I.N.T.E.G.R.A.T.I.V.E. M.E.D.I.C.I.N.E.

I.N.T.E.G.R.A.T.I.V.E.  M.E.D.I.C.I.N.E.

Three years ago, Dr Tejinder Kataria, a radiation oncologist at Medanta-The Medicity in Gurgaon, was treating a head and neck cancer patient, who developed painful blisters in his mouth because of the radiation. The patient was in tremendous pain and had stopped taking even fluids orally. Kataria then referred the patient to Dr G. Geeta Krishnan of Medanta's department of integrative medicine and holistic therapies. Krishnan treated him with some ayurvedic concoctions. “The patient responded so well to the ayurvedic treatment that he started taking solid food. I was amazed by his recovery. I then recalled all the effective home remedies my mother used to give me when I was young. Now, I take Dr Krishnan's help in such cases,” she says.

Kataria is not alone. A lot of doctors are reinstating their faith in ayurveda and other alternative medicine systems. Instead of calling it alternative, they now prefer to call it 'integrative' as the idea is to have the best of both allopathic and alternative treatments that will benefit the patient. “Before I take up any patient who requires lung surgery, I send them to our yoga department to learn breathing exercises that help in expansion of lungs. We reduce the lung in such a surgery, and it grows again post surgery. These exercises help them in expansion, and the recovery is faster,” says Dr Ali Zamir Khan, thoracic robotic surgeon at Medanta-The Medicity in Gurgaon.

In fact, these doctors believe that there are some health issues that only ayurveda can tackle effectively. Chronic pelvic pain and inflammatory bowel syndrome, where allopathy offers only symptomatic treatment, have 90 per cent cure rate in ayurveda. Similarly, sleep disturbance, for which one has to pop sleeping pills every day, can be treated for relatively longer time with ayurveda. “One week's ayurvedic therapy brings relief for six months in 40 per cent patients with chronic sleep problem,” says Krishnan.   

Krishnan's 40 per cent patients are referred from various departments¯cardiology, neurology, oncology, gastroenterology, and most from the surgery department. “We are now documenting the results of ayurvedic therapy given to each patient. Scientific mapping would help us establish what is considered an alternative system as a mainstream medicine in coming years,” he says.

Dr Raj Kumar Yadav, assistant professor of physiology at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi, has done research on yoga and modern-day illnesses. “Regular yoga reduces all kinds of inflammation in the body. It helps in cardiac problems, diabetes and obesity,” says Yadav. “We do it scientifically. We measure all the vital parameters and biomarker levels in a patient's body on the first day. We then give them a 10-day therapy under strict supervision and again measure these biomarkers and vital parameters. We have noticed a remarkable improvement in our patients. Most of our research papers are getting accepted by international journals and we are getting queries from international researchers.”

 
Meditation, too, is effective, says Yadav. It activates the right part of the brain, which improves a person's attentiveness. Most people use their right hand and, as a result, the left part of their brain is found to be more active. Regular meditation awakens the Broca area, usually located on the left side, on the right side of the brain, too, he says. Besides, it stimulates the whole brain and improves its functioning. “With the help of PET-CT scan, we have studied how the electrical activity of the brain increases during meditation. The role of yoga in treating Parkinson's and other neurodegenerative diseases is being studied across the world,” says Yadav.

Dr K.P. Kochar, senior professor at AIIMS, is researching the use of basic Indian spices in treating various health problems. “Turmeric, as we all know, is good for infections and healing wounds. But there are many more spices that can be used to treat various health problems,” she says. “There is a lot of scope. We just need to follow the ancient medicine system scientifically as we follow allopathy.”

JOINT EFFORT
* Integrative medicine combines modern medicine with alternative systems like ayurveda, acupuncture and natural wellness.

* The idea is to have the best of both allopathy and alternative medicine to benefit the patient.    

* It supports the body's natural ability to heal, reduces stress and promotes a state of relaxation.

* An increasing number of doctors are adopting the integrative route, be it for treating Parkinson's disease, irritable bowel syndrome or allergies.

The Joy of Connecting With Others

Ulterior Motives
 How goals, both seen and unseen, drive behavior by Art Markman, Ph.D.

 The Joy of Connecting With Others
 Stop avoiding conversations with strangers on buses, planes, and taxis.
 Published on November 19, 2014 by Art Markman, Ph.D. in Ulterior Motives

 I fly a lot. I have a typical routine on the plane. I pull out something to read or perhaps an iPad to watch a movie. I do my work. I don’t generally engage in much conversation with the person sitting next to me on the plane, though sometimes I end up in a long conversation. Invariably, those conversations are great fun. An interesting question is whether my travel would be more enjoyable if I engaged in more conversations with people I meet on the plane? This issue was addressed in a fascinating paper by Nick Epley and Juliana Schroeder that appeared in the October, 2014 issue of the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.

