Plummer Movement Disorders Center, Department of Neurology, Scott & White Clinic/The Texas A&M University System Health Science Center College of Medicine, Temple, TX, USA.
J Altern Complement Med. 2013 Jul;19(7):644-9. doi: 10.1089/acm.2011.0809. Epub 2013 Mar 7.
The ancient Indian medical system, Ayurveda, is the oldest scientifically based system of medicine in the world. According to Ayurvedic concepts, there are 3 humors or Doshas: Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. The combination of these Doshas in varying degrees leads to one's constitution, referred to as Prakruti. Prakruti determines one's physical, physiologic, and mental character and disease vulnerability. This clinical study was undertaken to determine the constitutional typing of individuals with known idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD) compared with that of nonparkinsonian controls. This study sought to validate the ancient observation that persons of Vata Prakruti are at risk for nervous system diseases. PD was used as a test case because the exact cause is not known.
Patients with established PD (n=75) and closely related controls with no known neurologic disease (n=73) were assessed for their Ayurvedic constitution (Prakruti). An Ayurvedic constitutional assessment form and an independent Ayurvedic clinical assessment were used in the patients and controls.
The total mean score (±standard deviation) for Vata was 11.0±3.9 in patients with PD and 6.9±3.0 in controls. This finding was significant (p<0.0001), indicating that the incidence of PD is highest in those with Vata Prakruti. The incidence of PD was higher in men than in women.
Knowledge gained from this study may be helpful in identifying the vulnerable population, delaying the onset of symptoms, or slowing disease progression or development of treatment-related complications by keeping Vata in balance through anti-Vata diet and lifestyle changes as prescribed in Ayurveda.
古印度医学体系阿育吠陀是世界上最古老的、以科学为基础的医学体系。根据阿育吠陀理论，人体内有三种体液或 doshas：瓦塔（vata）、皮塔（pitta）和卡法（kapha）。这些 doshas 以不同的比例组合，形成一个人的体质，称为 prakruti。prakruti 决定一个人的身体、生理和心理特征以及疾病易感性。本临床研究旨在确定已知特发性帕金森病（PD）患者的体质类型与非帕金森病对照者的体质类型。本研究旨在验证古人的观察结果，即瓦塔体质的人易患神经系统疾病。选择 PD 作为研究对象，是因为确切的病因尚不清楚。
对已确诊的 PD 患者（n=75）和无已知神经疾病的密切相关对照者（n=73）进行了阿育吠陀体质（prakruti）评估。患者和对照者均使用阿育吠陀体质评估表和独立的阿育吠陀临床评估进行评估。
PD 患者的总平均得分（±标准差）为 11.0±3.9，对照组为 6.9±3.0。这一发现具有统计学意义（p<0.0001），表明 PD 的发病率在瓦塔体质者中最高。PD 的发病率在男性中高于女性。
从这项研究中获得的知识可能有助于识别易感人群，通过阿育吠陀规定的抗瓦塔饮食和生活方式改变来保持瓦塔平衡，从而延迟症状发作或减缓疾病进展或治疗相关并发症的发生。
