<unk>  or<unk>  is a pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine. Its practitioners, called<unk> , believe that a substance that causes symptoms of a disease in healthy people can cure similar symptoms in sick people; this doctrine is called similia similibus curentur, or "like cures like". All relevant scientific knowledge about physics, chemistry, biochemistry and biology gained since at least the mid-19th century contradicts<unk> .<unk> c remedies are typically biochemically inert, and have no effect on any known disease. Its theory of disease, centered around principles Hahnemann termed miasms, is inconsistent with subsequent identification of viruses and bacteria as causes of disease. Clinical trials have been conducted and generally demonstrated no objective effect from<unk> c preparations. The fundamental implausibility of<unk>  as well as a lack of demonstrable effectiveness has led to it being characterized within the scientific and medical communities as quackery and fraud.<unk> c preparations are termed remedies and are made using<unk> c dilution. In this process, the selected substance is repeatedly diluted until the final product is chemically indistinguishable from the diluent. Often not even a single molecule of the original substance can be expected to remain in the product. Between each dilution<unk>  may hit and/or shake the product, claiming this makes the diluent remember the original substance after its removal. Practitioners claim that such preparations, upon oral intake, can treat or cure disease. It was conceived in 1796 by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann.<unk>  achieved its greatest popularity in the 19th century. It was introduced to the United States in 1825 with the first<unk> c school opening in 1835. Throughout the 19th century, dozens of<unk> c institutions appeared in Europe and the United States. During this period,<unk>  was able to appear relatively successful, as other forms of treatment could be harmful and ineffective. By the end of the century the practice began to wane, with the last exclusively<unk> c medical school in the US closing in 1920. During the 1970s,<unk>  made a significant comeback, with sales of some<unk> c products increasing tenfold. The trend corresponded with the rise of the New Age movement, and may be in part due to chemophobia, an irrational preference for "natural" products, and the longer consultation times<unk> c practitioners provided. In the 21st century a series of meta-analyses have shown that the therapeutic claims of<unk>  lack scientific justification. As a result, national and international bodies have recommended the withdrawal of government funding for<unk>  in healthcare. National bodies from Australia, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and France, as well as the European Academies' Science Advisory Council and the Russian Academy of Sciences have all concluded that<unk>  is ineffective, and recommended against the practice receiving any further funding. The National Health Service in England no longer provides funding for<unk> c remedies and asked the Department of Health to add<unk> c remedies to the list of forbidden prescription items. France removed funding in 2021, while Spain has also announced moves to ban<unk>  and other pseudotherapies from health centers.
Homeopathy
Tauopathy
Synucleinopathy
Leukodystrophy
Muscular dystrophy
Mitochondrial myopathy
Dystrophinopathy
Congenital myopathy