Nasal application of sesame oil-based Anu taila as 'biological mask' for respiratory health during COVID-19.

This article narrates the potential role of sesame oil-based Anu taila for respiratory health and the prevention of COVID-19. Ayurveda recommends the use of sesame oil and A. taila as a part of daily routine (dinacharya) for oral gargling and transnasal application (Nasya) for preventing upper respiratory tract infections. Recent studies on COVID-19 have elucidated the activity of certain fatty acids in restricting viral binding. Based on the evidence gathered from in-silico, pre-clinical, and pharmacological studies as well as references from classical textbooks of Ayurveda, this article infers that the transnasal application of sesame oil and/or A. taila could provide resilience/protection to the respiratory system. It can act as a 'biological mask' to prevent respiratory infections like COVID-19. Detailed pharmacological study can give fuller confirmation of our informed "inference" that A. taila offers a cost-effective intervention for the prevention of COVID-19 like infections of the upper respiratory tract.

Ayurveda management of pulmonary mycosis: an integrative approach: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Pulmonary mycosis is a fungal infection of the lung. Antifungal treatments are used in conventional treatments; however, incomplete response and toxicity are major challenges of antifungal therapies. In Ayurveda, pulmonary mycosis is diagnosed and treated based on principles of respiratory disorders (referred to as Shvaas Roga) with promising outcomes. CASE PRESENTATION: A > 60-year-old South Indian male patient visited Institute of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine with complaints of cough, breathlessness, pedal edema, weight loss, uncontrolled diabetes, and anemia. Following chest X-ray, high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) and bronchoscopy, the patient was diagnosed with a case of pulmonary mucormycosis. The patient had availed conventional allopathic treatment for 3 months including standard antifungal medication for 3 weeks. However, due to unresolved and persistent symptoms, the patient sought Ayurveda treatment. The patient was diagnosed and treated for 6 weeks as a case of Shvaasa Roga, a subcategory of the respiratory disorder according to Ayurveda, and was cured of the infection following an integrative Ayurveda management regime which included internal medicines, panchakarma, necessary poorvakarmas (like abhyanga and swedhana), diet and lifestyle advice, yoga and acupuncture. CONCLUSIONS: The patient was cured of fungal lung infection in 6 weeks using an integrative approach. Primary Ayurveda treatment supported with diet and lifestyle modifications, yoga, and acupuncture helped the patient to recover from illness. The patient is alive and free of disease for more than one year to date.

Ayurvedic Treatment of Acute Ischemic Stroke: A Prospective Observational Study.

BACKGROUND: The western medical arsenal for treating stroke is rather limited, and the only treatments shown to improve outcomes are not accessible to most in the third world. Even in the developed world, many patients present too late to receive thrombolysis or thrombectomy. Stroke patients in India commonly use Ayurvedic therapies, but there are no published data regarding the efficacy or safety of these therapies, the latter being of particular concern in acute ischemic stroke (AIS). OBJECTIVE: To obtain preliminary data on the safety and efficacy of stand-alone whole-system Ayurvedic treatment in AIS. METHODS: We present here an observational study prospectively comparing outcomes in 2 cohorts of AIS patients treated with whole-system classical Ayurveda (n = 13) or conservative (nonthrombolytic, noninterventional) western biomedicine (n = 20). RESULTS: Pooled analysis of outcomes did not show statistically significant differences in mortality (15.38% vs 15%, P = 1.00), nonfatal adverse event rates (15.38% vs 30%, P = .4), or functional disability measures. A paired analysis performed using a matching algorithm to reduce baseline disparities between the cohorts also showed no statistically significant differences in outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: The safety profiles of classical Ayurveda and conservative western biomedicine in AIS are similar. This is the first ever report of stand-alone Ayurvedic therapy in AIS. Our results support the conduct of a randomized controlled trial to study the efficacy of Ayurvedic treatment of AIS.

Ayurvedic college education, reifying biomedicine and the need for reflexivity.

The paper analyses the experiences with government sanctioned Ayurvedic college education of 14 young Ayurvedic doctors working at the Integrative Health Centre in Bangalore, India. Unfamiliarity with Ayurvedic logic and Indian natural philosophies, lack of clinical training and the mixing-up of Ayurvedic and biomedical notions are their main complaints. The 14 young Ayurvedic doctors also missed a convincing perspective on how to integrate Ayurvedic logic, modern scientific knowledge and biomedical diagnostics. Ayurvedic state sanctioned education seems to be caught between Ayurveda's natural philosophy of health and the techno-science of biomedicine. The Ayurvedic doctors under scrutiny face the danger of becoming 'half-baked products' when they do not learn to reflect on the tension between Indian traditional knowledge and biomedical learning. The paper argues that the logic of modern science and biomedicine's claim to value-free knowledge captivates Ayurvedic education and research. This hinders Ayurveda's development as a vibrant alterity to biomedicine. What is needed is a critical social science perspective on the construction of medical knowledge and India's hierarchical medical landscape.