Ayurveda treatment protocol (ATP) has been effective  in the management of migraine, according to Vaidya Balendu Prakash,  Ayurveda physician, founder director of Vaidya Chandra Prakash Cancer Research Foundation, Deharadun.
 
Padaav-Specialty Ayurvedic Treatment, promoted by Ipca Traditional Remedies Ltd , a  growing chain of speciality ayurvedic treatment centres associated   Vaidya Prakash   to disseminate a  protocol based, therapeutically evident treatment.
 
ATP which consists of four herbo-mineral formulations (HMF), three meals and three snacks a day with eight hours sleep at night has now proved to bring in significant relief in reducing the frequency, intensity of pain and associated symptoms in the migraine patients. International Headache Society (IHS) diagnostic criteria was followed to establish the diagnosis of migraine. A uniform ATP was prescribed to each patient who were primarily treated by the ayurvedic physicians at their respective clinics. The observations were presented at international forums and published in the 2012 issue of Tang International Journal of Traditional Medicine by Vaidya Balendu Prakash,  Nitin Chandurkar and  Tejashri Sanghavi from Ipca Traditional Remedies  in an article titled ‘case by studies on prophylactic ayurvedic therapy in migraine patients.’
 
The  study provided  details of nine migraine patients who were first diagnosed and treated for migraine by a leading headache expert at Mumbai and were then referred to receive ATP. Out of those, seven subjects completed 120 days of ATP. Five subjects reported significant improvement in overall symptoms of migraine. All subjects were followed up periodically for four years, said Vaidya Prakash.
 
No side effects were observed in any treated case. The herbo-mineral formulations have also been proved to be safe in experimental studies. Further pharmacological and randomized controlled clinical studies were carried out at premier medical institutes in India.

The multi-centred  observations were presented at the 13th International Headache Congress at Stockholm, Sweden which  could bring an understanding between the two streams of medicine: Ayurveda and Allopathy, he said.
 
Due to the limitation of conventional treatment in the management of their migraine symptoms and related side effects, these patients were counselled to undertake ATP as prophylaxis. The treatment was carried out  as a pilot observation study to validate the stated efficacy of ATP in the prophylaxis of migraine for four years, said  Vaidya Prakash.
 
Each subject gave a written consent prior to undergoing ATP. They  were uniformly dispensed ayurvedic medicines:  Narikela lavana (1000 mg)  (Numax (500 mg), Rason vati (1000 mg ) and Godanti Mishran (250 mg) which are classical Ayurvedic HMFs, prepared at Bharat Bhaishajaya Shala Pvt. Ltd., a GMP unit at  Uttarakhand. Subjects were asked to avoid tea, coffee, aerated drinks, reheated, deep fried, and canned food in their diets during the  entire duration of ATP. They were periodically monitored . The  research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors and  all the patients paid for the  treatment.