MATH

in
Naturopathic Medicine
Algebra for Dosage
Calculations
From drweil.com

Q: Do you recommend ashwagandha for sleeping problems?

Answer (Published 2/17/2011):

Ashwagandha is an Ayurvedic herb from the roots of Withania somnifera, a plant in the
nightshade family. It has long been prized for its ability to help the body deal with stress. I
recommend it as a natural treatment to fight fatigue and boost energy levels. It has also
been used traditionally for pain relief and to treat skin diseases, diabetes, gastrointestinal
disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and epilepsy.

I do recommend ashwagandha - along with other measures - for treatment of insomnia
when stress is a contributing factor (try 500 mg of an extract standardized to 2.5-5% with
anolides).
Ashwagandha:

500 mg for (Im making this up ...) a 110 pound woman.
Whats the proper dosage for a 140 pound woman ?
Ashwagandha:

500 mg for (Im making this up ...) a 110 pound woman.
Whats the proper dosage for a 140 pound woman ?
mg x
pound
pound
x
pound
mg
pound
pound
x
pound
mg
636
110
500 140
140
140 110
500
140
140 110
500
=

=
=
=
a little bit of algebra was required ...
Calculus for Modeling
Systems
A therapy is being administered intravenously to a
patient. It flows into the bloodstream at a rate of 50
mg/hr.

The rate at which the drug breaks down is proportional
to the total amount of the drug for example, when
there is a total of 100 mg of the drug in the patient, the
drug breaks down at a rate of 30 mg/hr.

How long should the therapy be administered, to reach
the therapeutic level of 150mg ?

How long after the therapy is completed until blood
levels are safe (10% of therapeutic level, or 15mg) to
resume breastfeeding ?
hr mg / 50
body within 100
eliminated / 30
mg
hr mg
Time to reach 150mg ?
Time to drop to 15mg ?

hr mg / 50
body within 100
eliminated / 30
mg
hr mg
Time to reach 150mg ?
Time to drop to 15mg ?

Let y(t) represent the
blood level vs. time

Write the differential
equation:
hr mg / 50
body within 100
eliminated / 30
mg
hr mg
Time to reach 150mg ?
Time to drop to 15mg ?

Let y(t) represent the
blood level vs. time

Write the differential
equation:
y
dt
dy
3 . 0 50 + =
hr mg / 50
body within 100
eliminated / 30
mg
hr mg
Time to reach 150mg ?
Time to drop to 15mg ?

Let y(t) represent the
blood level vs. time

Write the differential
equation:
} }
=

+ =
dt
y
dy
dt
y
dy
y
dt
dy
3 . 0 50
3 . 0 50
3 . 0 50
167 167
167 so 167 0 0 @
167
3 . 0 50
3 . 0 ) 3 . 0 50 ln(
) 3 . 0 50 ln(
3 . 0
1
) ln(
3 . 0
1
1
3 . 0
1
3 . 0
1
; 3 . 0 ; 3 . 0 50 let
3 . 0 50
3 . 0
4
0 3 . 0
4
3 . 0
4
3 . 0
3
2
1
+ =
= + = =
+ =
=
+ =
+ =

= = = =

} }
} }
t
t
t
e y
c e c t
e c y
e c y
c t y
c t y u
dt du
u
du dy dy du y u dt
y
dy
Solving the differential equation:
hr t
t
e
e y
e y
t
t
t
6 . 7
3 . 0
) 167 / 17 ln(
) 167 / 17 ln( 3 . 0
167
17
167 167 150 150 for
167 167
3 . 0
3 . 0
3 . 0
=

=
=
=

+ = =
+ =

Solve for the time to reach therapeutic level:

0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
0 5 10 15 20
Time (hr)
B
l
o
o
d

L
e
v
e
l

(
m
g
)
Model the Decay/Elimination:
t
t
t
e y
c e c t
e c y
e c y
c t y
c t y u
dt du
u
du dy dy du y u dt
y
dy
dt
y
dy
dt
y
dy
y
dt
dy
3 . 0
4
6 . 7 3 . 0
4
3 . 0
4
3 . 0
3
2
1
1474
1474 so 0 15 6 . 7 @
167
3 . 0 50
3 . 0 ) 3 . 0 50 ln(
) 3 . 0 50 ln(
3 . 0
1
) ln(
3 . 0
1
1
3 . 0
1
3 . 0
1
; 3 . 0 ; 3 . 0 50 let
3 . 0 50
3 . 0 50
3 . 0 50
3 . 0 50

=
= = =
+ =
=
+ =
+ =

= = = =

+ =
} }
} }
} }
Solve for the time to reach safe level:
hr t
e
e
e y
t
t
t
3 . 15
3 . 0
) 1474 / 15 ln(
1474
15
1474 15
1474
3 . 0
3 . 0
3 . 0
=

=
=
=
=

0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
0 5 10 15 20
Time (hr)
B
l
o
o
d

L
e
v
e
l

(
m
g
)
Statistical Evaluation
of Trial Significance
Test results from a trial therapy are summarized as:
What should we conclude from these results ?
Improvement
No
Improvement Total
Therapy 85 316 401 0.212
Placebo 62 335 397 0.156
991 . 5
2
2 , 05 .
= _
Test results from a trial therapy are summarized as:
Null Hypothesis:
T
=
P
For the therapy to represent a benefit,
with significance =.05 over random chance
(i.e. to reject the null hypothesis),
the
2
statistic must exceed:
Improvement
No
Improvement Total
Therapy 85 316 401 0.212
Placebo 62 335 397 0.156

=
=

=
= =
2
1
2
2
133 . 4
)

1 (

(
184 . 0

: Estimate Pooled
i
i
i i
i
i
n
n x
n
x
u u
u
_
u
Thus we cannot reject the null hypothesis;
The difference in improvement rates could have been produced merely
by random chance.
With twice the sample size, and exactly the same ratios:
Null Hypothesis:
T
=
P
Improvement
No
Improvement Total
Therapy 170 632 802 0.212
Placebo 124 670 794 0.156
With twice the sample size, and exactly the same ratios:
Null Hypothesis:
T
=
P
We can reject the null hypothesis.
The result is significant, and has a very low likelihood of resulting
merely from random chance.
991 . 5 266 . 8
2
2 , 05 .
2
= >> = _ _
Improvement
No
Improvement Total
Therapy 170 632 802 0.212
Placebo 124 670 794 0.156