Neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs) are not the only diseases but a key term
for a range of conditions that mainly affect the neurons in the human brain resulting in
progressive degeneration or death of the nerve cells, which is a deadly and debilitating
state. It affects millions of people worldwide. The most common NDDs worldwide are
Parkinson’s disease (PD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). According to De Lau &
Breteler et al., the incidence of PD is about 10 million globally (i.e., approximately
0.3% of the world population) and 1% of those above 60 years. Management of NDDs
has become a big challenge in the modern system of medicine & public health at
present because of demographic changes worldwide. There is no specific therapy for
the conventional management of NDDs in the modern system of medicine. The
absence of specific and complete therapy for NDDs in the present era makes Ayurveda
more important to consider some alternative and complementary system of medicine
for the treatment. Ayurveda is an Indian system of medicine that comes under AYUSH
and treats the NDDs since its inception, which is mainly described under the
VataVyadhi (neurological disorder) context. In this chapter, the recent advancement in
Ayurvedic medicinal plants, RasaAusadhies (herbo-mineral drugs) & combined drugs,
Panchkarma therapies (bio-purification procedures), and Yoga & Asanas (bodily
postures) that successfully treat the various common NDDs worldwide will be
described.
Keywords: Alzheimer's diseases, Ayurveda, Herbo-mineral drugs,
Neurodegenerative diseases, Panchkarma, Parkinson’s disease, Yoga.