In a welcome move, Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa Rigpa and Homeopathy (AYUSH) and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has finally joined hands to conduct quality human clinical trials to generate evidence on the benefits of using Ayurveda with modern medicine (evidence-based medicine) in the treatment of certain disease conditions of national importance. With its decades of experience in conducting human clinical trials, it is pertinent to involve ICMR in designing and conducting these trials. Initially, the collaboration will be limited to Ayurveda. Other systems of AYUSH – Yoga, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy – may be included, and each system will be tested with modern medicine, when the central councils of the respective AYUSH systems are ready to work with the ICMR. An expert committee will soon decide the areas/disease conditions to be included for detailed clinical trials using both Ayurveda and modern medicine. Initially, clinical trials for each disease may have two components – modern medicine as the standard of care as well as a combination of modern medicine and Ayurveda. A hand using both Ayurveda and modern medicine, if any, would only be able to validate the superiority of combining the two for better results. Scientific validation of better results of combined therapy using Ayurveda and modern medicine will form the basis on which integrative medicine will be given to patients. Encouraging trial results may perhaps serve as a starting point for conducting further trials using Ayurveda interventions to evaluate their effectiveness and understand the mechanism of action; It is not currently under the purview of the agreement.
While this initiative may not provide scientific validation of Ayurveda interventions in treating disease conditions when used alone, it is the first major step in an evidence-based approach to validating medical interventions. Although trials using Ayurveda and other systems of AYUSH have been conducted in the country, they suffer from major limitations, thus rendering the results meaningless. ICMR’s expertise will certainly help overcome the major hurdle in scientific validation that all systems of AYUSH currently suffer from. The evidence, as noted by the practitioners of AYUSH, is nothing but anecdotal evidence, which is not a substitute for an evidence-based approach. Lack of scientific validation as a stand-alone intervention or an adjunct to modern medicine, has been the bane of alternative medicine in India. There has been no sincere, large-scale effort to address this serious shortcoming. Hence the collaboration with ICMR is a step in the right direction.