New Delhi: Inspired by a 20-year-old WHO funded study, which proved the efficacy of Ayurveda in treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, the University of Washington has taken up a similar project in association with the Ayurvedic Trust in Coimbatore.
“The University's National Institute of Health (NIH) sponsored study 'Ayurvedic and Allopathic Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis' at Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu is expected to be over by the end of this year, ” PTI quoted Managing Director of the Trust Dr Krishna Kumar as saying.
In the NIH study, which seeks to ascertain the effectiveness of combining Ayurvedic and Allopathic streams of medicine in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, 45 patients are treated for 36 weeks each.
The Programme Director of the present study Dr Mano Venketaraman of University of Washington said, "The encouraging results of the WHO study provided the inspiration, preliminary data, and the foundation upon which we could base the rationale for our NIH grant proposal."
The eight-member Indian team of Ayurvedic and Allopathic doctors is headed by Dr Ram Manohar of the Trust and the six-member US team is led by Dr Daniel E Furst of the University of Los Angeles.
"We were able to gain approval from the University of Washington's very stringent Institutional Review Board for this pilot study, on the basis of the findings of the earlier WHO study," PTI quoted Ram Manohar as saying.
The WHO study was the first of its kind on a traditional medical system ever to be sponsored by the international organisation. It enrolled 240 patients with rheumatoid arthritis from 1977 to 1984, added Krishna Kumar.
Comments
0 comment