A systematic review on efficacy of Virechan karma on Psoriasis w.s.r to Ek-kustha

Abstract

Background of the study: The reported prevalence of Psoriasis in countries ranges between 0.09% and 11.43%, making Psoriasis a serious global problem with at least 100 million individuals affected worldwide. It is far more than ‘just a skin disease’ it has an unpredictable course of symptoms, a number of external triggers and significant comorbidities, including arthritis, cardiovascular diseases, metabolic syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease and depression. Inspite of having recent development in modern medicine there is no specific medication for cure of Psoriasis it can be treated but not cured. Panchkarma(pentad therapy) and Shaman Chikitsa(pacification therapy) in Ayurveda may fill the gaps that exist regarding treatment. This systematic review analyses the role of Virechan karma(medicated purgation therapy) in the management of Psoriasis based on outcome of published research.

Objective: Effectiveness of Virechan karma in management of Psoriasis.

Method: Published research data were obtained from different E- databases eg. Pubmed central, Google scholar, Research gate, Scopus, Web of science, hand search. The inclusion criteria of the selection of papers includes the studies conducted on the symptoms of Ek kustha, PASI scoring, standard protocol followed for Virechan Karma and the papers were excluded from the study which included only Nitya Virechan karma, only Shnehan karma(oleation therapy), other Panchkarma(pentad therapy) modality like Basti(medicated Enema) etc.

Result and Conclusion: The maximum incidence of Psoriasis disease was found in subjects belonging to 30-40 year age group having Vata-Pitta dominant Sharirik Prakriti(somatic constituent) and Rajsika Mansika Prakriti(Psychic constituent).Virechan karma with Shaman Chikitsa showed significant improvement in Psoriasis patients than Vaman karma(medicted emesis)&Virechankarma.