Times of India
13 February, 2010
Chennai, India

After screening more than 6,000 people for the Chennai population health cohort study, the research team at Sri Ramachandra Medical College gave patients the option of treatment between allopathic and traditional Indian medicine for treatment of various problems, including diabetes and high cholesterol.

“While a majority chose allopathy, some opted for Indian medicine. Nearly 100 diabetics are being given a Siddha formulation, madhumekha choornam. The drug not only controls their sugar, cholesterol levels have also seen a dip,” said Dr S Thanikachalam, a cardiologist and also the lead investigator for the study.

“We have a Siddha doctor who has been prescribing drugs and following up with patients.

We have used only FDA approved drugs. We screened every batch of the drug and tested them for acute toxicity. Patients also underwent periodic liver function test, blood sugar and bleeding parameters,” he said.

Patients with high cholesterol were given vendamarai choornam. “It’s probably the first time a medical university like ours is scientifically evaluating the efficacy of Siddha medicine. We want to see if combination therapy can help patients better,” he added.

The study, according to varsity pro–chancellor (research) SP Thyagarajan, will cover the holistic health impact. “Some people have been advised diet modifications, along with yoga and meditation. After a specific period, changes in the body condition is recorded again. We go through a rigorous protocol and ensure every volunteer is screened thoroughly,” he said.

The study, he said, was done based on guidelines from WHO and ICMR. “So far the study has found that these drugs were safe and the results were phenomenal,” he said.