Systems information therapy and the central role of the brain in allostasis

Abstract

This work arose from the necessity to up date and clarify some basic concepts in contemporary medical practice such as those of health, disease, therapy and prevention. According to this perspective the work starts with a general epistemological review and goes on with an epistemological revision of biology and medicine. The concept of adaptation and the central role of the brain is then analysed and stated as the base to next consideration and deepening from a biophysical perspective. Physio-pathology of adaptation is assumed as a key concept in the definition and in the understanding of health and disease. A huge amount of endogenous and external stimuli has to be processed and response to them may lead to increase, stability or decrease of coherence in agreement with Frohlich's pioneering ideas. In this framework, the concept of stress, allostasis and allostatic load are outlined. Allostasis is defined as the capability of keeping stability through dynamic changes. A particular attention is paid to the emerging paradigms in biology and medicine especially those of system biology and system medicine trying to integrate the concept of complexity and hierarchical organization of the information flow in living organisms and in humans. In this framework biophysical signalling could play a significant role in modulating endogenous dynamics and in mediating external interactions. Additionally biophysical mechanisms could be involved in biological systems inner communication and could be responsible for the maintenance of systems inner coherence. The integration of the biophysical paradigm into contemporary medical practice is leading from one side to a better understanding of many pathways in physiopathology and from the other side to some new effective clinical applications. System Information Therapy is, for instance, is rising as a suitable and coherent tool in the application of thise concept being able to restore the self regulation and self regeneration capabilities both at the local and at the system level operating with endogenous and external electromagnetic signals in the range of the extremely low frequency electromagnetic signals. Some practical applications are described such as the clinical detection and treatment of fluctuating asymmetry by Vega Select 719. Fluctuating asymmetry, as well known, is related to the presence of an allostatic load and its disappearance after a biophysical treatment is a good clinical evidence of restoring of allostasis mediated by the brain at systemic level presumably through a biophysical repatterning in which we assume a key role should be played by membranes, cytoskeleton and especially by microtubules.