 In two field experiments, they demonstrate that people generally avoid having conversations with strangers when commuting. One study used train commuters, and a second used bus commuters. During their commute, some participants were asked to imagine that they were told to have a conversation with another commuter they didn’t know before. A second participant was asked to imagine that they were told to commute without talking to anyone. A third group got no instructions. Participants rated whether how much they thought they would enjoy their commute as well as how productive they thought they would be. Art Markman, Ph.D., is a cognitive scientist at the University of Texas whose research spans a range of topics in the way people think. 

One other study asked commuters a variety of questions and found that they underestimate how willing other people would be to talk to them. So, commuters feel that they are much more interested having people choose to talk to them than other people are in being talked to. As a result, people avoid striking up conversations for fear of bothering another person. In addition, one study found that some people are able to predict their enjoyment of engaging in these random conversations. This study looked at people taking taxis leaving from an airport. Some participants were actually asked to engage in a conversation with the driver or to enjoy the solitude. As with the other studies, those who had a conversation with the driver enjoyed the ride more than those who did not.

 In a second study, participants predicted their enjoyment. Those who routinely engage in conversations with the driver recognized that they enjoy the ride more when they talk than when they don’t. People who rarely converse with the driver did not recognize that they would enjoy their ride more if they talked with the driver. 

A final study examined another possibility. Perhaps the people who initiate conversations enjoy them, but those who do not initiate the conversations enjoy them less. That is, maybe the conversation is only positive for the initiator. This study was done in a psychology lab. Participants were waiting for the study to start. Some participants were instructed either to engage in a conversation with a second participant in the waiting room or to avoid having a conversation. Afterward, both participants were asked about how much they enjoyed the wait. Both the participant who initiated the conversation and the non­initiator enjoyed the wait more when they had a conversation.

 Putting this all together, then, it seems like most of us are missing out on a big opportunity to enjoy our life just a little more. Many of us travel on trains, planes, busses, and taxis. In those settings, we elect to protect ourselves from interactions with other people. Yet, these data suggest that most of us would enjoy ourselves more if we had conversations with the strangers who sit near us rather than walling ourselves off. These findings are particularly interesting, because technology makes it easier than ever to avoid connecting with strangers. Almost everywhere you go, people are engaged with smart phones and tablets. Because of those devices, we avoid connecting with real live people who are next to us. And it seems that we are missing out by doing so

We need Pathology and Psychology included in our curricula !!!

We live in a modern world, we are susceptible for forgetting our past, many of the present unexplained behavioural patterns, such as right handedness being predominant, are infact reminiscence of our ancient past if not remote ! I said this because, we will forget and leave everything that does not suit our present logic and understanding, so unless and untill ayurveda is going to be modernised, it is going to be forgotten,,,(to be expressed may be in our behaviours...or so !!! ), so...the matter is that while practising i find an increasing need for one to know the pathology, if not the symptomatology of the disease, for that case , while i am treating a case of inflammatory arthritis of knee, the effect of vasodilation will be known only if i had previously studied about the vascular changes in inflammation, so that i don't need any reaserch works to prove the efficacy of dharas and choorna swedas. The information regarding the transdermal action of oils has given me confidence to convince satisfactorily "logical patients", for others just a psychological relief will do. You cannot treat any disease with tridosas alone, and I think the NEED FOR INCLUDING PATHOLOGY is important as far as BAMS SYLLABUS is concerned. Dedicate a single paper on modern pathology alone, like you did for kriya and rachana sareera which occupy 4 papers. Not a single question regarding a pathology (pure pathology i mean) have i faced during the 33 papers of BAMS examinations that i have faced (with symphathy...ofcourse!!!). No wonder bams doctors are a failure ! They are made that way, its not the problem of ayurvedic medicines, its that students are provided with inadequate datas so as to level up with the reasoning of a common man ! Its a horrible scenario for a new doctor. But you must take interest to study pathology for the sake of "inquisitiveness" that will take you places. Give importance for clinics, practise and aquiring knowledge.

The next thing to be INCLUDED IN BAMS SYLLABUS, would be.....any guesses ? It would be the least expected, because we expect biochemistry, as we are aping the MBBS, common ....we are dealing with ayurvedic pharmacoepia, and I think daeling with chebulinic acid, and the likes is ...adequate as far as ayurvedic drugs are concerned. (For that, I think dravya guna vijnana is best ). It is nothing but PSYCHOLOGY/PSYCHOTHERAPY anyway you call it ! Yes, it is of primary importance, given the fact that a majority of the ayurvedic patients are psychologically affected which gives the more scope for placebos to act, anyway it works, who cares if it was a placebo effect or not ? Understanding the basics of human psychology and completing classes in counselling and psychotherapy will do a hell of good to all ayurvedic practitioners, no doubt. You will be able to converse with the patient better and understand his problems better, the root of the problems always lies in the hidden pores of the sub-conscious and un-conscious.

So I hope the concerned authorites take necessary action in implementing these changes in the curricula which I feel are an emergency requirement ! Psychology and Pathology !!!

Success of ayurveda in neuro degenerative conditions !!!

