Can alternate medicines such as Unani be used as adjuvant therapy to lessen the duration and check adverse reaction of the allopathic drugs meant to treat deadly tuberculosis (TB) which is on increase in the countryIJ
Adjuvant therapy is a treatment given in addition to the primary, main or initial treatment to either cut down the side effects of the primary drugs or prevent relapse of the disease.
A study is being carried out on pulmonary TB patients in Chennai by the Chennai-based Regional Research Institute of Unani Medicine (RRIUM) and National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis (NIRT), an institute under Health Ministry’s research wing, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
“The study aims to prevent/reduce hepato-toxity induced by anti-tuberculosis treatment (ATT, CAT-I and DOTS-plus) and reduce the duration of treatment in addition to improving quality of life, radiological impacts and smear conversion rate in patients with drug-sensitive and multi-drug resistant PTB patients,” said S Shakir Jamil, Director General, Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine (CCRUM). The CCRUM is an autonomous body under the newly-created Ministry of AYUSH.
Jamil was speaking on the sidelines of the two-day ‘National Seminar on the Role of Unani Medicine in Non-communicable Diseases’ that concluded on Thursday. The study would evaluate the effect of Unani pharmacopoeial formulations as adjuvant therapy, he said.
To begin with, a small sample sized study in 12 drug sensitive and 12 multi-drug resistant PTB patients has been designed. “Around 24 subjects will be selected who will be simultaneously given TB drugs and Unani medicines to see if the results are as per our expectations. later, a large scale clinical trial will be conducted,” said Jamil. The NIRT is in the process of taking approval from its ethics committee to conduct the study.
Jamil also said that during the last three and a half decades, the Council had achieved some important landmarks in its various research programmes and emerged as the leading research institution of Unani medicine.
“The Council developed safe and cost-effective Unani treatment for vitiligo, eczema, psoriasis, scabies, bronchial asthma, chronic sinusitis, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, infective hepatitis, malaria and filariasis in addition to other diseases,” he elaborated. GN Qazi, vice-chancellor, New Delhi-based Jamia Hamdard said that pace of scientific validation of Unani medicine should be expedited and volume of research in the system be increased.