Rommel Rodriguez Burbano, Mariana Ferreira Leal, Joana Borges da Costa, Marcelo de Olivieira Bahia, Patricia Danielle Lima de Li

Lymphocyte proliferation stimulated by activated human macrophages treated with Canova

Homeopathy, 2009, 98 (1), 45-48

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Introduction - Canova (CA) is a homeopathic medication with immunomodulatory properties, recommended for patients with a depressed immune system. CA has been reported to increase in leukocyte numbers, cellular differentiation and reduction in tumor size.Aim and method - Since CA may stimulate lymphocyte differentiation, proliferation, and/or survival, the aim of the present study was to compare the mitotic index (MI) of phytohemagglutinin-stimulated human lymphocytes cultured in a medium supplemented with human macrophages activated by CA, with lymphocytes cultured in a medium without CA-treated macrophages.Results - In this study, the MI of lymphocyte cultured received the medium containing CA-stimulated macrophages showed a higher proliferation index (p < 0.01) than the lymphocytes cultured in a medium without CA-treated macrophages. Our results suggest that CA treatment, in addition to activating macrophages, indirectly induces lymphocyte proliferation and has potential as a new adjuvant therapeutic approach.