Got a call from a patient today, the chief doctor ask me to handle the call actually, but nevertheless the patient knew me as I was the one who attended him daily twice, inaddition to the chief, he said was thus , "doctor I fell some stiffness and gripping sensation in my thighs and calf muscles of my leg when I get up and while walking", symptoms resembling arthritis though not of a serious kind, I felt relieved actually ! Three months ago he came in a stretcher (wheel chair was a better option I thought as it give a positive outlook !!!) , with paraplegia for below the umbilical region, with attached catheters. Not able to walk/stand or even sit by himself. He was able to eat, goodness gracious ! he...he..!! As he was a famous entrepreuner, who has caught this disease , "the Kochs disease of D3 vertebrae", he used to speak a lot with me, on most days for an hour or so, for that matter with every one in our hospital ! He seemed too lazy, but not at all depressed or worried about his present condition, which looked astounding for me . The treatments which involved predominantly ayurvedic panchakarma therapies and physio combined ( by physio I mean no expertise treatment, only simple exercises done carefully ), which looked producing slow and steady results. The span of treatments were around a month. At around 15th day he was able to move his legs and foot and then gradually started walking with the help of a walker ! This would not have happened if he had resorted to physiotherapy alone. The sucess of ayurveda once again reitrated in neuro degenerative conditions !

Alternative medicine is not medicine

By: Joel Gottsegen | Columnist October 30, 2014 12 Comments

Deepak Chopra is living large. With an estimated net worth of $80 million, the New Age author could be forgiven for being a bit defensive about his affluence. In a 2012 interview, he declared: “Spiritual people should not be ashamed of being wealthy.”

Chopra should not be put on trial for simply having a fortune. Whether he should be taken to task for how he made that fortune, however, is an entirely different question. Chopra is a leader of the so-called ‘holistic medicine’ movement, a type of healing that claims to treat the whole person, rather than just the disease. In practice, this type of medicine often involves treatments and methods that the mainstream medical community disavows, like homeopathy and Ayurvedic medicine.

It is fair to say that Chopra lives within this scientific fringe. His medical theories are drawn from a strange mix of Eastern philosophy and contemporary science, the buzzwords of which he has been known to appropriate and apply completely out of context. In his book “Quantum Healing,” Chopra claims that because quantum entanglement links everything in the universe, it must be responsible for creating consciousness. He also introduced the concept of quantum healing, which he definesas the ability of one mode of consciousness to spontaneously correct the mistakes in another mode of consciousness. Chopra refers to such a correction — physicists, prepare to wince — as a quantum leap.

When questioned on his misuse of scientific terminology by Richard Dawkins, the famous skeptic, Chopra said that he had been using the term quantum as a metaphor, and that his definition of the word had little to do with its origins in quantum physics. This begs the question: If the concept that Chopra is trying to communicate has little to do with quantum physics, why would he use terms like “quantum entanglement”? While it is possible that Chopra really was attempting a poorly conceived metaphor, it seems more likely that he is using scientific jargon to add an aura of respectability to his fringe theories.

The bizarre medical theories expounded by Chopra and his colleagues might be complete nonsense, but it would be going too far to say that they do not help anyone. There are many people who claim that alternative medicine healed them after traditional methods failed.  However, it is important to note that many of the success stories of alternative medicine involve illnesses that center on the subjective experience of the patient, like depression and chronic pain. These types of illness are much more likely to be alleviated using the placebo effect than medical issues like cancer and paralysis. Given this, it is unsurprising that an article in the Atlanticheralding “The Triumph of New Age Medicine” focuses on a retired firefighter with back pain, rather than someone with late-stage AIDS.

Helping people with chronic pain via the placebo effect is nice, but there are many ways to achieve this effect that create less collateral damage. Giving someone a sugar pill is relatively simple. Creating an enormous ideological framework that clouds people’s judgements about mainstream medicine is not. The biggest problem with practitioners of alternative medicine is that they often deny the soundness of scientific studies as a measurement of the efficacy of a treatment. This is a dangerous sentiment. If Deepak Chopra were to discover a new form of medical treatment that helped sick people, it should be possible to test that the treatment is actually working. By denying the validity of the scientific method, alternative healers free themselves from any kind of accountability.

The anti-scientific sentiments behind alternative medicine are disturbingly widespread in the United States. They are the reason that one in four Americans is skeptical about global warming, despite overwhelming consensus within the scientific community. They are the reason that one in three parents believes that vaccines can cause autism, again despite overwhelming scientific consensus. These are bad numbers. They are damaging to the health of children and to the health of the planet. And they are made possible by the belief, furthered by proponents of alternative medicine, that the scientific method is inadequate.

Do not indulge Deepak Chopra. Even though a bit of quantum healing might seem benign, it contributes to an atmosphere that stifles rational thought.

I leave you with a quote from Tim Minchin, whose fantastic short film “Storm” does a fantastic job of dismantling the fuzzy logic behind the holistic medicine movement: “You know what they call alternative medicine that’s been proved to work? Medicine.”