Home

Personnel of HRDCR IV-A member-institutions undergo seminar on Ethics in Health Research

True to its objective of building the consortium’s health research and development capacity through expanding research education and training opportunities, the Health Research and Development Consortium Region IV-A once again conducted the Seminar-Workshop on Ethics in Health Research (Basic Course). The seminar was held at De La Salle Health Sciences Institute (DLSHSI), Dasmarinas City, Cavite on April 18-19, 2013. The two-day activity has been organized in response to the number of request received from the members of HRDCR IV-A to repeat the training on ethics in health research held last October 3-4, 2012.The participants who attended April 2013’s event were mostly from the newly added member-institutions of Region IV-A and other members of Ethics Committees who were not able to attend the previous training.

The activity consisted of lectures and workshops led by Dr. Angelica D. Francisco, Chair of DLSHSI Independent Ethics Committee (IEC) and HRDCR IV-A Subcommittee on Ethics, Dr. Melchor Victor G. Frias, IV, DLSHSI Vice Chancellor for Research and HRDCR IV-A Convenor and Dr. Eleanor P. Padla, also a member of the IEC and Director of Research Administration and Development of DLSHSI Research Division. Lectures focused on the important concepts and principles of Ethics in Health Research that can be useful in resolving ethical dilemmas. The different controls for Ethics in Research were also discussed. The conference also provided a unique opportunity not only for the participants but also for the speakers to learn from each other’s expertise, challenges, conflicts and dilemmas.

As Dr. Frias said in one of his lectures, the participants are the most important member or person in a research study. The welfare and safety of the participants must be at the forefront of any research endeavour.

The organizers and speakers are hopeful that the training enhanced the delegates capacity as a researcher equipped with improved ethical judgement and decision making towards doing and advocating quality ethical research.***

DLSHSI bridges research gap in use of herbal medicines

Her attention caught by DLSHSI’s exhibit on its research on herbal remedies, a foreign IALU Encuentro X delegate casually asked VC for Research Dr. Mel Frias if they have something for her Impetigo. To her surprise, he said yes, and introduced to her an organically-formulated Virgin Coconut Oil which research has found to an effective remedy against this contagious infection of the skin which cause blisters that form yellow-brown scabs. She left DLSHSI and the Philippines with a bottle of the VCO. About two months later, Dr. Frias received an email from her thanking him for the lotion which has brought her great relief from her Impetigo.

The VCO lotion is only one of the herbal-based remedies that the De La Salle Health Sciences Institute’s – Angelo King Medical Research Center (DLSHSI-AKMRC) in Dasmariñas Cavite has contributed to medical care through its researches that center on our indigenous natural resources as possible health remedies.

For example, researchers in the Dasmariñas, Cavite-based Lasallian community have already proven that indeed, extracts of a specific part of two local plants have possible effects in raising platelet count, which is key in dengue patients. They are now initiating Phase II clinical trials on the formulation to determine its toxicity levels. Research for medicines against dengue is complemented by another research on black pepper to target dengue-carrying mosquitoes. Another plant is also now the subject of another study, this time for its possible use against cancer.

Also, in two collaborative studies with researchers from DLSU-Manila, DLSHSI researchers, have proven the effectiveness of our local Malunggay seeds and Yacon leaves as remedies against common skin bacterial infections. There are also on-going researches on at least 10 plants for their possible uses as anti-TB remedies.

In addition to the VCO lotion, the Research Center has also developed other herbal-based topical remedies: Akapulco lotion for scabies, Neem lotion, an effective insect repellant; and Atis leaves for the treatment of head lice.

DLSHSI’s focus on discovering and developing herb or plant-based remedies is motivated by its mission to find ways to make quality medical care more accessible to poor Filipinos by delving into our rich resource of locally-available plants.

These efforts are critical for the health industry, especially in the midst of the prevalence of herbal supplements being sold in our country today, which claim “medical benefits.” This thriving multi-million peso industry indicates a strong need and belief among Filipinos for herbal-based health remedies. However, experts contend there are issues of toxicity and actual efficacy that must be addressed before they can be used as treatments. This is the research gap that DLSHSI-AKMRC aims to bridge. A tall order, but this group of researchers is ready for the challenge.

Source: http://www.dlshsi.edu.ph/news/dlshsi-bridges-research-gap-in-use-of-herbal-medicines