Dr Swarkar Sharma
Ayurveda is our traditional ancient medicine system. Ayurveda has two Sanskrit words, Ayus = life and Veda = science. The core principle of Ayurveda is personalising the medical process as per the individual’s composition or body matrix “Prakriti”. Unlike other systems in medicine, Ayurveda’s emphasis is more on maintaining a healthy being than on treatment. Further treatment also targets causative factors causing disequilibrium of the body matrix through the use of medicines, diet and activities to restore the balance and strengthen the body mechanisms. Also, over time, various traditional treatments in the modern medical system have proven their effectiveness beyond any doubt. It is all now a matter of a few years that these will secure a prominent role in global healthcare scenarios.
“Precision Medicine” is an emerging field in healthcare in the modern world. With continuous improvement in the methodologies and development and establishment of baseline datasets, it has already secured a prominent place in developed countries. Precision Genomics with Genome information (genetic composition of an individual) at its core offers healthcare providers important information. It helps personalise treatment, determine risk for certain genetic conditions, and even identify how well one may respond to certain medications and dosages. In addition, genomics approaches to address rare genetic diseases have facilitated beyond limits in characterisation, identification and therapeutic intervention. This helps reduce costs while providing a better experience overall.
The idea of “Prakriti”, from Ayurveda, in humans is fascinating and understanding it with genomics makes it exhilarating. We all humans share a common ancestry; thus, common genetic components influence these, yet the combinations of these components make everyone unique. I believe the genetic composition of an individual (Genome) contributes to the “Prakriti”, and the genes and their activity potentially have a relationship with Tridoshas and Trigunas.
The terms “Ayurvedome” and “Ayurvedomics” is an effort to extend the well-established traditional medicinal system of the Indian subcontinent beyond to find a correlation with modern global advancements termed “omics”. It is anticipated that the efforts to combine Ayurveda with Omics will bring out outstanding rewards in Personalized Medicine. It is worth proposing that working in the domains together will bear more fruits for the benefit of humankind and find answers to questions and challenges in healthcare, rather than acting in silos and competing against each other.
(The author is Human Genetics Research Group, SBT, SMVDU KATRA)
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