Medicinal plant formulations have been used in traditional medicines for thousands of years. Plant-based medicine is still a major source of new drug leads and herbal treatments are highly lucrative in the international marketplace. The intellectual property issues for medicinal plant formulas are complicated for numerous reasons. Many of the patents are attempting to emulate the pharmaceutical model of composition patents that as we will discuss, is usually not an appropriate approach for medicinal plants. This paper does not seek to be an exhaustive review but rather provide an overview of the many aspects of medicinal plant patents, a topic of considerable future growth. Our experience has been that the merging of modern and traditional knowledge leads to unexpected correlations, elucidations and insights with tremendous potential for patentable discovery. A continuation of the dialogue on indigenous intellectual property rights will benefit from the inclusion of an increased diversity of voices that have the ability to recognize the mutual and often complementary abilities of traditional and modern sciences. The question is not how to simplify the complexity but rather how to embrace the complexity from the traditional medicine worldview with the tools of science.
Study of a part from Rgyud bzi, ancient Tibetan medical work.
<p>Contains a Central Tibetan-English-written Tibetan vocabulary. Also contains a Tibetan-English vocabulary of terms in categories. (Michael Walter and Manfred Taube 2006-05-15, revised by Bill McGrath 2008-01-03)</p>
<p>Contains a Central Tibetan-English-written Tibetan vocabulary. Also contains a Tibetan-English vocabulary of terms in categories. (Michael Walter and Manfred Taube 2006-05-15, revised by Bill McGrath 2008-01-03)</p>
Tibetan medicine integrates diet, lifestyle, herbs, and accessory therapies to increase health and longevity. A comparison of the three humor theory of Tibetan medicine and the three thermodynamic phase properties of myelin lipids exemplifies how integrating medical systems can increase understanding of complex chronic disabling conditions. As a correlative study to microscopically better understand multiple sclerosis (MS) from the view of Tibetan medicine, the physical disruption of central nervous system myelin membranes in MS is interpreted from the theory of the three humors (vital energies) of Tibetan medicine: rLung (Wind), MKhris pa (Bile), and Bad gen (Phlegm). The three classes of myelin lipids--phospholipids, sphingolipids, and cholesterol--are interpreted as one of three humors based on Langmuir isotherm thermodynamic measurements. The nature of rLung is movement or change. Myelin sphingolipids have rLung properties based on thermodynamic observations of changes in phase organization. MKhris pa is fire, energetic. Phospholipids have MKhris pa properties based on thermodynamic observations of being energetic membrane lipids with fast molecular motions and fluid-like properties. The nature of Bad gen is substance and form; it dominates body structure. Cholesterol relates to Bad gen because it dominates membrane structure. We propose a theoretical relationship whereby demyelination in MS is viewed as a continuum of imbalance of the three humors as understood in Tibetan medicine. Myelin lipid data is presented to support this theoretical relationship. Clinically, MS is, in general, a rLung-MKhrispa disorder in women and a Bad gen-MKhrispa disorder in men, with rLung-MKhrispa excess in both genders during exacerbation, inflammation, and demyelination. Studying Tibetan medicine in its traditional context will create an integrative model for the treatment of MS and other chronic conditions.
An overview of the concept of regeneration in Tibetan medicine is presented with descriptions of detoxification and tonification longevity protocols. The body must be fortified before receiving stronger treatments for regeneration. All disease is brought into balance with understanding of the interplay of the five elements, three humors, and their qualities and locations. The example of multiple sclerosis (MS) is given. The macroscopic three-humor interpretation of MS agrees with the microscopic three-humor description of demyelination, providing a new framework for the understanding and treatment of MS. Treatments for MS and other chronic conditions are based on age, season, time of day, and the individual's three-humor and hot (excess) and cold (deficiency) balance. Treatments to promote regeneration include nutrition, gentle exercise, herbal formulas, accessory therapies such as herbal baths and oils, and meditation. It is built into the theory of Tibetan medicine to have predictions about outcome and distinguish different disease patterns in patients with MS and other disorders. Taking into account daily and seasonal variations coupled with the changing nature of MS, it is critical to frequently evaluate people with MS and other chronic conditions for monitoring and adjustment of treatment for regeneration.
Ama Lopsang Dolma, Tibet's first woman doctor, shows how medicines are made and how acupuncture and moxibustion are used in her daily rounds as a physician. The Tibetan belief in emotion and spiritualism as an integral part in the healing process is also explored.
Traditional medical systems are challenging because their theories and practices strike many conventionally trained physicians and researchers as incomprehensible. Should modern medicine dismiss them as unscientific, view them as sources of alternatives hidden in a matrix of superstition, or regard them as complementary sciences of medicine? We make the latter argument using the example of Tibetan medicine. Tibetan medicine is based on analytic models and methods that are rationally defined, internally coherent, and make testable predictions, meeting current definitions of "science." A ninth century synthesis of Indian, Chinese, Himalayan, and Greco-Persian traditions, Tibetan medicine is the most comprehensive form of Eurasian healthcare and the world's first integrative medicine. Incorporating rigorous systems of meditative self-healing and ascetic self-care from India, it includes a world-class paradigm of mind/body and preventive medicine. Adapting the therapeutic philosophy and contemplative science of Indian Buddhism to the quality of secular life and death, it features the world's most effective systems of positive and palliative healthcare. Based on qualitative theories and intersubjective methods, it involves predictions and therapies shown to be more accurate and effective than those of modern medicine in fields from physiology and pharmacology to neuroscience, mind/body medicine, and positive health. The possibility of complementary sciences follows from the latest view of science as a set of tools--instruments of social activity based on learned agreement in aims and methods--rather than as a monolith of absolute truth. Implications of this pluralistic outlook for medical research and practice are discussed.
The article looks at the traditional Tibetan methods of urine analysis. It is inferred that urine analysis, next to pulsology, is the most significant method of determining and confirming a disorder and its nature. Particular focus is given to the use of medical students of the "Last Tantra" as a source for studying and practising urine analysis, which is divided into eight sections including preliminary compliances, time of examination, and compositional formation of urine.
Pages |