4. Classical Thinking in science
Complex system can be understood by
understanding its most fundamental
constituent parts.
The complex problems are resolved by dividing
them into smaller, simpler and more
‘manageable’ units.
5. Reductionism
Physicists: Basic particles and forces
Chemists: Chemical bonds
Biologists: DNA sequences and molecular
structures
6. Biology
Reductionist biologists argue that investigating
individual molecules will lead to an understanding
of the complex life processes.
7. “The ultimate aim of the modern movement in
biology is in fact to explain all biology in terms
of physics and chemistry.”
- Francis Crick in his book “Of Molecules and Men” (1966)
8. THE Problem
Can life be understood through this approach?
Can life be treated similar to machine?
What about the ability of living organisms to self-
damage themselves and self-repair any damage?
11. Systems Approach
An organism is a complex system with dynamic
relationship and interactions between the components
leading to a behavioural system.
Systems biology is an in-depth investigation of
individual biological components at a systems level to
understand how a process, a cell, a group of cells, or
an organism works as a whole.
13. Systems Approach
नहि ज्ञानावयवेन कृ त्स्ने ज्ञेये ववज्ञान्पत्सयतय।े
Charaka Samhita, Vimana Sthana, 7/4
One cannot have the knowledge of the ‘whole’
simply by knowing its 'parts'.
14. This will help in understanding the
interrelationship between the different
components of a process, how they interact,
influence and regulate each together.
The systems approach with its focus on
interactions and interrelationship of the
components explains the behaviour of the system.
15. Closed System
In a physicist’s model of the solar system, of an atom,
it is assumed that all masses, forces etc. that affect
the system are included in the model.
This makes it possible to calculate future states with
perfect accuracy, since all necessary information is
known.
16. Open System
Take out a living organism from its surroundings: it will die
because of lack of oxygen, water and food.
Organisms are open systems: they need to continuously
exchange matter and energy with their environment to
survive.
Open systems interact with other systems outside of
themselves.
17. This interaction has three components:
Input- Output (what enters the system from the
outside, and what leaves the system for the
environment).
Transformation/ metabolism / throughput
Assimilation / storage / growth
18. When we look more closely at the environment of a
system, we see that it too consists of systems
interacting with their environments.
For example, the environment of a cell: ECF/ other
cells / tissues
If we now consider a collection of such systems which
interact with each other, that collection could again
be seen as a system.
http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/SYSAPPR.html
19. If these parts did not interact, the whole would not
be more than the sum of its components.
But because they interact, something more is added.
With respect to the whole the parts are seen as
subsystems.
With respect to the parts, the whole is seen as a
super-system.
http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/SYSAPPR.html
20. If we look at the super-system as a whole, we don't
need to be aware of all its parts.
We can again just look at its total input and total output
without worrying which part of the input goes to which
subsystem.
http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/SYSAPPR.html
21. According to the reductionist approach, the low level view
is all you need.
If you know the precise state of all the organs and cells in
the body, you should be able to understand how that body
functions.
Classical medicine is based on this reductionist view.
Louridas GE, Lourida KG. Conceptual Foundations of Systems Biology
Explaining Complex Cardiac Diseases. Parthasarathy S, ed. Healthcare.
2017;5(1):10. doi:10.3390/healthcare5010010.
22. The state of mind can affect the state of stomach
which in turn can affect the state of mind!
These interactions are not simple, linear cause and
effect relations, but complex networks of
interdependencies, which can only be understood by
their common purpose: maintaining the organism in
good health.
Homeostasis versus Homeodynamics
Ahn AC, Tewari M, Poon C-S, Phillips RS. The Limits of Reductionism in Medicine: Could Systems
Biology Offer an Alternative? PLoS Medicine. 2006;3(6):e208. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.0030208.
23. Reductionist community goes to the extreme and views
‘consciousness’ and ‘mental state’ as chemical reactions that
occur in the brain.
They focus on the disease rather than the state of the person
contributing to the disease.
Ahn AC, Tewari M, Poon C-S, Phillips RS. The Limits of Reductionism in
Medicine: Could Systems Biology Offer an Alternative? PLoS Medicine.
2006;3(6):e208. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.0030208.
24. They look for ‘one risk factor-one disease’ because of
their inability to work with multiple factor and
comprehend their collective influences.
