Ramandeep Kaur

Is There Any Scientific Basis of Hawan to be used in Epilepsy-Prevention/Cure?

Epilepsy is a neuropsychiatric disorder associated with religiosity and spirituality. Nasal drug delivery systems are the best for diseases related to brain. In older times RishiMuni, ancient scholars and physicians used to recommend Hawan for mental peace and well being. Gayatri Mantra also tells that sughandhim (aroma, fragrance) puushtivardhanam (gives rise to good health). Om triambkum yajamahe, sughandhim puushtivardhanam, urvarukmev vandhanaat, mrityu mokshay mamritaat! Hawan is a scientific experiment in which special herbs (Hawan Samagri) are offered in the fire of medicinal woods ignited in a specially designed fire pit called agnikuñda. Hawan seems to be designed by the ancient scholars to fight with the diseases of the brain. Our metadata analysis demonstrates that the components of Hawan are having a number of volatile oils that are specifically useful for epilepsy through one or the other mechanism of action. Due to high temperature of fire the vapors of these oils enter into the central nervous system through nasal route. The routine of performing Hawan might keep the threshold value of the therapeutic components in the body and help in preventing epilepsy. In the present manuscript authors have tried to highlight and integrate the modern and ancient concepts for treatment and prevention of epilepsy.

Strain among the Family Caregivers of Patients with Stroke

Family caregivers are critical partners in the plan and provision of care for patients with various acute and chronic illnesses. Due to the sudden onset and unpredictable outcome of stroke, the caregivers are usually unprepared to deal with its associated problems. The present study aimed to assess the strain among the caregivers of stroke survivors. A total of 53 primary caregivers of the patients with stroke were conveniently selected. Only one member per family was interviewed and their strain of caring for the patients was evaluated by using Modified Caregiver Strain Index. Katz index was used to assess the functional status of the patients. The mean age of patients was 54.94 ± 16.94 with the range of 13-80 years. Most of the patients were male (77.4%). 90.6% of the patients were fully dependent and only 9.5% were partially dependent. 43.4% of the caregivers were son of the patients and nearly half of them (49.1%) were between 21-40 years of age. Majority of the caregivers (73.5%) experienced severe strain of care. More the dependency level of the patients, higher was the level of strain amongst the caregive

A cross-sectional study: Need of equal respect for all professionals in the Institutional Ethics Committees' composition

Background: The composition of the Institutional Ethics Committee (IEC) with an equal respect plays a major role in evaluating research proposals to ensure the safety of the subjects and ethical quality of research project. It is mandatory that all research projects with an involvement of human subjects should be approved by the IEC before commencement. Aim: To find out the equality of respect to members of IEC irrespective of nature of their profession. Materials and Methods: Methods include a cross-sectional study, the general information and member composition, multidisciplinary nature, independent performance, competence, decision capability, professionally biased of IECs in health research institutions of Punjab, India. A structured self-administered questionnaire was developed and provided to all health/research institutions providing the graduate/postgraduate education in medical sciences under the jurisdiction of Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Faridkot, Punjab, India. Results: Of the total 142 institutes, only 80 (56% response rate) institutes responded to the questionnaire. Of the 80 institutes which responded, 65 institutes (81.25%) had IEC, while 15 (18.75%) institutes lacked IEC. The compositions of only 22% IECs were in compliance to Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) guidelines and only nine (14%) institutes of the state of Punjab had approval from the DCGI. Conclusion: The present study has probably reflected a lack of awareness towards constitution of IEC by respondent institutes. The ratio of nonscientific members (ethicist, philosopher, and layperson) in the IEC composition was incredibly low. This study also reveals the professionally biased and noncompliance with schedule Y guideline in relation to the representation of lawyers, ethicists, and nonscientific members.

Was Hawan Designed to Fight Anxiety-Scientific Evidences?

Anxiety is a psychiatric disorder with unknown neurobiology; however, neurotransmitters like gamma-amino butyric acid, norepinephrine and serotonin (5-HT) play crucial roles in mediating anxiety. Present drug modules pose dependence risk to the patient; hence, there is a great need to develop complementary therapies to fight this disorder. Aromatherapy has also been employed in ancient times for a number of mental disorders. Mahamrituanjay Mantra , Om triambkum yajamahe , sughandhim puushtivardhanam , urvarukmev vandhanaat , mrityu mokshay mamritaat!!!! , the part of veda enlightens that aroma gives rise to good health ( sughandhim puushtivardhanam ). Hawan is a religious practice recommended for mental peace. Hawan is a process in which special herbs are offered in the fire of medicinal woods ignited in a specially designed fire pit. Analysis of literature demonstrates that the components of Hawan are having a number of volatile oils that are specifically useful for prevention and treatment of anxiety through some mechanism of action. Due to high temperature of fire, the vapors of these oils from herbs enter into the central nervous system through nasal route. As per modern science and ancient texts on medicine, nasal drug delivery systems are the best for the diseases related to brain and head. The routine of performing Hawan might keep the threshold value of the therapeutic components in the body and help in preventing anxiety. In the present manuscript, authors highlight and integrate the modern and ancient concepts for treatment and prevention of anxiety through scientific evidences.