Title:Perspectives of Medieval Persian Medicine on Multiple Sclerosis
Volume: 19
Issue: 5
Author(s): Mohammad Ali Sahraian, Mohsen Parviz, Behnam Sheibani, Nicoline Schiess, Zahra Ghorbanifar, Mohammad Kamalinejad, Esmail Nazem, Omid Sadeghpour and Hossein Rezaeizadeh*
Affiliation:
- School of Traditional Medicine of Persian Medicine & Pharmacy Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran,Iran
Keywords:
Persian medicine, multiple sclerosis, optic neuritis, traditional medicine, Avicenna, Rhazes, Haly Abbas, Averroes.
Abstract: Introduction: Traditional Persian Medicine (TPM) was the prevailing practice of medicine in the Eurasia
region up through the 18th century, a practice of medicine stemming back to Hippocrates and to the 5000 year old
civilization of the region. It is a school of medicine which touches on many a delicate points which may seem unimaginable
within the realm of modern allopathic medicine. This practice of ancient medicine besides shedding light
on various possible theoretical modern day disorders serves as a vast resource for therapeutics. In this paper, we
present study of the manuscripts of this ancient medical practice in search of symptom presentations coinciding with
presentation of multiple sclerosis (MS).
Material & Method: This paper represents a comprehensive search through TPM texts and manuscripts with the
intention to seek possible clues on MS from potentially valuable age-old resources. We predominantly focused our
search on the works of five eminent physicians of Medieval Persia: Avicenna (980-1037 AD), Haly Abbas (949-982
AD), Rhazes (865-925 AD), Averroes (1126-1198 AD) and Jorjani (1042-1137 AD).
Results: In this paper, the authors attempt a theory and conclude with high probability that a conjunction of a series
of signs, symptoms found in TPM texts under the terms khadar, isterkha and falej form the symptoms and the disease
pattern of modern day MS. This theory draws upon existent similarities in terms of disease pathology, disease
patterns and predisposing factors seen between MS and the related morbidities within Persian Medicine.
Conclusion: We recommend further examinations of such potentially valuable long-standing resources, examining
the diagnoses and treatments as set forth by Persian Medicine through international collaboration within the global
scientific community.
