In urban areas, especially in adolescents, there is an increasing trend to engage in activities, which are not in compliance with circadian clock and natural rhythm of light dark circle, turning them into a night owl chronotype. Research evidences highlight various health issues as a result of this chronotype. There are no research evidences of whether change of this night owl chronotype to lark shall correct these health issues. This is a unique case of a young unmarried lady, aged 22 years, from Lucknow, India, who visited OPD of Regional Ayurveda Research Institute for Eye Disorders (RARIED), Lucknow, with complaints of scanty menstrual flow along with hormonal imbalance, which had no improvement even after 6-7 months of medication. On probing the cause of these complaints, it was found that the patient had a night owl chronotype since past few years along with untimely food habits. The patient was then counseled for shifting the chronotype to lark along with timely food habits, which is in compliance with Ayurveda Guidelines of Lifestyle (AGOL) without any medications. After that a remarkable improvement in menstrual health was observed. Menstrual flow reached back almost to normal and the hormonal profile was balanced, with an exception to anti-mullerian hormone (AMH), which had only a slight improvement.
Background:
The burden of iron-deficiency anemia (IDA) remains persistently high in India due to the poor tolerability of oral iron supplementation. Therefore, more focus is required to explore traditional medicine for safe and effective options for managing IDA.
Aim:
To assess the clinical safety and efficacy of
Dhatri Lauha
in patients with IDA.
Materials and methods:
An open-label, prospective, single-arm, multi-center trial was conducted at 12 centers with a sample size of 40 participants per study site. Patients with IDA aged 18-60 years with hemoglobin levels in the range of 6-10gm/dl, mean corpuscular volume (MCV) <80 fl, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) <34 μg/dl, serum ferritin <30 μg/dl and serum iron <50 μg/dl were included in the study.
Dhatri Lauha
500 mg capsule was administered twice daily with lukewarm water after meals for 45 days. The primary outcome measure was the change in hemoglobin (Hb%) level from baseline to day 45. Secondary outcome measures included the change in MCV, MCHC, serum iron and ferritin levels, incidence of adverse events, and change in safety parameters (liver and kidney function tests). The mean (statistical) change in outcome measures from baseline to day 45 was compared using a paired sample t-test.
Results:
Out of 458 participants enrolled in the study, 400 contributed to the final analysis. A significant difference was observed in the outcome parameters such as Hb%, MCV, MCHC, serum ferritin, and serum iron levels (
P
< 0.001) after 45 days of treatment. Mean Hb% changed from 8.46 ± 1.14 g/dl at baseline to 9.18 ± 1.61 g/dl on day 45 (
P
< 0.001). LFT and KFT were within the normal limits after the study period. No participant withdrew from the study due to adverse events.
Conclusions:
Dhatri Lauha
is a safe intervention and can be expected to improve hemoglobin levels, red blood cell parameters, and iron stores in patients with IDA. Future RCTs with a larger sample size, standard care as control and a longer follow-up may produce more accurate and reliable results.
Background: Conjunctivitis is a common condition of the eye that occurs worldwide and affects all ages and social strata, affecting more than 2% of the population. Conventional treatment has many options for treating the disease. Despite adequate treatment options, patients continue to suffer troublesome symptoms. Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies may play a significant role here. Systematic reviews on this topic have been published for herbal medicines. Data are available on plenty of studies individually proving efficacy and safety of various Shodhana, Shamana, and Netra Kriyakalpa in conjunctivitis. However, systematic review of Ayurveda interventions for conjunctivitis is unavailable. This study aims at a thorough review of published clinical data of safety and efficacy of Ayurvedic interventions in the management of conjunctivitis. Materials and methods: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs), quasi-randomized controlled trials (QRCTs), controlled clinical trials (CCTs), and multiple arms clinical trials on conjunctivitis published till date will be conducted. Studies having patients fulfilling the diagnostic criteria based on the symptomatology of Abhishyanda (HF-1) explained in classic Ayurveda texts and conjunctivitis of all ages and either sex will be included. Studies in which Ayurvedic treatments (Shamana, Shodhana, or/and Netra Kriyakalpa) with any dose, type, schedule, drug, dosage form, and advised Pathayapathya (lifestyle changes) as intervention or control will be selected. The primary outcome will be the response to treatment and onset of serious adverse events. Ethics and dissemination: Formal ethical approval will be obtained. The results will be disseminated through a peer-reviewed publication. Trial registration number: International prospective register for systematic reviews (PROSPERO) number CRD42019129436.
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