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Evidence Based Ayurveda
R&D Programmes With the advent of evidence based medicine movement in the west clinical research methodology has changed world wide and only those studies which follow the international guidelines on clinical studies are considered seriously. As a result there is a huge opportunity for traditional Indian medicines to globalize if studies on its validity are done as per the international consensus on clinical research. Result oriented approach towards the traditional medicine research has been supported by WHO and Indian Council for Medical Research, New Delhi. That means if a traditional medicine is in use since long in the routine practice and finds mention in any of the classical texts of traditional medicine then it need not undergo any animal studies and can be taken up for clinical evaluations. Systematic clinical evaluations of ayurvedic medicines in line with evidence based medicine would reduce the hurdles for using them as medicines and not as neutraceuticals or health tonics as practiced at present. Such studies not only give more authenticity to herbal drug manufacturers and also would make the beginning for the integration of different systems of therapies. This new approach would give the way for what may be called evidence based ayurveda. Evidence based ayurveda activities in the IAD are aimed at evaluating traditional medicine and developing patient management protocols for various dermatological diseases. RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT Indian nation is a low technology but knowledge based society. Therefore need based innovations & experimentations are the part of every day life for many sectors in India. These are not supported from Government or organized sectors and therefore such attempts mostly do not culminate in development of high technology or in a beneficial application in common man’s day today routine. Even though the situation is changing for better in engineering sectors health remains, controlled by strict bureaucratic regulations. Hence health care professionals continue to depend on the West to find solutions to the diseases occurring in India. This is reflected in the India’s import figures of over Rs10,000/- crores of rupees spent for medical machinery alone annually. This neglect of experimentation by Indian doctors since 18th century lead to compartmentalization of medical practice in country into modern medicine, ayurveda, homeopathy, Unani, tribal & folk medicine. Compartmentalization has blocked an excellent opportunity to conduct multidisciplinary & inter science research, which could foster new discoveries through union of forces & experts. Western medicine is deficient to treat some of the chronic diseases and their complications especially in dermatology. Even though good medicines are available in traditional system of therapy adequate research has not gone into integrating the beneficial effects of each therapy.
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Dermatology is a discipline of health biology, which deals with diseases of skin. In general people of different continents of World have different skin types with different diseases. That means the prevalence of diseases on skin in India are different form that of USA. Hence the priority for research on skin diseases in the Western World will not be the same as those for India. One option available to Indian dermatologists is to explore what is traditional to them and try and get new treatment regimen useful to Indian patients.
Clinical research in order to achieve the beneficial effects of all systems of therapy in the management of chronic dermatological diseases, supported by the community dermatology activities is, therefore, the major object of the IAD. We have identified following gap areas in the clinical research of traditional medicine and community dermatology
Studies on following diseaes are underway in the IAD
Ethical matters of traditional medicine: Developed standard operating procedures
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