Case report demonstrates improvement in diabetic macular edema using ayurvedic management, suggesting a potential alternative to standard treatments.
Background: Macular oedema (ME), characterised by exudative fluid accumulation in the macula, is the most common form of sight-threatening retinopathy in people with diabetes (DME) and non-diabetic population contributes 5th major cause in preventable blindness. 1/3rd of diabetic population develops signs & among those 1/3rd develops vision threatening situation. The patho-physiological processes begin with chronic hyperglycaemia, and interplay between vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and inflammatory mediators. Clinical findings: A 76-year-old-male patient presented with complaints of diminished vision in left eye since 5 months. After a fundoscopic examination, he was diagnosed with left eye diabetic macular oedema, confirmed with Optical coherence Tomography (OCT). As a standard protocol, intra-vitreal injections were advised but patient was willing for Ayurveda treatment. The patient was assessed through Ayurveda protocol and specific treatment planned starting from Deepana, Paachana, Koshtashodhana, Basti with specific topical eye treatments (Kriyakalpa). Outcome: Encouraging results obtained which might have reduced fluid accumulation in the macular region and there was significant improvement seen in Retinal Pigment Epithelial (RPE) thickness. Conclusion: Significant improvement in reducing the macular oedema with ayurvedic management can be seen. As patient had cataract visual improvement cannot be stated as a significant factor in this case.
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Khose et al. (2025) studied this question.
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