SELF-TOLERANCE, AUTOIMMUNITY AND INDIVIDUALIZED THERAPEUTICS: EXPLORING THE ROLE OF HOMOEOPATHIC INDIVIDUALIZATION IN IMMUNE REGULATION

Background: Autoimmunity develops when the mechanisms that maintain immunological self-tolerance become dysregulated, allowing immune responses to be directed against endogenous tissues. Autoimmune diseases are heterogeneous: patients with the same diagnosis differ in symptom pattern, disease activity, progression and treatment response, which raises the question of whether individualized therapeutic approaches have a role in disorders of immune dysregulation. Homoeopathy is based on the principle of individualization, in which treatment is selected according to the totality of the patient’s characteristic symptoms rather than the diagnostic label alone. Methods: Narrative review and conceptual analysis of the immunological literature on central and peripheral tolerance, regulatory T cells and the breakdown of self-tolerance, together with the published evidence on individualized homoeopathy, including a systematic review and meta-analysis of individualized homoeopathic trials, a systematic review of homoeopathy in rheumatological diseases and a randomized trial in rheumatoid arthritis.