1] wrote: ´No doubt, molecular biochemistry has harvested the greatest success and has given a solid foundation to biology. However, there are indications that it has overlooked major problems, if not a whole dimension, for some of the existing questions remain unanswered, if not unasked. It failed to explain the wonderful subtlety of cellular regulations. Neither did it explain the mechanism of energy transduction, the transduction of chemical energy into mechanical, electric, or osmotic work. These transformations are closely connected to the very nature of life´. Niels Bohr expressed a similar idea in his observation that a deeper understanding of life will require us to transcend the conventional physicochemical explanation [2]. Nevertheless, it doesn´t mean that the conventional approach is totally wrong; but that the molecular events remain always integrated within the whole system as a continuum process. There is a need for a new holistic science paradigm that includes, but goes beyond molecular approach. Some approaches to this new paradigm include: Froehlich´s idea of coherent long-range interactions in biological systems [3], Prigogine´s dissipative structures [4,5], chaos theory [6,7], the unified field theory of A.Gurwitsch [8] and his concept on ultraweak photon emission from living systems, Pressman´s ideas on electromagnetic fields and life [9], Bauer´s concept of a biological system as a stable non-equilibrium complex of its subcomponents [10], fractal models [11], recent developments of quantum theory and coherent biophoton field [12], mainly based on Dicke´s theory [13], etc. DISEASE: THE DISTURBANCE OF HARMONY It is important to realise that the holistic approach to the complex, dynamic, creative features of biological activity may also provide new insights on the nature of disease. Thus rather than the present explanations in terms of isolated ´lesions´ in particular mechanisms (biochemical, immunological, etc.) it becomes possible to consider disease in terms of disturbances to the co-ordination and coherence in a living system. At the same time, to study the transition from the normal to the pathological state in terms of these new concepts may throw light on the intrinsic principles of life. Disease may be considered as a result of disturbance of the ´perfectly arranged´ co-ordination within an organism or of its harmonic connection with the surroundings. Clinical diagnosis usually reveals a disease in its last phase when the biochemical and biophysical status of an organism has undergone significant change. But the initial complex causal mechanisms of the disturbances remain hidden, since they are not revealed by standard diagnostic methods. CANCER Cancer is a very serious disorder, in which cells proliferate in an uncontrolled way, often ultimately leading to death of the organism. Such proliferation occurs because co-ordination is lost, in such a way that the cells no longer respond to signals from their neighbours. Within the tumour, the living process becomes greatly simplified, so as to be reduced almost to one main process - that of growth. Since conventional medicine cannot go beyond the mechanistic approach, it leads us to address only the final result of the disease, and so to direct therapy only towards destroying the tumour. The alternative is to perceive cancer as a systemic disease. This requires us to understand the organism as an interactive system such that it will respond as a whole to any stimulus. Organisms are open systems, which continually exchange energy and matter with the environment. Because of their extreme sensitivity (now understood in terms of non-linear dynamics) they can respond to a vanishingly small input of energy, provided that it carries significant information. Accordingly, cancer can be seen as a process initiated on the information level, that reflects the intrinsic complexity and lability of life processes. Once disturbed from the harmonious state, living systems can neither shape themselves into highly organised patterns and structures, nor can they respond properly to their environment. GAS DISCHARGE VISUALIZATION TECHNIQUE Responding to this need for a new perspective in cancer we propose here an approach to early diagnosis based on the Gas Discharge Visualization Technique (GDV) [14,15]. A set of special computerized equipment and techniques has been developed, and is finding successful use in many kinds of studies of both physiological and pathological states [15]. Using a special electrode system, a high intensity electric field is created around an object, producing a gas discharge whose glow can be seen and measured. Such a discharge can be produced around any object, and will show variations in size, colour, distribution, etc. depending on very slight changes in the object, such as cannot be revealed by other techniques. These changes may include the electrical properties of an object, its emission characteristics, gas evaporation and energy exchange with the environment. In the case of living organisms the method reveals its complex reaction to external and internal factors. A whole range of subtle influences can become manifest. For example, it is possible to register the influence of the type of food eaten, medicines administered, and a number environmental factors such as exposure to pollution. Even the minute-to-minute changes in the state of a person´s mind can be easily seen. CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATIONS OF THE NEW DIAGNOSTIC APPROACH Chaos theory has already been used to describe a wide variety of phenomena in the life sciences. Increasingly it is becoming recognised that non-linearity is at the very basis of the living process, and is responsible for the fractal patterns that are so characteristic of life. These are found almost universally, both in the self-organisation of biological structures, and the homeostatic regulation of their function. Structural examples are seen in the blood and lymph vessels, bronchial tree, nervous system and even in the morphology of nuclear membranes within the cell [16]. Fractal patterns in function occur in heart activity, hormonal cycles, etc., and have recently been described in the mobility of cells in culture. Here it is significant that the fractal parameter differs between normal and cancer cells [21]. Fractal principles are now recognised to extend to the molecular level, for example to proteins and their complexes [16], and even to water. Water has long been recognised to have a complex dynamic structure - a fact which can provide a rationale for homeopathy. This supramolecular structure has now been found to have a fractal pattern - a fact which has suggested a mathematical model to explain the action of high potencies [18]. The process of potentisation in the preparation of homeopathic remedies has been discussed in terms of the progressive refinement of the quality of information held in the organisational patterns in the water[19]. The extreme sensitivity of living systems to the most minute stimuli, both endogenous and exogenous, is leading to the realisation that most biological transactions should be considered in terms of information. This sensitivity is itself a manifestation of the fractal order of chaotic processes [17]. Such concepts can be applied to the study of pathological processes. Here