Ayurveda Body-Mind Constitutional Types and Role of Yoga Intervention Among Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Population of Chandigarh and Panchkula Regions.

BACKGROUND: Type 2 diabetes needs a better understanding of etiological factors and management strategies based on lifestyle and constitutional factors, given its high association rate with many cardiovascular, neurological disorders, and COVID-19 infection. PURPOSE: The present study was undertaken to investigate the effect of Diabetes-specific integrated Yoga lifestyle Protocol (DYP) on glycemic control and lipid profiles of diabetic adults. Along with the DYP intervention, the individuals residing in Chandigarh and Panchkula union territories in the northern part of India were assessed for Ayurveda-based body-mind constitutional type. Ayurveda describes body-mind constitution as "prakriti," which has been discussed from two angles, namely physiological and psychological as body and mind are correlated. METHODS: Cluster sampling of waitlist control study subjects was used as the sampling method for the study. A total of 1,215 registered subjects (81 diabetic) responded in randomly selected clusters in Chandigarh and Panchkula. Ayurveda physicians did Ayurveda body-mind constitutional assessment called prakriti assessment (physiological body-mind constitution assessment) in 35 participants (23 diabetic, 12 prediabetic) as a part of the study. RESULTS: A group of 50 subjects was randomly selected for yoga intervention out of 81 diabetes mellitus adults, and 31 subjects were enrolled as waitlist controls. A significant decrease in the glycosylated hemoglobin levels from 8.49 ± 1.94% to 7.97 ± 2.20% in the intervention group was noticed. The lipid profiles of the DYP intervention and control groups were monitored. Three-month follow-up results of lipid profile diagnostic tests in intervention and control groups showed a significant difference between the two groups (P < 0.05). Most diabetic and prediabetic individuals were found to have pitta dosha (pitta controls all heat, metabolism, and transformation in the mind and body) as dominant constitution type. CONCLUSION: The study results demonstrated significant positive effects of yoga in diabetic individuals. This study has indicated the evidence for the safety and efficacy of the validated DYP for community-level interventions to prevent maladies like brain damage and stroke.

Impact of homeopathic remedies on the expression of lineage differentiation genes: an in vitro approach using embryonic stem cells.

BACKGROUND: Well-documented studies of the potential effects and safety of homeopathic medicines in pregnancy are required. In this study, specific genes were studied which could serve as biomarkers for specification of three lineages to predict the safety of homeopathic remedies using mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells. Thus, the present work was to study the effects of homeopathic remedies taken during pregnancy using ES cells as the model. METHODS: Mouse ES cells were exposed to 30C potency of Nux Vomica and Sepia, which are homeopathic medicines prescribed for the management of pregnancy related symptoms. Cytotoxicity studies were done using a modified Embryonic Stem cell test (EST). The expression levels of key genes and proteins were analyzed using real time polymerase chain reaction and immunocytochemistry, respectively. RESULTS: Homeopathic treatment led to modulations in the expression of certain lineage specific genes but this difference was not significant with respect to solvent control and showed normal differentiation as demonstrated by the expression of α/ß MHC and α-actinin proteins in the differentiated ES cells. CONCLUSIONS: Our study for the first time has shown the feasibility of using ES cells in the developmental toxicity testing of remedies. The results suggest that they are not associated with developmental toxicity.

Anti-proliferative effects of homeopathic medicines on human kidney, colon and breast cancer cells.

OBJECTIVE: Homeopathy is controversial, due to the claims made for very high dilutions. Although several theories are proposed to understand the mechanisms of action, none are scientifically verified. This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of the selected homeopathic medicines in specific in vitro cancer models. METHODS: We assessed the cytotoxic activity of selected homeopathic medicines in mother tincture (MT), and ultramolecular dilution (30C, 200C, 1M and 10M) against cell lines deriving from tumors of particular organs, Sarsaparilla (Sars) on ACHN cells (human renal adenocarcinoma), Ruta graveolens (Ruta) on COLO-205 (human colorectal carcinoma), and Phytolacca decandra (Phyto) on MCF-7 (human breast carcinoma). Sars was also tested against Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells (a non-malignant cell line). Cytotoxicity was measured using the 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazolyl-2)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) method, anti-proliferative activity by trypan blue exclusion assay, apoptosis determined by dual staining the cells with ethidium bromide (EB) and acridine orange (AO) dyes. RESULTS: MTs and ultra-diluted preparations of the three homeopathic medicines had highly significant effects in the respective cancer cell lines, producing cytotoxicity and a decrease in cell proliferation. The effects were greatest with the MTs, but in all cases and persisted, although to a lesser degree in the ultra-diluted molecular preparations. Sars showed no effect on MDCK cells. In the homeopathic medicine treated cultures, hallmarks of apoptosis were evident including, cell shrinkage, chromatin condensation and DNA fragmentation. CONCLUSION: This study provides preliminary laboratory evidence indicating the ability of homeopathic medicines as anticancer agents. Further studies of the action of these homeopathic remedies are warranted.