Madhumeha: A Term Often Misused for Diabetes Mellitus

Diabetes is acquiring epidemic proportions despite our deep understanding of underlying molecular mechanisms, ensuing cellular events and availability of interventional modalities to counter its pathogenesis and complications. People are turning towards Ayurveda with a hope to find comprehensive solution for this condition. Ayurveda has a long tradition of treating diabetic patients and has its own strengths over the conventional system of Biomedicine. Neither of these systems, however, seems capable of fully addressing the problem of diabetes. An integrated approach involving both of the systems seems better approach than using either of these. But the adoption of an integrated approach requires a thorough understanding of pathogenesis of diabetes according to both systems. Generally, diabetes is correlated with an Ayurvedic disease called madhumeha. We propose that this correlation is erroneous and based on partial understanding of the pathogenesis of diabetes. This article establishes that diabetes mellitus should be correlated with sthaulya, kaphaja prameha, pittaja prameha or vataja prameha (including madhumeha) depending upon the pathogenesis and clinical manifestations in a particular patient.