it might be expected that among the earliest events in such a process would be a decline in fractal order. The principle of self-similarity leads one to expect that the fractal pattern of an isolated part of an organism should reflect that of the whole system. This is because the hierarchic levels must always be integrated and form a continuum within the whole. This is consistent with a holistic approach to diagnostics and therapy. In view of the findings on the fractal nature of water, and of protein molecules and their complexes, we must expect fractal characteristics in blood plasma and other biological liquids. Thus it seems reasonable to expect that these might yield information concerning an organism´s state of health. According to these principles, our approach to pre-cancer diagnosis is to use the GDV method to detect changes in the supramolecular organization of human blood plasma. For this purpose the plasma is subjected to a potentiation procedure similar to that used in the course of preparation of homeopathic remedies. The plasma, as the ´mother tincture´, is diluted and succussed in water or salt solutions, to result in a series of ´potencies´, just as in homeopathy. Although, in each attenuation step the concentration of molecules is decreased, the information is not lost, but rather spread over the whole system [19]. These changes are reflected in the Kirlian GD images, and can be evaluated both qualitatively and quantitatively. This approach has been used successfully in preliminary experiments. Now it needs much further experimental work, extending the study to other types of disease, and to other biological fluids, such as urine, saliva and lymph. More theoretical work is also required so as to obtain a deeper understanding of the physical mechanisms. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Blood plasma samples were taken from patients with primary and metastatic cancer (carcinoma of the stomach, carcinoma of uterine cervix, bronchopulmonary cancer, adenocarcinoma, etc.), and compared with control samples taken from healthy donors. Samples were also taken from a patient with a benign tumour. The experiments were carried out in a 1- or 4-well plastic plates containing 200 microlitres each of blood plasma solutions, diluted either in deionized distilled water (milli-Q Reagent Water System) or 0.9% NaCl. In some series we also used plasma diluted in various concentrations of NaCl, up to saturation. Some plasma samples were examined in the fresh state, and others after freezing and thawing. Ten series of two-fold dilutions were made, so as to result in final concentrations of total protein of about 75 to 0.15 mg/ml. In some cases dilution was continued so as to reach a concentration of 15 ng/ml. The Gas Discharge visualisation setup comprised: image formation unit, high voltage circuit, image converter tube, TV camera, circuit transferring image to computer, computer with special software. Parameters for GDV were set at: 10 kV, 1024 Hz, and 0.5 sec. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION We found that the GDV characteristics of blood plasma samples were quite different for healthy donors and patients with cancer. Significant differences were seen in brightness, shape, size and colour of the images. But the most profound differences were revealed in two parameters: glow area and fractal coefficient. It was found, in all the samples studied, that these two gas discharge parameters were significantly and reproducibly higher for cancer patients as compared with controls. Intermediate values were found for the patient with benign tumour. The difference between cancer and control was maintained throughout the dilution series. Similar results were obtained with blood plasma samples in a series of successive two-fold dilution in NaCl solutions at concentrations from 0.9% up to saturation. The observed differences remained unaltered by freezing and thawing. These results were statistically significant and reproducible. It is noteworthy that the differences became more significant after dilution and potentisation than they were in the original plasma. You may also see in Figs. 2 and 3 the repetitive ´waves´ of S (area) and of Q (fractal coefficient), the peaks being shifted as a result of one or two dilution with every fresh sequential dilution and potentiation. This kind of quasi-sinusoidal curve is typical for the reaction of biological objects in general to a variety of low-intensity stimuli. Such dose-response curves often reveal a complex polymodal character, and the presence of ´dead zones´. In addition, an inversion in the dose-response to high dilutions is also observed in most experiments. This effect is well known, mostly in pharmacology and immunology [20]. Among a number of explanations, it has been suggested that the effect is related to transmission of information via the molecular organisation of water. Much evidence supports the hypothesis that water acts as the signal pathway for the effects of many low-intensity physical influences, such as weak electromagnetic and other fields. We believe that the differences we have observed in the Kirlian image between normal and pathological blood plasma cannot be attributed to the known changes in blood biochemistry characteristic of cancer. These include hypercoagulability, low pH resulting from lactate produced by anaerobic glycolysis, together with a number of other homeostatic abnormalities [21,22]. It seems virtually impossible to understand the effects described here without considering the role of supramolecular organisation in the aqueous medium of the organism. Since the organisation of water is necessarily of a highly dynamic nature, one must consider that any body of water oscillates as a whole, so that any changes to the oscillatory pattern in one part of it will rapidly spread to the rest. This implies that the general oscillatory pattern of the water in an organism will be sensitive to any of a great variety of influences, even though they may occur at strictly localised sites. Thus it is to be expected that the effect of malignant transformation in any part of the body should be seen in the blood plasma. It is particularly significant that the difference between cancer and normal were remained in evidence throughout the dilution series, even up to 1/1024 of the original plasma. It will be interesting to see whether these differences remain after further dilution - perhaps even beyond the Avogadro limit. This would confirm that the effects are associated with water structure, rather than with any molecular constituents of the plasma. The simple and non-invasive method we describe can be used for integral early diagnostic criteria and prognostic implications of pathological states of an organism, especially of tumour transformation. This system could be further developed. Further detailed information may be obtained by means of an integrated analysis of all aspects of the image, including geometry, brightness, and spectral characteristics. It may then become possible to use the GDV method to classify the stages of progression of malignant transformation. This technique opens a wide for the experimental study of energy-information aspects, not only blood samples, but of other biological fluids, and it may serve a number of valuable practical applications. |