We had written on many occasions about the need for the involvement of Government of India in long term clinical studies of effectiveness of Ayurveda and traditional medicines. Such a study would enhance and rejuvenate Ayurveda medicine’s stand all over the world. It has to be a big and credible effort from the government’s side as there is a tendency to rubbish small studies as snake oil science.
A recent article in New York Times summarizes a few such efforts undertaken by various Universities, research institutions and academic centers across America. The article talks about opportunities and efforts on conducting studies on effectiveness of alternative medicine.
That kind of fog is what Dr. Briggs and the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, with a budget of $122 million this year, are trying to eliminate. Their trials tend to be longer and larger. And if a treatment shows promise, the center extends the trials to many centers, further lowering the odds of false positives and investigator bias.
For instance, the center is conducting a large study to see if extracts from the ginkgo biloba tree can slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. The clinical trials involve centers in California, Maryland, North Carolina and Pennsylvania and recruited more than 3,000 patients, all of them over 75. The study is to end next year.[Using science to sort claims of alternative medicine]
[For details on Ayurveda resorts in Kerala please visit www.ayurvedatravelmall.com]
[...] Sarah Keeling wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptBriggs and the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, with a budget of $122 million this year, are trying to eliminate. Their trials tend to be longer and larger. And if a treatment shows promise, the center extends … [...]
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