Amritsar, July 29 : Ayurveda, the Indian System of Medicine, have its own specialty for diagnosis of Diseases on the basis of vat-pitt-kaff and Ayurgenomics (amalgamation of Ayurveda & Genome) proved it scientifically.
These views were expressed by Prof. (Ms.) B.K. Thelma, Prof. of Genetics, Delhi University, South Campus and Advisory to Prime Minister of India while delivering her lecture on genetics of complex traits and “Ayurgenomics (amalgamation of Ayurveda & Genome) here today in the ongoing three-week refresher course in “Health & Life Sciences” (Food Technology, Nutrition, Home sciences, Pharmaceutical sciences, Sports Medicine, Physiotherapy, Bio-sciences & Physical Education). This Refresher Course was organized by the Academic Staff College (ASC) of the Guru Nanak Dev University.
Dr. Jaspal Singh Sandhu, Director, Academic Staff College welcomed the chief guest and introduced the teacher-participants. Dr. A.J.S. Bhanwer, Course Coordinator and Professor of Department of Human Genetics detailed about the ongoing course.
Prof. Thelma said that this concept of personalized medicine was available long ago in ‘Charka Samhita’ since 1500 BC. She said that it is holistic Indian traditional system of Medicine which emphasized on treatment of cause rather than symptoms. She said that contemporary life style is the root cause for diseases prevailing all over.
While talking about the Advances in Medical Genetics and how they are relevant to translational medicine, she said that everyone is talking about the advances in field of technology but, nobody is talking about how the benefit would be given to general masses.
Dr. Thelma briefly explained Human Genome Project and advance in technology. She also threw light on connential sequencing and next generation sequencing techniques. She also talked about the utility of Single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs), how a single base change can alter protein structure and its function. She described various methods to screen these SNPs.
She discussed her recent work done on Rheumatoid Arithritis on the basis of Aurveda and SNP analysis and found that ultimately life-style changes are to be balanced to treat all co-morbodities. Dr. Thelma also focussed on the need to screen every child for a better future for them.
In another lecture on “Search of drivers excavating the oral cancer genome” by an eminent scientist, Dr. Parthap P. Majumder, Director, National Institute of Biomedical Genomics, Kolkata. He said that the burden of oral cancer in India is because of more tobacco, alcohol & caffeine consumption.
He also talked about the genes that have been found to play role in implication of oral cancer pathology. He along with his team has discovered five new genes involved in cancer susceptibility.
He showed the global burden of infectious diseases, which are continuously emerging in different countries with low socio-economic status because of poor personal and public health.
He said that with the invention of impact vaccine in 20th and 21st centuries, various epidemic infectious diseases have been eradicated like Small Pox, Diphtheria, Polio etc. He also shared his work carried out in a low socio economic society in Kolkata on typhoid and cholera. His study has validated around eight SNPs in 7 genes and 6 SNPs in gene in immunity against typhoid and cholera respectively.
He said that the need of hour is to start awareness campaigns by the NGOs to educate the people specially hailing from slum areas to teach them about their personal hygiene and to spread the message of cleanness