AN OPEN NON-RANDOMIZED SINGLE CENTRIC CLINICAL TRIAL TO EVALUATE THE EFFICACY OF VELLARUGU CHOORANAM IN THE MANAGEMENT OF KARATHAMBA VAATHAM (DIABETIC PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHY) AMONG PATIENTS ATTENDING OPD AT GOVERNMENT SIDDHA MEDICAL COLLEGE HOSPITAL,CHENNAI.

Peripheral neuropathies are diseases of the peripheral nervous system that can be divided into mononeuropathies, multifocal neuropathies, and polyneuropathies . Peripheral Neuropathy may be due to various cause Hereditary, Metabolic causes, Nutritional Deficiency,Connective tissue disorders, Infection, Toxins and Malignancy . The first symptoms tend to be sensory and consists of tingling, prickling, burning or bandlike dysesthesias in the balls of the feet or tip of the toes or in general distribution over the soles .The tingling sensation started distally and limited in the “Glove and stocking” distribution. Diabetic neuropathy (DN) is a common disorder and is defined as signs and symptoms of peripheral nerve dysfunction in a patient with diabetes mellitus (DM) in whom other causes of peripheral nerve dysfunction have been excluded. There is a higher prevalence of DM in India (4.3%) probably Asian Indians are more prone for insulin resistance and cardiovascular mortality. India ranks second worldwide with a prevalence of 10.5–32.2% in the type 2 diabetes population (T2DM) and 26% to 51% of diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN). In epidemiological studies from India showed wide prevalence varying from 5 to 2400 per 10,000 population indifferent community studies.  Siddha medicine “Vellarugu Chooranam”mentioned in Siddha Literature for the treatment of “Karathamba vaatham” (Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy) patients is considered to evaluate the efficacy using Michigan Screening instrument.