The Benveniste Affair: Impact and

Repercussions on the Homeopathic and

Medical Communities 21 Years Later

In 1988, the journal Nature published a study on homeopathy by Elizabeth Davenas, and co-authored by prominent scientist Jacques Benveniste. The study posited that when human polymorphonuclear basophils are exposed to anti-IgE antibodies, they release histamine from their intracellular granules and change their staining properties and that this phenomenon is observed at dilutions (prepared using  homeopathic pharmacy techniques) of anti-IgE that range from 1 x 10(2) to 1 x 10(120). These dilutions are similar to those used in homeopathic preparations. The paper was published on the condition that a team of investigators be allowed to conduct a reproduction of the experiment. That team was unconventional – including a professional magician and a journalist. The team did not observe the original phenomenon and a retraction of the original results were published in a subsequent issue of Nature.

A special panel including:

Dr. Menachem Oberbaum, MD (Director, The Center for Integrative Complementary Medicine, Shaare Zedek Medical Center and co-author of the original Benveniste study)

Dr. Peter Fisher, MD (Clinical Director, Royal London Homoeopathic Hospital)

Dr. Jennifer Keelan, PhD (Historian of medicine in the 20th century)

Dr. Norman Allan, PhD, DC (Toronto area chiropractor and research assistant in Benveniste study co-author Bruce Pomeranz’s laboratory)

Location: Pharmacy Building – 144 College St., Toronto, Canada (Queen’s Park subway, NW

corner of University and College)

Date and Time: Wednesday November 11, 2009 at 7:00 PM

Admission is free

This event is a fund-raiser for the Homeopathy Research Fund and a joint initiative of the Homeopathic Research Network of Canada (HomeoNet) and the Holistic Health Research Foundation of Canada.