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Ayurveda medicine promises
to cure chemotherapy side effects
By
Prashant K. Nanda
New
Delhi, Nov 3 (IANS) India has patented an ayurveda medicine
that promises to reduce the side effects of chemotherapy during
cancer treatment and improve the blood platelet count among
patients.
The
medicine, Medihope, made by a Pune-based manufacturer, was
awarded the patent after it received favourable field results.
It will be in the Indian market within a month.
"We
have found favourable results after at least 10 years of laboratory
tests and later by conducting trials on over 2,000 patients,"
said R.D. Katkar, chief executive of Hope Ayurvedic Medicine
Private Ltd.
Chemotherapy
is the use of anti-cancer (cytotoxic) drugs to destroy cancer
cells. It is known to weaken the immune system, cause weight
loss, decrease the hemoglobin percentage and blood platelet
count.
"Let
me clarify that the medicine is not a cure for cancer but
is an effective medicine to reduce the side effects of chemotherapy
and various radiation therapies used in cancer treatment,"
Katkar told IANS.
Katkar,
who was in Delhi to participate in an ongoing annual traditional
medicine fair in Delhi organised by the health ministry, said
the intake of the medicine as a "supplement with cancer
drugs expedites recovery".
He
claimed that the composition produced from 12 medicinal plants
helps increase the blood platelet count and hemoglobin percentage.
It also reduces pain from chemotherapy.
Bhupinder
Singh, a doctor working at the company's laboratory in Pune,
said: "As a medical practitioner, I found the substance
much helpful. Besides, there are other benefits like maintaining
the white blood cell count and increase in the weight of patients."
Singh
said the medicine available in powder form needs to be taken
every morning by boiling it in water.
"A
cancer patient needs to take the medicine for a year,"
he said, adding it would cost nearly Rs.60,000 for yearlong
treatment.
Katkar
said India has already patented the product and the company
has registered itself in 108 other countries for getting patents
as a special ayurvedic medicine.
Cancer
is a leading cause of death worldwide. The disease accounted
for 7.9 million deaths in 2007. According to the WHO, cancer
is one of the top 10 killers in India and it kills over 400,000
Indians every year.
According
to the National Cancer Registry, the incidence of cancer in
India stands at 36.21 per 100,000 males and 45.02 per 100,000
females.
(Prashant
K. Nanda can be contacted at Prashant.n@ians.in)
Indo-Asian
News Service
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