Conference report - samyukti 2013.

On August 1 and 2, 2013, the Institute of Transdisciplinary Health Sciences and Technology (FRLHT-IHST), Bangalore in collaboration with MS Ramaiah Academy of Health and Applied Science (MSRAHAS), Bangalore organized Samyukti 2013, an evidence-based approach to Integrating Ayurveda and Allopathy at MS Ramaiah Memorial Hospital, Bangalore, India. This national symposium brought together experts from Ayurveda, western biomedicine, and modern science to define the scope and strategies for evolving, standardizing, and validating clinical applications of Ayurveda-based Integrative Medicine. The symposium saw an exuberant convergence of preeminent minds, and was attended by over 200 participants including many researchers and postgraduate students.

Dr. Devi Shetty, Founder and Chairman, Narayana Hrudayalaya, Bangalore inaugurated the event and emphasized the need for collaborative efforts between different streams of medicine for delivering effective healthcare. Dr. MR Jayaram, Chairman, MSR Group of Institutions shared his vision to actively promote joint research between academic research institutes and industries for better outcome. The scientific presentations were deliberated under sessions titled:

The Science of Integration

Evidence Based Ayurveda

Relevance of Integrative Medicine and the Need for IM in Tertiary Care Hospitals

Novel Paradigms for Research in Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine.

Padmavibhushan Dr. MS Valiathan gave a historical perspective of medicine through the ages emphasizing the importance of the spirit of the people and their willingness and dedication to high integrity, conclusive science. Stressing his work on science for Ayurveda and convergence of modern biology and Ayurveda as a new discipline, ‘Ayurvedic Biology’,[12] he envisaged a glorious future for the last named with 100 impactful integrative research publications over the next 10 years.

It was encouraging to welcome western biomedicine practitioners, Dr. Rajat Agarwal, Professor of Clinical Ophthalmology, University of Southern California; Dr. Ali Zamir Khan, Head, Inst. of Minimally Invasive Surgery, Medanta, Gurgaon; Dr. Sundaresh DC, Orthopedic consultant, MS Ramaiah Memorial Hospital, Bangalore; and Dr. Shirdi Prasad Tekur, Consultant Pediatrician, Bangalore, and hear how they are propagating and incorporating allied medical systems into their clinical practice. Clinical success stories of the utility of adjuvant Ayurveda for chronic illnesses, yoga for oncology, and psychosomatic diseases and chronic conditions were discussed by Dr. Geethakrishnan, Head, Department of Integrative Medicine and Holistic Therapies, Medanta, Gurgaon; Dr. Raghavendra M Rao, Senior Scientist and Head, CAM program, HCG-Bangalore Institute of Oncology; and Dr. Naveen, Joint Director, SVYASA, Bangalore; respectively. Dr. Ram Manohar, Director, AVP research foundation, Coimbatore and Dr. Ashwini Kumar Raut, Ayurveda Consultant, Director, Clinical Research and Integrative Medicine, MRC-KHS, Mumbai shared their respective experiences of novel clinical research conducted on rheumatoid arthritis[34] and integrative care for osteoarthritis.

Given that no single healthcare delivery system is able to efficiently answer today's myriad issues, it is essential that a healthy dialogue ensues between experts to ensure optimal patient care. This view is upheld in the international healthcare delivery scenario too. In this context, it is also worthwhile exploring comparative effectiveness research (CER) that will help clinicians and patients alike make informed decisions to enhance healthcare.[5678]

Prominent researchers shared their experiential evidence and also visualization for cutting edge research to unravel the concepts of Ayurveda. Dr. Bhushan Patwardhan Professor and Director, Interdisciplinary School of Health Sciences, University of Pune and Prof. P. Kondaiah, Professor, Department of Molecular Reproduction, Development and Genetics (MRDG), IISc, Bangalore shared their thoughts and experiences of ayurgenomics, the first research to link Prakriti, a fundamental principle of personalized medicine of Ayurveda, and modern genomics for development of predictive and personalized medicine. Padmashri Darshan Shankar, Founder Director, FRLHT-IHST introduced whole systems research and its relevance to Ayurveda. Dr. Ramaswamy, CEO, C-CAMP, Bangalore stressed that research in our country is more towards juggad, than invention and innovation and that Ayurveda holds the key to impactful research. Dr. Padma Venkat, Director, IHST, Bangalore detailed transdisciplinary research approaches at her institute with novel cell and small organisms based assays. Dr. Rangesh Paramesh, Head, Discovery Group Himalaya, Bangalore, spoke on opportunities and challenges for integration of Ayurveda and allopathy, opining that 3 P's—principles, practices, and prescription must integrate for Ayurveda to move forward. Dr. Ashwini Mathur, Group Head, Central Analytics Function, Novartis Healthcare Pvt. Ltd, Hyderabad stressed the need to evolve novel research paradigms for Ayurveda to get meaningful results. Dr. Rama Jayasundar, Associate Professor, AIIMS, New Delhi spoke about her experience with the tridosha approach towards health and disease. Dr. GG Gangadharan, Additional Director, FRLHT-IHST stressed the need to raise research levels as they are currently only at the vyavahara (empirical) level.

The symposium concluded with a very fruitful round table discussion by select experts to conceive collaborative research ideas in areas of wellness and preventive medicine, metabolic syndrome, neurodegenerative diseases, musculoskeletal diseases, public health initiatives, and products and technology for Ayurveda. Scientific rigor is required to establish the tenets of Ayurveda. This can only be achieved by a communion of experts from allied biomedical systems. Samyukti 2013 provided an admirable platform for sharing of experiences and ideas. As Acharya Sushruta says ‘it is permitted to interpret concepts of a discipline through premises of other sciences in order to comprehend their wider connotations with the common good as the ultimate objective.[9]