AIIMS endorses Ayurveda for rheumatoid arthritis
04 April 2015
NEW DELHI
In a significant scientific validation for traditional therapies, India's premier medical institution, AIIMS, has found certain Ayurvedic formulations effective in treatingrheumatoid arthritis (RA), which causes irreversible joint damage.
The study, conducted on 125 RA patients, found Ayurvedic medicines Ashwagandha powder and Sidh Makardhwaj, helped in relieving pain in tender and swollen joints, and increased mobility in a majority of subjects.
Ashwagandha powder is derived from a plant while Sidh Makardhwaj is a formulation of herbal and mineral ingredients.
The study was part of a larger research being conducted by the institution, known for cutting-edge treatments, for scientific validation of therapies offered under traditional systems of medicine. PM Narendra Modi's endorsement of alternative medicine has given further push to the programme.
AIIMS is also conducting multiple studies to validate alternative therapies for epilepsy, Alzheimer's and chronic heart failure, among others. Dr Y K Gupta, who heads AIIMS' pharmacology department, told TOI that scientific validation of alternative therapies and medicines was one of the mandates of the institute.
"Interest in traditional medicines is renewed and growing exponentially due to the adverse drug reactions and economic burden associated with modern system of medicine. The central government is promoting them too,"he added.
AIIMS is also conducting studies to validate themedicinal values of turmeric, sankhpushpi or Evolvulus alsinoides and stem bark of terminalia arjuna (a medicinal plant used by Ayurvedic physicians) for treating various health ailments.
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A researcher who participated in the study said the formulations had multiple benefits. The subjects were administered 5 gram of Ashwagandha powder twice a day for three weeks with lukewarm water or milk and 100 gram of Sidh Makardhwaj daily with honey for the next four weeks as part of the pilot study.
Dr (Gen) Ved Chaturvedi, rheumatologist atArmy (Research and Referral hospital) said this is a welcome step. "Whether we accept it or not, there are many people in India who subscribe to the health benefits of alternative therapies. It is important to scientifically validate the claims about their efficacy rather than ignoring them totally," he said.
According to him, rheumatoid arthritis is a debilitating condition in which patients have to take life-long medications. "In many cases, where treatment is delayed or the joints get damaged badly, costly joint replacements is done," added Dr Chaturvedi.
The NDA government recently announced opening of institute of Ayurveda on the lines of AIIMS in Delhi and several other parts of the country.
"Interest in traditional medicines is renewed and growing exponentially due to the adverse drug reactions and economic burden associated with modern system of medicine. The central government is promoting them too,"he added.
AIIMS is also conducting studies to validate themedicinal values of turmeric, sankhpushpi or Evolvulus alsinoides and stem bark of terminalia arjuna (a medicinal plant used by Ayurvedic physicians) for treating various health ailments.
AIIMS doctors said Ashwagandha powder had anti-inflammatory, anti-stress and immuno-modulatory properties, which help improving physical function and joint pain in RA patients.
A researcher who participated in the study said the formulations had multiple benefits. The subjects were administered 5 gram of Ashwagandha powder twice a day for three weeks with lukewarm water or milk and 100 gram of Sidh Makardhwaj daily with honey for the next four weeks as part of the pilot study.
"The drugs decreased RA factor and there was significant change in post-treatment scores of tender joints, swollen joints, pain assessment score and patient self-assessed disability index among other," the researcher said.
The study has been published in the latest issue of the Indian Journal of Medical Research.
Dr (Gen) Ved Chaturvedi, rheumatologist atArmy (Research and Referral hospital) said this is a welcome step. "Whether we accept it or not, there are many people in India who subscribe to the health benefits of alternative therapies. It is important to scientifically validate the claims about their efficacy rather than ignoring them totally," he said.
According to him, rheumatoid arthritis is a debilitating condition in which patients have to take life-long medications. "In many cases, where treatment is delayed or the joints get damaged badly, costly joint replacements is done," added Dr Chaturvedi.
The NDA government recently announced opening of institute of Ayurveda on the lines of AIIMS in Delhi and several other parts of the country.
Yoga is secular, rules US court
By Arun Kumar | IANS India Private Limited/Yahoo India News – 21 hours agoWashington, April 4 (IANS) Ruling that yoga taught in elementary schools is not a gateway to Hinduism and does not ![IANS India Private Limited/Yahoo India News]()
violate religious freedoms, a California appeals court has allowed it to continue.
violate religious freedoms, a California appeals court has allowed it to continue."We conclude that the programme is secular. (and) does not have the primary effect of advancing or inhibiting religion, and does not excessively entangle the school district in religion," the three-member appeals court ruled Friday.
The decision by California's 4th District Court of Appeal upheld a lower-court ruling in support of the Encinitas Union Elementary School District in San Diego, utsandiego.com reported.
The school had been sued by parents who argued the school yoga programme was inherently spiritual and therefore unconstitutional.
Attorney Dean Broyles, who represented the parents in the lawsuit, was quoted as saying he and his clients "are disappointed with the decision and we are carefully considering our options."
"No other court in the past 50 years has allowed public schools to lead children in formal religious rituals like the Hindu liturgy of praying to, bowing to, and worshipping the sun god," Broyles said in an email to U-T San Diego.
Yoga has been a health and wellness activity in the school district since 2012, when the Encinitas-based Sonima Foundation gave the district $2 million to add yoga to all physical education classes.
Broyles sued the district on behalf of a couple and their two children, saying the programme violated the separation of church and state by endorsing Hindu religious beliefs promoted in Ashtanga yoga.
The state Superior Court sided with the district in 2013, finding that the school programme had been stripped of religious overtones, utsandiego.com said.
The trial court noted in its decision that the district's yoga classes "consist of instruction in performing yoga poses, breathing, and relaxation, combined with lessons in positive character traits, such as respect and empathy."
District Superintendent Tim Baird said school district officials had always anticipated a favourable ruling and are pleased now that it's happened.
All students in the district, which includes kindergarten through sixth-grade, get two yoga classes of 30 minutes or more per week.
"We are seeing tremendous results," Baird said. "Kids are more flexible, stronger, and have more ability to focus. We think this is a key to the 21st century."
Baird said he was surprised at the flap over the lawsuit as "Yoga has become ubiquitous in the United States."
"The argument that it turns somebody into a Hindu is a stretch."
(Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)
https://in.news.yahoo.com/yoga-secular-rules-us-court-064606272.html