170 Satellite Symposia / European Journal of Integrative Medicine 2 (2010) 165172

measured by a visual analogue scale (day 0 and day 7). Also Ayurverda
the frequency of taking pain medication from day 3 until day
7 was recorded. The study sample consists of 40 patients with Ayurvedic medicineA complementary approach to con-
uni- or bilateral knee osteoarthritis. ventional oncology
First results will be presented and discussed.
L. Kronpa
Acknowledgement: Supported by the Karl and Veronica Carstens
Foundation. AyurSan Clinic Passau, Germany
Being the oldest medical system of the world, Ayurveda
doi:10.1016/j.eujim.2010.09.224 medicine has a pool of experiences from more than 2000 years
of continuous practice. On contrary to our highly specialised
Adjunctive homeopathic therapy in malignant diseasesA conventional western medicine, Ayurveda applies its therapeu-
retrospective explorative pilot study with 80 patients tic approach in a strictly holistic way and defines pathogenesis as
K. Gaertner, M. Frass a complex homoeostasis disorder of spiritual, mental and phys-
ical aspects. Ayurveda includes a unique system of structural
Medical University Vienna, Vienna, Austria anatomy (mahabhutas, dhatus, malas, srotas) and functional
physical components (dosha, agni). The therapeutic strategy is
Objectives: The aim of this study was to check the survival
complemented by elements of spiritual therapy, psychotherapy
time of patients who used adjunctive homeopathic treatment in
and strategies of salutogenesis and nutrition. From the holis-
their cancer therapy. As there are no comparable studies we
tic perspective of Ayurvedic, cancer is not only understood
also searched for material based on which we could generate a
as a neoplastic occurrence in organs, but also as a profound
hypothesis of the effect of additional homeopathic therapy on
homoeostasis disorder of the individual components of person-
patients with cancer.
ality: body, mind and soul. Moreover, Ayurveda considers cancer
Design: This study involves 80 patients who visited the spe-
as provocation of the kapha dosha in the localised organ phase
cial outpatient unit Homeopathy for Malignant Diseases at
linked to a change of the dosha-connected characteristics to vata
the Department of Internal Medicine I of the Medical Univer-
dosha, which is pathogenetically responsible for a generalisa-
sity Vienna between March 2004 and March 2008 at least three
tion. Concerning pathophysiology, the Ayurvedic approach is
times. The patients received homeopathic treatment mostly in
marked by the strengthening of agni (metabolism), opening and
form of Q-potencies based on the method of homeopathic treat-
flow improvement of the nadis (transport systems), pain reduc-
ment of cancer by Dr. Dario Spinedi and, if needed, different
tion, direct impact on the tumour and stimulation of the bodys
C-potencies due to their current complaints.
immune functions.
Subjects and methods: At the mentioned walk-in-clinic we
The concept of OnkoVeda at the AyurSan Clinic will be pre-
retrospectively collected the patients age and sex, their his-
sented as a model for integrative cancer care. To maintain quality
tory of diseases, stadium and histology of their neoplasia at the
of life has a high importance for cancer patients and Ayurveda
time of diagnoses, their conventional as well as their homeo-
could be used as additional treatment to accompany patients in
pathic treatment and their date of death. There was no invasive
a natural, intuitive and human way for longer periods of time.
intervention.
In addition Ayurveda could be used to treat side effects at the
Survival times of each type of cancer were analysed sep-
somatic and mental/psychic level and manual therapies within
arately by putting them in relationship with the prognosed
Ayurveda allow to include a more physical and experiential
survival time corresponding to their stage of disease, as they are
element into the treatment.
described in literature and expressed by experts at the Medical
To include Ayurvedic medicine as additional option in the
University Vienna for patients who have received conventional
treatment and palliative care of cancer patients should particu-
cancer therapy only. Therefore, we used descriptive statistics.
larly be considered when establishing cancer centres.
Results: We found that most of the analyzed patients lived
longer than expected by their stage of disease.
doi:10.1016/j.eujim.2010.09.226
Conclusion: This aspect needs substantiation. To find out if
this effect is due to the homeopathic treatment we now plan
Evidence and clinical research for Ayurveda from India
a randomized controlled trial with the hypothesis that there is
no difference in survival time of patients who used add-on R. Manohar
homeopathy in their cancer therapy and those who did not.
Arya Vaidya Pharmacy, Director of Research, Coimbatore,
doi:10.1016/j.eujim.2010.09.225 India
Building an evidence base to vouchsafe the credibility of
Ayurveda is becoming a top priority amongst the Ayurvedic
community in India. Red alerts regarding safety issues con-
cerning products and practices in Ayurvedic therapeutics has
sensitized not only the Government Department for Traditional
Medicine in India but also the Ayurvedic academia in general.
 Satellite Symposia / European Journal of Integrative Medicine 2 (2010) 165172
In recent times, several initiatives have been taken to improve
the research standards in Ayurveda and to generate documented
evidence for safety and efficacy of Ayurvedic interventions that
meet international standards and expectations. These include
new clinical studies including clinical trials, development of
new research methodologies, launching of new research jour-
nals, training programs for researchers, development of research
databases and the like.
