Concept of Autoimmune Diseases in Ayurveda: An Integrative Review of Classical Principles and Modern Immunopathology

Autoimmune diseases are a group of chronic disorders characterized by dysregulation of immune tolerance, resulting in an immune response against self-antigens. Rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, systemic lupus erythematosus, multiple sclerosis and type 1 diabetes mellitus represent autoimmune disorders affecting different tissues and organ systems. The term autoimmunity and its modern immunological mechanisms are not clearly described in the classical Ayurvedic texts. Several Ayurvedic concepts provide a framework for interpreting chronic inflammatory and systemic disorders. These include Agni, Ama, Dosha, Dushya, Srotas, Ojas, Bala and Vyadhikshamatva. The present review article attempts to conceptually correlate selected autoimmune diseases with Ayurvedic diseases, namely Amavata with rheumatoid arthritis, Ekakushta with psoriasis, Rakta Dushti with systemic lupus erythematosus, Vata Vyadhi with multiple sclerosis and Madhumeha/Prameha with type 1 diabetes mellitus. Modern immunopathology is compared with Ayurvedic concepts of impaired Agni, Ama formation, Dosha-Dushya sammurchhana, Srotodushti, tissue involvement and altered resistance. An integrative understanding may provide a useful framework for future research into inflammatory, immune-mediated and chronic systemic diseases.