David, J.

Mani, K. S.

Nagarajan, K.

Rangan, G.

Sridharan, V. S.

Subbakrishna, D. K.

Venkataram, B. S.

English

Publications of the IAS Fellows

~'ij'" ':-'- ' 
.,..~ {':,!)'! 1/f11";~t((l/ 11/'1'( till I It. \ 
" 111\d(,'1 tills lIe,ldll;I' Ill'lolI l ' ~lIdl 
~ I " 
.' dl\:cfse IIlcll .. ,ds as Villlllll.\ 
psychotherapeutic strategil:s, use or 
suggestion, hypnotherapy, 
c()l~dil ionill/!, hi(lf'L-edhack, alld
self-cellll("ol. 
I In general, the results are 
pr~mising but the promise seems 
dilliuill III sllbsl;lIlIl;lk', 
Re~entJy, in discussing some of 
theke methods, Fenwick claimed 
thal90<J'o of patienls had some
conitrol over their seizures, and he 
co~pared this to the 50% seizure 
reduction in 50% of patients by 
modem drugs. It is remarkable that 
alth:ough such reports have been 
published over many years, they 
an: still ollly III1l:cdotal or oilly VC'I}' 
sma'lI scale trials without follow-
up. It remains to be seen whether 
t~is lis b(~causc the potential of 
'lC;,l: methuds IS ovur~;llIlIatl'd, 01
.v helther pat ien ts do not coopcraLe 
I hmg enough bccuuse Ihe melhods
dern:and more of the patient than 
taking a pill, or whether such 
l11L'll)ods do nOI fil ill IhL~ir \Veslerll
concepl of (real.Jl1L'n1 of epilepsy, 
I, .. 
rcmall1S 10 lJC seL~n. 
Daltcl' of alternative
trcabl1cn ts 
!\ilil,lllll~iI IIlllsl llf Ill .. ILI.illlllll;d 
I 1.1 . I I .. , ICfuC; aiL' LJlIlIl~ 1;11111 css, <':U\\' S 
urine' preparation" contains tobacco 
I 
I 
L ;1\ \ '. IILII 111;1\ ';111'·, III" 'ilil. 
p. 11',<1111111' ;tlillll' Willi I" ;1111 
lLllnagc, "ill! .titll\JLI~11 "Iluly w;lln" 
is purL' water, "!!ll'l'll watn" uscd
by the Celestial Church can cause 
hilclllol,ysis. hnally, ill Europe,
pollution of herbs with illst.'clicidt.'s
and unexpected high levels of 
some toxic compounds can also
1"'St.' ;t danger. Tile: dralilatic
experience of exorcism can be 
traun,:llic, and discontinUation of 
antiepileptic drugs ordered by the 
healer has resulted on several 
occasions in status epilepticus. The 
costs of alternative treatments are 
usually low, but some gradually 
increase. Lee reports from 
Singapore that 12% paid more th;1O 
:noo, ;llld olle pnsllll evell p;lld
$3650 for traditional medicine. The 
major danger, however, is that it 
rn;IY rl'plaCl~ ;111 effcctive Irl'atllll'1l1
or ).!ivl: false hopl', k<tdill!! tn ;111 
endless search for the ullimate
solution. 
Conclusions and 
I'ccommcndaliolls 
In the table (page 4) tile results are 
prescl1lcd . .i' J09 patienls who have 
reported the n:sull.s ill \l:i/,urc
control of some form of alternati\'e 
Ireall11l'nt. Although in SOIlH' rarl' 
,·;I\,·S ;1 1\'111;11 k;dd,' ,'11;111)'1' l(llll-
place, nu single UlllrlJstak;tbk
positive result can be presented. 
Ayurveda and Epilepsy 
.d.sJ VENKATAJ{AM, G. RAN(;AN,.T. DAYI/), K.S. MANI, K. NA(;ARA.lAN, 
I Y.S. SRlDHARAN, O.K. SUBUAKRlSHNA
EPILEPSY STUDY GROUP, BANGALORE, INDIA 
I 
Ayu~eda means "he science or 
wisdo~n of life'; the word veda 
alone beans "reasure of 
knowl~dge'. This ancient medical 
discipline dates back to the vedic 
period!. lip 10 1000 bdorl' Christ
(BC). 11 can be derined as the
branch of learning wherein the 
I ~ 
good and bad, or posilive and 
I)l'!!ali~;e. aSIWL'IS of life cullJlICive
to a ha~ppy state are dealt with. 
Ayurv~da is based on its own,
physiological principles and aslulc
clinical observalions. Lik~ other 
I 
Indian disciplines the teaching and
learning of ayurveda was from the 
preceptor to the pupil by word of 
mouth, the only medium of 
leaming for that time. Charaka, an 
ayurvedic physician ,incl Sushrllla,
an ayurvedic surgeon were
