1. A Clinical Study of Effect of Sesame on Knee Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is an inflammatory, degenerative joint disease. When it affects knees; it restricts movement or
even causes immobility.
Drug therapies, surgery or joint replacement are different methods of treatment. But they are expensive and
cause complications; especially the painkillers
Thus there is a need for a safer, natural supportive treatment that is cost-effective.
Sesame is a traditional health food because of anti-inflammatory properties. But there were no clinical
studies done before to confirm the healing effects of sesame.
Hence we conducted a clinical trial. The venues were Shohada and Shahid-madani Hospitals in Tabriz, in
north-west Iran.
Ethics Committee of the Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Iran approved the trial.
There were 50 volunteers (40 women and 10 men) aged 50-70 years. They all showed knee osteoarthritis
symptoms ranging from mild to severe. Volunteer were random-placed in two groups - Sesame treated and
Control group. Each group had 25 volunteers.
Volunteers in the control group consumed two lots of 500mg acetaminophen (painkiller) twice a day. They
also took one glucosamine 500 everyday.
The Sesame group volunteers took 40 gm of Sesame powder every day.
The clinical study had three tests.
1. Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS)
The test measured pain, symptoms (swelling, immobility), daily activities functions, sports and recreation
function. It also gauged the knee-related quality of life.
2. Timed Up and Go (TUG)
The test measured the time person took to get up from the chair. Walk around for 3minutes. Come back to
seat and sit down.
3. Visual Analog Scale (VAS)
The test measured the rate and intensity of pain on a scale from 0to 10.
The result

2. Volunteers in the Sesame group showed marked decrease in the pain intensity. This was evident from the fact
that volunteers took less time was to complete the TUG test.
VAS values (before and after trial) validated the TUG test. Volunteers in the sesame group showed less pain
than control group during the trial.
Conclusion
Consumption of Sesame seed decreases knee joint inflammation and improves mobility.
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3 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Roll Out Your Lower Back
Foam rolling relieves muscular tension. The motion stimulates the sensory trigger points in the skin and
muscles. The nervous system decreases heart rate, blood pressure and muscle tension. At same time it
induces more blood flow to area.
But that is fine with the parts of body that have more muscle mass in them; like legs, arms, chest, hips and
upper back.
What about the lower back? Does foam rolling help there?
It is not advisable, because of three simple reasons.
1. Foam rolling fails to address the root cause of the back problem
The root cause of majority of back problems is not of muscular nature. It is more of mechanical deformation.
Due to bad sitting posture, afall, an accident, long standing hours at work or lifting heavy loads. Hence it is
better to take help of aprofessional chiropractor. His or her hands are more trained than a person who rolls the
foam roller on your back.
2. Foam rolling can aggravate lower back pain
If you suffer from spondyarthritis avoid foam rolling. Mechanical pressure will only aggravate the condition.
3. Foam rolling is not asafe destressing tool for asensitive area like lower back
Unlike the chest, your lower back is not protected by a rib cage. It has vital organs like kidney and liver. A
muscular layer onthem may not safely soak the sudden compressive force from the foam roller. It better to
rely on smaller customized tool that expert uses to identify and relax the area in your lower back.

3. Eclipta Alba or Monodixil 2% for Alopecia - A Clinical Study
Alopecia is amedical condition in which the hair falls out in round patches. When the hair loss happens in
patches on the scalp, then such condition is Alopecia areata. It is caused by overactive immune system that
attacks the hair follicles.
Alopecia totalis causes complete baldness. In Alopecia universalis the person loses all hair on the body.
Consequences of Alopecia
Hair is important part of your personality. Its loss can give you an identity crisis, inferiority complex or loss of
confidence. And even cause depression.
Causes
There are many causes of Alopecia. The major ones are hormone imbalance, emotional stress
and malnutrition due to poor lifestyle. Besides this chemotherapy and genetics also are responsible for it.
Medication
Minoxidil 2% foam lotion is FDA approved. It is an over-the-counter drug used for treatment of Alopecia.
You have to rub it twice aday onthe affected area on your scalp for 16weeks to get peak growth of hair.
You have to keep using the lotion to sustain hair revival. Once you stop applying, the patches reappear.
Minoxidil is a vasodilator. It dilates the blood vessels in the scalp and induces more blood flow. The hair
follicles get more nutrition and this may stimulate the growth. This action-mechanism is not yet proved.
Side- effects of Minoxdil
There are some known side effects of Minoxidil topical lotion. Prominent one is scalp irritation or itching.
The lotion also stimulates see unwanted hair growth in adjacent skin of face and hand. If, you are a cardiac
patient and if you overuse the lotion you may get arapid heart rate and chest pain. Minoxidil can also give
you lightheadness.
Avoid Minoxidil if you:
 are pregnant or breast-feeding
 18 years old or under
 take cardiovascular drugs
 have sudden hair fall or areceding hair line
 have alopecia aerate (an autoimmune disorder)

4. The limitations and side-effects of Minoxidil make it necessary to find anatural treatment. One that is better,
safer and more effective.
A clinical trial of Eclipta Alba versus Minoxidil as topical application in Alopecia
Two groups of male albino rats were treated with two different medications.
One of them was Eclipta Alba (L.) Hassk. The other was topical lotion Minoxidil 2%.
Eclipta Alba is a weed of medicinal value. It is also known as false daisy in English and Bhringraj in India.
Researchers added 5% ethanol extract from the Eclipta Alba to a creamy base. They applied it on the shaved
skin of one group of albino rats. The rats in other group, called the control group were applied with Minoxidil
2% foam lotion.
Two time-based values mentioned below were recorded for both the groups
1. The time in days required for growth initiation
2. The time required for completion of hair growth cycle.
The findings on the rats in Eclipta Alba group were:
 Significant reduction in the hair growth initiation time
 Faster completion of hair growth cycle.
Researchers noted that rats in Eclipta Alba group grew new hair in half the time compared to the control
group.
They also noted that greater numbers of hair follicles grew in the rats treated with Eclipta Alba.
In other words Eclipta Alba induced greater hair growth at faster rate than Minoxdil 2%.
Result
Ecliptic Alba showed better results compared to Minoxdil 2%.
Conclusion
Eclipta Alba offers a better, safer, faster and more effective treatment for Alopecia than
Minodixil 2%