Neural therapy
Encyclopedia
Neural Therapy is a system to diagnose and treat medical problems of patients which are otherwise difficult to treat or resistant to treatment. Neural therapy (in German: "Neuraltherapie") can be traced back to the German physicians Ferdinand and Walter Huneke, who at first called it "Heilanästhesie" (curative anaesthesia), then "Segmenttherapie" (segmental therapy) and finally, at K.R. von Roques's suggestion, "neural therapy after Huneke".
Neural Therapy is based on the theory that trauma can produce long-standing disturbances in the electrochemical function of tissues. Among the types of tissues affected by trauma include scars, nerves or a cluster of nerves called ganglion
. There is no scientific evidence that neural therapy is effective in treating cancer or any other disease.. It has been used to treat pain disorders
, though there is not strong evidence to support its efficacy. It is practiced mostly in South America and Europe.
(a local anaesthetic) on his sister who suffered from severe intractable migraine
. Instead of using it as recommended intramuscular he injected it intra-venously - and the migraine attack stopped immediately. Impressed he and his brother Walter used Procaine/Novocaine and at times a mixture with caffeine
called "Impletol" (still used in migraine medicines) which proved to be useful in many painful conditions either via local injection or i.v.
1940 Ferdinand Huneke injected the painful shoulder of a lady who also had an osteomyelitis
in her leg which at that time (before antibiotics) threatened her with amputation
. The shoulder pain improved somewhat but the leg wound became itchy. This time he injected the leg wound - and the shoulder pain vanished immediately - a reaction called "Flash Phaenomenon" (Sekundenphaenomen).
Neural Therapy is based on the theory that trauma can produce long-standing disturbances in the electrochemical function of tissues. Among the types of tissues affected by trauma include scars, nerves or a cluster of nerves called ganglion
Ganglion
In anatomy, a ganglion is a biological tissue mass, most commonly a mass of nerve cell bodies. Cells found in a ganglion are called ganglion cells, though this term is also sometimes used to refer specifically to retinal ganglion cells....
. There is no scientific evidence that neural therapy is effective in treating cancer or any other disease.. It has been used to treat pain disorders
Pain management
Pain management is a branch of medicine employing an interdisciplinary approach for easing the suffering and improving the quality of life of those living with pain. The typical pain management team includes medical practitioners, clinical psychologists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists,...
, though there is not strong evidence to support its efficacy. It is practiced mostly in South America and Europe.
History
In 1925 Ferdinand Huneke, a German surgeon, used a newly launched pain drug, that contained ProcaineProcaine
Procaine is a local anesthetic drug of the amino ester group. It is used primarily to reduce the pain of intramuscular injection of penicillin, and it was also used in dentistry. Owing to the ubiquity of the trade name Novocain, in some regions procaine is referred to generically as novocaine...
(a local anaesthetic) on his sister who suffered from severe intractable migraine
Migraine
Migraine is a chronic neurological disorder characterized by moderate to severe headaches, and nausea...
. Instead of using it as recommended intramuscular he injected it intra-venously - and the migraine attack stopped immediately. Impressed he and his brother Walter used Procaine/Novocaine and at times a mixture with caffeine
Caffeine
Caffeine is a bitter, white crystalline xanthine alkaloid that acts as a stimulant drug. Caffeine is found in varying quantities in the seeds, leaves, and fruit of some plants, where it acts as a natural pesticide that paralyzes and kills certain insects feeding on the plants...
called "Impletol" (still used in migraine medicines) which proved to be useful in many painful conditions either via local injection or i.v.
1940 Ferdinand Huneke injected the painful shoulder of a lady who also had an osteomyelitis
Osteomyelitis
Osteomyelitis simply means an infection of the bone or bone marrow...
in her leg which at that time (before antibiotics) threatened her with amputation
Amputation
Amputation is the removal of a body extremity by trauma, prolonged constriction, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is carried out on individuals as a preventative surgery for...
. The shoulder pain improved somewhat but the leg wound became itchy. This time he injected the leg wound - and the shoulder pain vanished immediately - a reaction called "Flash Phaenomenon" (Sekundenphaenomen).
Books
- Neural Therapy: Applied Neurophysiology and Other Topics: Robert F. Kidd. Custom. Banner Can J Anesth.2006; 53: 1066 www.cja-jca.org
- Atlas of Neural Therapy with Local Anaesthitics, 2nd Edition. Mathias P. Dosch. Thiemen Verlagsgruppe, 2002 ejo.oxfordjournals.org
- Dosch, P.: Lehrbuch der Neuraltherapie nach Huneke, 14. Aufl., Karl F. Haug, Heidelberg 1995.
- Fischer, L.: Neuraltherapie nach Huneke – Grundlagen, Technik, praktische Anwendungen. Hippokrates, 2. Aufl., Stuttgart 2001.
- Hahn-Godeffroy, J.D.: Neuraltherapie nach Huneke – Störfeldtherapie – ein regulationsmedizinisches Verfahren unter Verwendung von Procain, 2. Aufl., Uelzen 2004.
- Mudra, I., Badtke, G.: Neuraltherapie. Lehrbuch und Atlas, 2. Aufl., München 1998.
Chapters in Books
- Spiegel W, Ortner W. Neural Therapy: Diagnosis and Treatment of Regulatory Disorders. In: Bisconcin M, Maso G, Mathers N (eds). European Textbook of Family Medicine, Milano:Passoni, 2006, pp 240–244.
External links
- Neural Therapy By Dr Dietrich Klinghardt
- Neural Therapy - American Cancer SocietyAmerican Cancer SocietyThe American Cancer Society is the "nationwide community-based voluntary health organization" dedicated, in their own words, "to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing suffering from cancer, through research, education, advocacy, and...