This paper will discuss about three such initiatives in the area
of observational clinical research, randomized clinical trials on
whole Ayurveda interventions as well as development of a com-
prehensive research database and indexing service exclusively
for Ayurveda research journals.
The outcomes of observational studies that gives insights on
health seeking behavior of patients approaching practitioners of
traditional medicine and the overall safety issues and efficacy
trends will be outlined.
Development of rigorous clinical trial protocols that respect
the holism of Ayurveda as well as the rigor of science will
be discussed citing the outcomes and implications of studies
conducted through international collaborations.
Development of a comprehensive database of published
research papers and indexing system for Ayurveda journals will
be elaborated, which makes available to researchers information
related to the research work done on Ayurveda in India.
The paper will also look at the strengths and gaps in the
research initiatives from India that aim to generate evidence
to authenticate Ayurveda by blending traditional wisdom with
modern science in the areas of training in research, actual
conduct of research studies and publication of the research out-
comes.
doi:10.1016/j.eujim.2010.09.227
Complementary medicine in Parkinsons disease
H. Przuntek
Bochum, Germany
Complementary medicine means usage of two completely
different medicine systems as allopathic medicine and Ayurveda
or Traditional Chinese Medicine. We use Ayurveda which
belongs to the longest documented medicine systems. Parkin-
sons disease was described by Charaka more than 2000 years
before Parkinson published his booklet about Shaking Palsy
in 1817. Parkinsons disease for more than a century was
assumed to be a neurosis. Tretiakoff detected 1918 a neurode-
generative process of the nigrostriatal system. Since Sano and
Hornyciewicz have described a disturbance of the dopaminergic
nigrostriatal pathway it was supposed that the pathogenesis of
Parkinsons disease could be restricted to the nigrostriatal sys-
tem. Supported by the work of Korczyn, Przuntek and Woitalla
and the revolutionary results of Braak it became more and more
evident that Parkinsons disease is a whole body disorder, start-
ing in the gastrointestinal tract many years before motor signs
become visible. The pathogenesis seems to be achieved by a
genetic predisposition and intoxication. The toxins must exist
171
more than 3000 years. We postulate that these toxins are of
endogenous nature. That is in accordance with the Ayurveda
doctrin, which comes to the conclusion that Parkinsons disease
starts in the colon. This corresponds to a tridosha dysbalance
and vatta overflow, which has to be normalized by diet, basti,
massages and herbal nutraceuticals. Smelling is reduced very
early in the course of the disease. Up to now exists no allopathic
method to heal this disturbance. We have used Nashya for 6
days, after 10 days smelling was normalized. It is very difficult
to compare the efficacy of allopathic and ayurvedic treatment,
because most of the ayurvedic procedures are not evidence based
and the side effects of the herbal drugs are not sufficiently reg-
istered. We have started to establish a research working group
including researchers, who are interested in reverse pharmacol-
ogy, narrative empirical methods, reproductive medicine, cell
protection, stem cell activation, anti ageing, LOHAS, Ayurveda
genetics, Ayurveda engineering and biochemistry, toxicology
and detoxification, statistics and interpretation of Ayurveda text-
books under modern aspects. With this work we hope to clarify
many of the mysteries of Ayurveda medicine and to increase the
acceptance of this medicine system.
doi:10.1016/j.eujim.2010.09.228
Complex ayurvedic treatment for osteoarthritis of the knee
(CARAKA-trial)Design of a randomized controlled trial
comparing ayurveda and conventional standard care
C. Keler a, , C.M. Witt b , A. Michalsen a,b , A. Morandi c
a Immanuel Hospital Berlin, Department for Internal and Com-
plementary Medicine, Berlin, Germany
b Charit University Medical Center, Institute for Social
Medicine, Epidemiology and Health Economics, Berlin, Ger-
many
c Ayurvedic Point, Milan, Italy
Background: Ayurveda is a traditional Indian medicine: as a
whole medical system it consists of diagnostic procedures and
a complex treatment. The treatment is based on an ayurvedic
diagnosis and includes the following methods: manual thera-
pies, lifestyle and nutritional advice, dietary supplements, yoga
and purification techniques. In India Ayurveda is often used for
the treatment of osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee, however, no
systematic data is available on its effectiveness compared to
Western standard care.
Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate the effective-
ness of a complex ayurvedic diagnosis and treatment compared
to conventional standard care in patients with OA of the
knee.
Methods and design: A total of 150 patients will be included
in a prospective, multicenter, randomized, controlled study.
Patients between 40 and 70 years of age, diagnosed with OA
of the knee following the criteria of the American College of
Rheumatology and an average pain intensity of 40 or more on a
100 mm visual analogue scale (VAS) at baseline will be random-
ized into two groups. In the Ayurveda group treatment will be
individualized according to the Ayurveda diagnosis and include