COMPARISON BETWEEN CONCEPT AND TREATMENT OF ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE IN UNANI MEDICINE WITH MODERN MEDICINE

Adnan Mastan*, Farah Naaz**, Mohd Abid*

ABSTRACT

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive and the most prominent old-age debilitating disease which had a notable growth in recent years. In Unani medicine disease is described under the heading of Nisyan or Humuq. Objective of this paper was to codify the concept of Nisyan or Humuq and compare it with that of AD. Classical Unani literature was searched for traditional terms of dementia/amnesia (Nisyan, Fisad-e-Zikr, Faramoshi, Humuq). Modern text was searched through books & journals via authentic websites. Comparison between signs and symptoms and management of each kind of traditional dementia with that of AD indicates that there is strong similarity between the two. Our findings showed that the concept of Nisyan/Humuq is in agreement with novel medical information.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease, Nisyan, Humuq, Dementia, Amnesia.