renowned in the fifth century Be. 
Wi,11 1111' advenl (If Ihe an of
wriling, ayurvedic tn:atises were
written first 011 palm leaves and 
subsequenrly on paper with 
indc!i!d,' inks uillil printing was
developed. 
"'I...t~ 
! 1·.,\\ ,\ l't, pallt'll[>, and parelli: 
,'11111111111<''' willi IIlll'iI(:(;tI,ili!y i 
SOllie glildaIlL'c and can be ~a\! 
from disappllinlm~nt wh~n th'l
told that -although it is difficl 
prov~ Ihal a particular In:atnl( i
inefJective- no positive resul[~ 
been found. A careful sciclltif 
,<;llIcly should only be undertal<
Illere arc ~u(Jici(;JJl iIlJic<tti()n~ 
positive results. For most of tJ 
methods discussed, this is not
case. Doctors should help pati 
in their decision making. Whi 
taking care not to appear too 
narrow minded or condescend 
to conv ince, they must give a 
balanced view of the available 
facts. 
References 
I. Sonnen AEH. Alternative; 
FIlik RCllwdics. In; EI\~d . 
I'cdky TA, cds. Epikpsy:
comprehens ive lex tbook. 
Philadelphia; Lippencolt-R 
Puhlishas, 1997: 1365-137 
2. Timmers L. Herbal medici; 
used against epilepsy in 
developing countries. 
Utrecht, The Netherland~: 
Sci'ence Shup for Drugs, 
Faculty ()f Pharmacy, 
I fnivcrsilY Utrechl. 1994. 
Ayur\'L'da is a multidimcnsiol\,
health-care system dealing witl 
physiological, paLhological, 
psychosocial. spiritual. and
cl1vin.HlIllclllal aspects of hum;] 
well being. Preservation and 
promotion of health as well as 
prevention and perceived clire ,
diseases are the two purposes 0 
ayurveda. 
The three basic principles of 
ayurvedic physiology are the 
Tridoshas (Tri - three; doshas -
biological principles) broadly 
speaking r~sp()nsiblc for all 
movement (vata), all metabolis 
(pitta), and all structure and 
luhricali(ln in the body (kapha), 
These ha ve balanced and 
overlapping functions on variOl 
aspects of human physiology ar
psychology including cognitive 
functions and psychosocial 
I, 
s). 
.t 
.. :;0
~'j " 
",re, " 
~ "wI, 
c 
e 
ida), 
urn), 
i), 
tc. 
(H'JilJ!J,i{ J ')'JK 
I 
It Illay he Illl:IlIIlIIlCd Illal IlI;lIIV ,II
11,lese drubs "rL' ;d,~" IIscd III SC\Ci.d 
other diseases, almosl always as
piJlythclupy. 
Tihe dosages of ayurvedic AEDs 
al'c not fixed, and are gradually 
irlcreased until mild side-effects, 
e~pe~ially vomiting, is inouceo.
From continued clinical 
observations over centuries, 
esipecially by families featuring 
traditional ayurvedic physicians, 
dclsages of these have been so 
tittated that severe toxic effects are 
prkctically unknown, The drugs 
i us~d now are probably the by-
products of such astute clinical 
ob'scrv;lliolls ill a paliL'1l1 
population with limited mobility in 
and around their villages or towns 
an~ hence availahle for follow up. 
I 
As: .. conscqucllL'L" potclilially
lO~iclLeratogenic compounds might 
ha{e been discarded from the 
IlIc'rapclIl ic an 11;1I11L'IlI;tllllll L 
U nt'ortunatel y, in the absence of 
wri1tten material a considerable 
amount of knowledge has been I ~ 
lost. 
In~odern times even rural patients 
suffering from epilepsy generally 
app1roach an ayurvedic physician 
only when allopathic drugs lail or
do J~ot give the expected results, 
I 
Very many ayurvedic practitioners 
" .'" 
lise IlIl'll 11\\'11 sy,~I<'111 ,,1 Ii 1'1 1)',,\ ;1.\ 
;ILld Ilil IIIL'liI!')' (" ,tll\'Jldlllll dIU~\, 
III <Ill ullplIhlisllL'l1 silidy fr'lI11
('akulI:1 'u)'ush V,: a 11l'lh.d
preparation fwm Marselia min uta 
and jatamamsi (Norpostachys 
jatamamsi) was fOLlnd to he 
dleclive in 4! series 01' 273 rases of
epilepsy over a period of three 
years. However, this could not be 
confirmed by one of us in a smaller 
study in Bangalore of 12 patients 
