Plea to Centre to adopt IAD protocol to treat elephantiasis

The chairman of Kerala-based Institute of Applied Dermatology (IAD), which has developed a protocol using modern medicine, ayurveda and yoga to treat elephantiasis, has urged the Union government to adopt the procedure as a national model.

The institute is one of the leading lymphoeda and integrative medicine skin hospitals in the world and is recognised as a primary destination for treatment of lymphatic filariasis (lymphoedema) in the country and South-East Asian countries.

The institute offers integrative treatment for vitiligo, psoriasis and lichen planus also and has so far successfully treated over 10,000 people, of whom 4,000 were filariasis patients since 1999.

Using modern medicine, ayurveda and yoga, the institute has been successfully treating patients using its protocol for treatment for elephantiasis, according to the chairman of the institute Dr S R Narahari, also a leading dermatologist.

Elephantiasis is a disabling disease that is prevalent 78 countries across the globe and the World Health Organisation has classified the disease as a "neglected disease of the poor."