Traditional and Integrative Medicine
Volume:4 Issue: 3, Summer 2019

One of guilty pathologies in insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is ectopic fat accumulation in organs like pancreas, liver and skeletal muscles due to fatty acid’s bad digestion. This situation corresponds much with a spectrum of illnesses named the Soo ul Qinya & Estesgha in Traditional Persian Medicine (TPM). We renamed and redefined the concept as “The Bad-Anbaasht Syndrome” meaning bad-deposition. One of its basic treatments mentioned is thermal-therapy which interestingly also shown to benefit T2DM in recent studies. We designed a novel protocol named SINA therapy to treat T2DM including sauna’s benefits but reducing its side effects and then performed an animal pilot study. Five Wistar rats made diabetic by high fat diet and low dose streptozotocin, were treated daily by month long SINA 1.2 treatment protocol (1 cc Oxymel gavage and then 30 min thermal therapy in 37 ̊C dry sauna incubator). Weight and blood glucose were measured at beginning and at the end. Although Mean weights increased significantly from 296 to 321 (paired T test, p = 0.022) but surprisingly the mean blood glucose lowered significantly from 200mg/dl to 127mg/dl (p = 0.049). According to results of this pilot study, SINA therapy 1.2 is probable to have benefits in treatment of T2DM, but yet needs further experimental and clinical evidence.

Abnormal Uterine Bleeding (AUB) is the most common reason for women’s medical referral in the reproductive age. In Persian Medicine, one of the major causes of this disorder is known as uterine dystemperament (Su-e Mizaj). AUB is known as “Kesrat-e Tams” in this medical school. We aimed to investigate the frequency of positive symptoms of uterine dystemperament in patients with AUB from the perspective of Persian Medicine. This cross-sectional study was conducted from October 2009 to September 2010 in Tehran, Iran. It comprised 70 patients with abnormal uterine bleeding who were 15-45 years old. Data were collected by a questionnaire prepared based on the textbooks of Persian Medicine. The frequency of each symptom of uterine dystemperament was obtained. Among the four uterine dystemperaments, the “dry” and “warm” uterine types had the highest rankings. In patients with excess uterine hemorrhage, the symptoms of warm uterine is more frequent than cold uterine. Meanwhile, the warm uterine dystemperament interference was also observed in excess uterine hemorrhage.

WHO has declared sudden hearing loss (SHL) as the third cause of disability. The mechanism of SHL remains unknown. Considering numerous complications of related medication, we decided to use non-medical therapeutic modalities derived from Persian Medicine (PM). A middle-aged female patient had a history of multiple attacks of SHL, she disliked to get injection again and preferred a traditional treatment. Therefore, she was advised to take a simple protocol in order to make rheological changes in and evacuation of the probable stagnant phlegmatic matter as it was diagnosed from the given oral history. The hearing loss recovered 60% after the first attempt and up to 100% after the second round and has not yet relapsed in the recent two and a half years of follow up despite its recurrences in the year before the trial. In this patient, by using safe user-friendly methods without any medications, we tried to increase the blood circulation to the affected organ, in order to change the consistency of the stagnated waste material so that it could be disposed from the auditory nerves and also out from the body.

Male infertility is one of the most important subjects in medical sciences. It can cause private, social, and economic problems. Idiopathic male infertility is a situation where abnormal sperm parameters are created due to no specific cause and without definite standard treatment. Some herbal antioxidants can improve semen quality and assist infertile patients. We here report a case with idiopathic infertility who had been trying to have a child for 4 years, but he failed. A 33-year-old non-smoker, overweight man referral from urologist due to idiopathic infertility to the traditional medicine clinic. He had been trying to have a child for 4 years, and the first three years received antioxidant supplements but he was unsuccessful. Alpinia officinarum (Lesser galangal) rhizome in powder form was prepared and administered to the patient for three months. After the intervention, all the semen parameters were improved. A. officinarum has a high amount of galangin that has antioxidant effects. In this study, we showed that the spouse of an idiopathic infertile male becomes pregnant after receiving A. officinarum rhizome

Asthma is known by various terms as ḍīq al nafs, ribw, boḩr and dama in Unani system of medicine. It is a chronic inflammatory paroxysmal disease characterized by spastic contraction of smooth muscles in bronchioles, which can cause extreme difficulty in breathing. According to the Global Asthma Report 2018, about 6% of children and 2% of adults in India are known to be living with asthma. Herein we describe a case of bronchial asthma which was successfully treated with Unani medicines. The patient was a 21 year old male, suffering from asthma for 19 years but without any co-morbidity. He was prescribed bronchodilator, anti-inflammatory and anti-spasmodic Unani drugs such as tukhm khaṭmī (Althaea officinalis Linn. seed), tukhm khubbāzī (Malva sylvestris Linn. seed), aşl-us-sūs muqashshar (Glycyrrhiza glabra Linn., peeled root), parsiāoshān (Adiantum capillus-veneris Linn.) etc. in crude form as decoction. He was symptom free and medication free after 2 months of treatment till he last reported in April 2019. The results are attributed to the herbal drugs which not only provide symptom relief but also correct the airway hyper-responsiveness and correct the histopathological changes induced by asthma.

Blood pressure is one of the vital signs, and is the pressure of circulating blood on the walls of blood vessels. When the large arteries lose their natural elasticity and strength, and the smaller ones are narrowed, blood pressure rises and the pressure is exerted by blood on the walls of blood vessels. High blood pressure is dangerous and very harmful for the heart and blood vessels, and is a major cause of mortality in all nations. Many patients tend to use herbal products for controlling their blood pressure, as they are concerned of the side effects of the chemical drugs. There are huge amount of research work exploring the safety and efficacy of a single herb, or combined herbal products on lowering blood pressure, among which some have shown certain effects, and some are negative in results. Grape seed, Garlic, Saffron, Green and White Mulberry, Quince, and some other herbs have more scientific evidence in lowering blood pressure. In this study, we systematically reviewed the scientific literature of clinical trials and animal studies, in which the safety and effectiveness of herbs on lowering blood pressure were evaluated.