with intractable epilepsy. In the 
absence of further details, 
comments must be reserved . 
Another popular ayurvedic drug, 
particularly in and around Mysore 
is lalllupaslJalla. This i,s a 
herbornineral compound (tabId)
containing asbestos as one of the 
ingredients. This has heen tried as
add-Oil therapy in uncontrolled
cases of epilepsy. In earlier trials 
carried out between 1962-1977, 
overall helleficial rt:sulls were
reported. However, most of these 
studies are anecdotal and lack 
statistical validation. 
The controlled clinical trials that
are a requirement of today's 
medical science are lacking in 
ayurveda. Whatever claims have
hecf) Illadc arc frolll purdy 
observational methods and are 
without adequate controls; but 
Treatment of Epilepsy by Traditional 
Chinese Medicine 
Lw Yu Xl, SUN MEl ZHEN, ZHANG MEl NI 
DEPARTMENT OF NEUROLOGY, 
FIRST HOSPITAL OF SHANXI 'MEDICAL UNIVERSITY 
TAIYlJAN, SIIANXI, CIIINA 
i 
In Western medicine 13 diffl'rl'nl 
I 
cOI11Rounds have proven to be 
effective in the treatment of the 
epilepsies. However, there arc 
hundJ'cds of Chinese herbs which 
have peen used for that purpose. 
Most ipeople with epilepsy in 
China are treated by either Western 
or traditional Chinese medicines, 
or wit'h combinations of both. It is 
clear ~hat thereare people with 
epilep:sy who are adequately treated 
by Chinese traditional medicine 
alone. Throughout the world Ihere
is great interest in traditional 
Chinese medicine (TCM), 
including the treatment of the 
epilepsies, but it is not easy for 
western doctors to study and 
master the techniques or traditional 
Chinese medicine. 
We would like to take this 
opportunity to explain the concepts 
or TCM with regard to the
IrcatllH.:nt or epilepsy. 
wildt' Ihi·; Illay be .1 valid CI
,,1'~)cl vallullal science bliuul
scoffed al ;lIld ignored. Tlw
be lillie lluggl.'ls oj' hdplul
information that can be ider 
through clinical trials. 
It is inlcresting that one of l 
fuund an ayurvediL' drug jat:
very promising in the labon 
against maximal electrosho( 
seizure models in mice. Act 
was elicited only when the \ 
crude extract was used, and 
fractionated components, wI 
showed less activity at equi~
dosages. Maybe there are ad 
or even synergistic actions \l 
compound preparation is USt 
Failure to isolate the active 
principle invol ved in the effi 
or 1/1l.:sc "AEDs" need not 
Ill.:cl.:ssarily refute findings b, 
on observational science evc 
over several centuries. An Ul" 
opt:1l approach)s till: bellchn
the scientific temperament if 
to tap potential benefits, if p.
Today's empiricism if 
systematically investigated n 
become scientifically accept; 
facts of tomorrow ~ as happe 
wilh cinchona, salicylic acid. 
di~it;dis alld l'uran,\ 
Differences in reference r 
for western and tradition 
Chinese medicine 
The first thing a student of TI
should be aware of is the diff 
concept of epilepsy on which 
is founded. The approach of t 
western medical world is basI 
Ihe conct.:pl that seizures are ( 
by abnormal discharges of 
neurones in the brain. The 
symptoms are determined by 
location and the extent of 
involvement of these neurone
treatment is aimed at countenl
these abnormal discharges. In 
short, pharmacotherapy is 
continuously adapted to the 
development of insight in the
pathophysiology of the epilep: 
The origin and development 0 
TCM can be linked to the
predominantly rural life and w 
of the Chinese people, By 
observ ing namre people in anc 


Ayurveda and Epilepsy

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Ayurveda and Epilepsy

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