Prof. Dr. Mahendra H. Gaushal
Head, Dept of Medicine, KDMG’s Homoeopathic Medical College & Hospital, Shirpur, Dist. Dhule (Maharashtra) India
Utility of Biomedical Instrumental Parameters in Homoeopathic Therapy For Depression
1. In disease like depression
IntroductionA disturbance of mood, either mental depression or mania is the fundamental abnormality of an affective disorder. The most obvious difference between non living and living things is that the later move, responds to their environment and show changes in their body functions. These properties of living things in general sense are called behavior.
In animals & human beings the behavior is controlled by the Nervous system. Neurology is a specialised branch of medicine in which nervous system is studied & its diseases are treated. The behaviour of Organism is studied within various fields of psychology. The experimental Psychologist studies the behaviour of men and animals by observing them in experimental situations. The way in which Physical stimuli are perceived by men in studies in a speciality called Psychophysics. The interaction between environmental stimuli & Physiological functions of the body is studied in the field of Psychophysiology. Clinical Psychologists as well as psychiatrists deal with the study & treatment of abnormal (Pathological) behavior.
Behavior is considered abnormal if it interferes substantially with the well-being of the individual and with his interaction with society.
Diagnostic criteria for Depression:
Depressed mood most of the day, Markedly diminished interest in almost of the day, Significant weight loss or weight gain, Insomnia & hypersomnia, Fatigue or loss of energy, Feeling of worthlessness or excessive guilt, Diminished ability to think or concentrate or indecisiveness, Recurrent thoughts of death or suicide. A Specific plan for suicide or an attempt of suicide.
Homeopathic Key
Subjective symptoms, causation, Mental & Physical general, Thermal modalities, < & >, Desires & aversions, squeal, Miasm.
Biomedical Engineering aspect :
It is well known fact that human body is Bio-chemico-electro-thermo- hydraulico – pneumatico- physico – magnato- mechano – dynamically engineered Machine.
Another well known fact that human body is a source of various bio-potential signals, which are most useful during physiological, clinical & therapeutic biological activities of living body.
These signals can be picked up from the surface of the body or from within the body. These signals are used as parameters in various biomedical studies.
The branch of science that includes the measurement of physiological variables and the parameters is known as Biometrics.
Bio-medical Instrumentation provides the tools by which these measurement can be achieved.
The Interdisciplinary researches in all health care systems with the help of Biomedical engineering is the need of present day.
Biomedical devices used in studies of diseases like Depression :
BSR & GSR Biofeedback Machines
Psycho-physiological Measurement : As we know that many body functions are controlled by autonomic nervous system eg. Heart rate, Blood pressure, Salivation & perspiration etc.
This part of the nervous system normally cannot be controlled voluntarily but is influenced by external stimuli & emotional states of the individual. By observing & recording these body functions, insight into emotional changes which cannot be measured directly can be obtained.
Utility of Bio Medical Instruments – GSR & BSR Bio Feedback Machine
Meaning of Feedback: Return of part of a system’s output to its source.
Return of the information about a product.
Galvanic: Galvani, A physician and Anatomist (1737-1798), who has first demonstrated that most of the
Physiological processes were accompanied with electrical charges. This discovery formed the basic of explanation of the action of living tissue in terms of Bio-electrical potentials. It is now a well established fact that the human body which is composed of living tissues can be considered as a power station, generating multiple electrical signals with major two internal sources, namely muscles and nerves. The current involved in bioelectricity are unlike the currents involved in electronics. Bio electric currents are due to positive & negative ion movement within a conductive fluid.
Here a current generator sends a constant dc current through the electrodes. The voltage drop across the basal skin resistance, typically on the order of several kilohms to several hundred kilohms , is measured with an amplifier, and a meter that can be calibrated directly in BSR values. A second meter , coupled through an RC network with a time content of about 3 to 5 seconds , measures the GSR as a change of the skin resistance of from several hundred ohms to several kilohms. The output of this amplifier can be recorded on a suitable graphic recorder. A measurement of the absolute magnitude of the GSR is not very meaningful. The change of the magnitude of the GSR depending on the experimental conditions and its latency ( the time delay between stimulus and response ) , is used to study emotional changes.
Instead of the change of the skin resistance, the change of the skin potential has been used sometimes. This is actually a potential difference of between 50 and 70 mV that can be measured between non polarizing electrodes on the palm and the forearm and that shows a response to emotional changes.
For Biomedical interest the bioelectrical signals which are often recorded are produced by the coordinated activity of large group of cells, in tin’s type of activity such synchronized excitation of many cells, the charges tend to migrate through the body fluids towards the yet unexcited cell areas, such migration of lie charge have an electric current & hence gives a potential difference between various parts of the body. Including its outer surface, such difference in the potential can be picked up by placing my electrodes (conducting plates) at any two points on the MU-lace of the body and measured with the help of GSR Bio-feed back instrument. Such potential gave valuable. Highly significant information during Homoeopathic remedial reaction in the body.
Electro dermal Activities
[Galvanic skin Response Measurement]
It was measured in two ways
A. BSR – Basal Skin Response
B. GSR – Galvanic skin Response
Measure of the average activity of the sweat glands and is a measure of phasic activity (the higher and lower states) of these glands.
Ø Baseline value of skin resistance given by BSR
Ø Activities of sweat glands is given by GSR
Procedure of GSR Measurement
It is generally measured at the palms of the hand, where we have the highest concentration of sweat glands.
Through amplifying unit can be recorded on suitable graphic recorder or can be connected to display unit to show colour bands to the variation of the colour bands are optioned from very dark red colour bands to comparatively lighter then after yellow pale green then green bands upto dark, green & up to concentrated olive green colour bands as variation in emotional state takes place .
Conclusion – The state of grief & anxiety and stage of recovery can be understood by these Biomedical Instruments before , during and after Homoeopathic Similimum.
References :
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- Wilson D.H. and Jagdeesh (1975), Experimental regeneration in perihpharal nerves & the spinal cord in laboratory animals exposed to a pulsed electro magnatic field. proc.of the annual scientific meeting of the International medical society of Paraplegia (Part – III)
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- Materia Medica pura (1830) – Hahnemann S.(Germany)
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- Studies on the efficacy of Biomedical Instrumental prarameters in Homoeopathy (Dissertation 2004). Gaushal Mahendra, Khamgaon (M.S.) India.
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