HEALTH

Newer ways to treat common ailments

Agra: A retired colonel of the Indian army, who served as a medical expert in the Kargil area, has innovated new techniques for treating 25 odd common chronic human ailments. A book brought out by Berlin’s Lap Lambert Academic Publications lists the areas that he has successfully worked in with these unique techniques which need to be further refined and perfected for wider use and acceptance.

Colonel Rajesh Chauhan, an alumni of the AFMC, is currently an honorary national professor. He served the Indian army and also worked in Botswana. Chauhan said: “We feel that the world continues to be guided by age-old beliefs and theories and it is high time we began thinking afresh, looked at different realities with different perceptions.

Having worked in very hostile terrain and in extremely difficult conditions without the benefits of modern science it was possible to apply mind on new possibilities and utilise whatever resources were at our command. This proved a trigger for innovative techniques to address a whole lot of human ailments and come out with promising results.”

He said specifically new thinking and new approaches to treatment of medical conditions like migraine, primary hypertension, sleep apnoea, non insulin dependent diabetes, benign prostatic hyperplasia, presbycusis, lumbar canal stenosis, frozen shoulder, arthritis of knees, stroke, coronary blockage, haemorrhoids, external abdominal hernias, etc., have proved rewarding and people have already benefited from the techniques.Chauhan said the problem was that we had stopped looking for alternative possibilities to mainstream treatment. “Possibly, by being convinced and satisfied, we have never tried to look beyond what has already been established or accepted by the world. “Through my book I have tried to provide new perspectives on 25 common medical conditions with the intent that it may and should initiate a fresh look, discussions, debate and research around the world,” he said.

Chauhan claimed that a large number of patients with these chronic problems had been successfully treated by him using his own innovative techniques. “By going to the root of the problem and attacking it using a different line of treatment, varying the doses, trying new interventions and above all using the common sense approach to health, in tune with the nature’s unique designs, patients have been relieved of their persisting problems relating to deafness, heart, diabetes, DNS, arthritis, blood pressure,” Chauhan said, adding that he has an open mind and individualises treatment to suit a specific need.

TURMERIC: takes on colon cancer!

A compound found in turmeric, a spice widely used in curries, could play a very important role in preventing and treating colon cancer, which frequently is caused by lifestyle factors, such as diet, say researchers including one of Indian-origin. The researchers found that combination of two plant compounds that have medicinal properties - curcumin and silymarin - holds promise in treating colon cancer. Curcumin is the active ingredient in the spice turmeric and silymarin is a component of milk thistle, which has been used to treat liver disease.

"Phytochemicals may offer alternate therapeutic approaches to cancer treatments and avoid toxicity problems and side effects that chemotherapy can cause," said corresponding author Uthayashanker Ezekiel, Associate Professor at Saint Louis University in Missouri, US.

The findings were published in the Journal of Cancer. The researchers studied a line of colon cancer cells in a laboratory model. They found treating the cells initially with curcumin, then with silymarin was more effective in fighting cancer than treating the cells with either phytochemical alone.

"The combination of phytochemicals inhibited colon cancer cells from multiplying and spreading. In addition, when the colon cancer cells were pre-exposed to curcumin and then treated with silymarin, the cells underwent a high amount of cell death," Ezekiel said.Ezekiel, an alumnus of Madurai Kamaraj University in Tamil Nadu, sees promise in using the phytochemicals to help prevent colon cancer, but noted the research is a preliminary cell study, with more research ahead before scientists know if the compounds are an effective treatment for people who have colon cancer. Scientists next would need to study how the curcumin and silymarin impact the actions of molecules, such as genetic transcription and expression, that cause cells to change, Ezekiel said. Then the compounds would be studied in an animal model, then in humans."Concentrations of curcumin and silymarin that are too high could be harmful to people," he said. "We still have much to learn, and for now, it's so much safer to add a little spice to your diet and get your curcumin from foods that contain turmeric, such as curry, rather than taking high doses of the compound," Ezekiel pointed out.