Title : The real mechanism of therapeutic action of silver: To activate not to kill
Abstract:
Silver has been successfully applied as medicine since Antiquity. Investigations of Louis Pasteur on pathogenicity of infectious disease in 19th century became the base of widely-accepted worldview about the mechanism of therapeutic action of silver preparations. It is ingrained in the minds of scientists and still valid today. According to the worldview the mechanism of action of silver preparations is direct destruction, oppression of pathogens, cancer cells or some other undesirable organisms by silver ions or silver compounds.
However, there are scientific researches demonstrating stimulating action of silver preparations [1,2]. Such stimulating, regenerative action of silver nanoparticles is used today in surgery for wound healing [3]. The stimulating effects are hardly explainable from the point of view of life oppression by silver ions.
We suggest a new mechanism of therapeutic action of silver preparations, which is in eustress inducing. Endocrine, Nerve and Immune systems respond to a stress first. Activated Immune system effectively selectively eliminates hazardous pathogens. And the organism recovers.
Thus, we believe that therapeutic action of silver happens indirectly via the Immune system activation by silver ions and not via direct pathogen’s destruction by them. Due to this development and testing of silver preparations should be focused on therapeutic action and not on the destruction of pathogenic flora. Lower dosages and shorter periods of exposure may be enough to provide such a therapeutic action.
