A clinical study to evaluate the efficacy of Ashtanga Ghrita in Dementia

Dementia is defined as an acquired deterioration in cognitive abilities that impairs the performance of activities of daily living. In Ayurveda literatures this disease is explained under the concept of Jara Vyadhi. In elderly people there will be loss of cognitive abilities viz. Grahana, Dharana and Smarana because there is gradual diminution in the qualities of Dhatu and dominance of Vata. An individual can lead a normal happy life if one has a sound intellectual capacity with a good memory. Any impairments to his memory will has an effect on the quality of his living standards, thus this condition is chosen for the present study. Present study is a single group open clinical trial with pre and post-test design on 30 subjects. Subjects were administered with Ashtanga Ghrita for 60 days. The results were obtained on parameter viz. Impaired memory, Visuospatial disorientation, Apraxia, Impaired visuoconstructional drawing, Impaired judgement, Impaired language the result obtained statistically non-significant in the management of Dementia. However, it was observed the symptoms such as anger and irritability were reduced