Ahn AC, Tewari M, Poon C-S, Phillips RS. The Limits of Reductionism in Medicine:
Could Systems Biology Offer an Alternative? PLoS Medicine. 2006;3(6):e208.
doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.0030208.
25. In chronic diseases such as diabetes, coronary artery disease
the equation is non-linear with multiple factors.
The multiple factors lead to complex interactions and thus
the conditions keep evolving.
Therefore the systems approach is appropriate to
investigate the chronic conditions.
Ahn AC, Tewari M, Poon C-S, Phillips RS. The Limits of Reductionism in Medicine: Could
Systems Biology Offer an Alternative? PLoS Medicine. 2006;3(6):e208.
doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.0030208.
28. Current approaches of Ayurveda research
Adopting the reductionist research methods of
biomedicine
Isolating single molecule from a herb and investigate its
pharmacological activities
Clinical Trials are based on the reductionist thinking
Whole system approach ?
Individualization ?
Network pharmacology?
29. Need for good clinical trials in Ayurveda:
Double-blind randomized trials have been long regarded as
the gold standards that provide evidence regarding the
efficacy of any intervention, and hence, one cannot afford
to ignore this trend.
When there are sufficient numbers of such double-blind
trials, there will be room for meta-analyses and systematic
reviews which will form the best possible evidence.
However, when one considers Ayurveda interventions, it
becomes obvious that there are no good meta-analyses in
the literature because of a paucity of good clinical trials.
30. Recent attempts
It is important to note that during the past few years there
have been a few sincere attempts at designing right kind of
Ayurveda clinical trials in a manner that is true to the
principles of Ayurveda.
In one of these trials on rheumatoid arthritis, the autonomy
of a physician in the form of individualizing the complex
interventions was preserved.
Furst DE, Venkatraman MM, Krishna Swamy BG, McGann M, Booth-Laforce C, Ram Manohar P, Sarin R,
Mahapatra A, Krishna Kumar PR. Well controlled, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials of classical
Ayurvedic treatment are possible in rheumatoid arthritis. Ann Rheum Dis. 2011 Feb;70(2):392-3.
doi:10.1136/ard.2010.136226. Epub 2010 Aug 24. PubMed PMID: 20736391.
31. Because this study was published in one of the leading
journals of rheumatology, it was expected that many
such studies would be attempted at.
However, it is strange to see that researchers have not
yet considered this as the right template for building up
evidence in favor of Ayurveda interventions.
32. Neuro-endocrine-immunology
Recognising the interactions between neuro-endocrine
and immune mechanisms
‘The three great coordinating systems’ that maintain
homeostasis.
Theory of Tridosha represents the basic ‘homeostatic
mechanisms’ as perceived in biomedicine.
Vata- Pitta-Kapha: NeuroEndocrine-Immune
32
38. 38
Piyush Kumar Tripathi, Kishor Patwardhan, and Girish Singh, “The Basic Cardiovascular Responses
to Postural Changes, Exercise, and Cold Pressor Test: Do They Vary in Accordance with the Dual
Constitutional Types of Ayurveda?,” Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, vol.
2011, Article ID 251850, 10 pages, 2011. doi:10.1155/2011/251850
39. Tissue Engineering & Stem Cell Biology
Cells from one tissue can be transformed into the cells
of a different kind
Therapeutic applications in regenerative medicine and
tissue engineering.
Tissue-engineered skin replacement grafts, chondrocyte
repair of joint cartilage, and bone regeneration with
skeletal stem cell implantation.
46. Chronobiology
Circadian and other biorhythms have important roles
in understanding physiology and in planning
pharmacological interventions.
Highly beneficial in the management of major
chrono-therapeutic conditions such as asthma,
allergic rhinitis, cardiovascular disorders,
rheumatoid arthritis and cancer.
46
65. Relevance
Does Panchakarma (Vamana-Virechana-Basti) act by
manipulating the gut microbial community?
Does gut microbiome vary according to one’s Dosha
Prakriti?
Asava-Arishta
Takra
65
66. Pharmaco-genomics
Can now serve as the basis for many medical
decisions in the form of ‘individualised medicine’.
Precise prediction and treatment of certain diseases
has now become possible because of the various
genomic tools.
66