Wikipedia says : Withania somnifera, known commonly as ashwagandha, Indian ginseng, poison gooseberry, or winter cherry, is a plant in the Solanaceae or nightshade family. Several other species in the genus Withania are morphologically similar. Although thought to be useful as a medicinal herb in Ayurveda, and sold in many countries as a dietary supplement, there is insufficient scientific evidence that it is safe or effective for treating any disease.
Hereunder is experience, repeated verbatim, of Rajesh Arora, a Stroke Warrior on our WhatsApp Group.
QUOTE :
Alternative medicine for Brain Stroke
Me- Acute Ischaemic CVW, Left MCA, Infarct, Right Hemiparesis, Aphasia, Thrombolysis with IV Alteplase.
Before-
⁃ Once there was no energy, weakness and fatigues.
⁃ Every day I was feeling a burning sensation and uneasy.
⁃ So much Neuralgia pain in the affected side or areas, my right side was affected.
⁃ After the brain stroke, I had a slow behaviour.
⁃ I had a short memory problems.
⁃ One time I was feeling more cold in the winters, more than normal. I used to wear three levels of warm clothes & a Jacket and in the night I used two thick quilt.
⁃ Every winters I had “cold” & running nose.
I ate the allopathic medicines almost two years but effect was….”ZERO” or “NOTHING”
After or Now-
⁃ The energy and power in my body is much better.
⁃ Sometimes I feel burning sensation and uneasy but now I am much better.
⁃ The Neuralgia pain is also much better sometimes the pain is there but not much.
⁃ The Slow behaviour is the past, there is a shift in the behaviour.
⁃ My memory is much better.
⁃ Now, I am much better, I can walk in the night with 1 layer warm clothes & Jacket and in the night I am using one thick quilt.
⁃ Now, no “Cold” & running nose.
I ate Ayurveda Ashwagandha tablet and I am much better. Ashwagandha also provides numerous other benefits for your body and brain.
Takeaway-
-Ashwagandha herbs tablet.
-Yoga everyday
-Sun Bath
-Sujok Magnets Therapy
-Walking everyday, Happy & enjoy.
In another post I hope to write about the Sujok Magnets Therapy in detail.
Disclaimer : I ate these medicines and Sujok therapy by choice doing after a-lot of research, please consume & do therapy as a personal choice. I will not be liable for anything.
UNQUOTE
Here are some Articles we could find on use of Ashwagandha for Stroke Management
Withania somnifera Improves Ischemic Stroke Outcomes by Attenuating PARP1-AIF-Mediated Caspase-Independent Apoptosis
A 2015 study done by Aparna Raghavan and Zahoor Shah
…We examined the neuroprotective properties of an aqueous extract of WS in both pre- and poststroke treatment regimens in a mouse model of permanent distal middle cerebral artery occlusion (pMCAO). WS (200 mg/kg) improved functional recovery and significantly reduced the infarct volume in mice, when compared to those treated with vehicle, in both paradigms.….
As is clear, this experiment was conducted on mice.
Withania somnifera: a pre-clinical study on neuroregenerative therapy for stroke
This seems to be a continuation of the same study as cited above.
– Repair processes after stroke are triggered by endogenous mechanisms and often initiate several days after stroke and continue until weeks or even months after it (Gladstone et al., 2002). Therefore, drugs acting to potentiate repair have the advantage of relatively relaxed therapeutic time windows and are subjected to dose manipulations without perturbing the riskier, acute phase of stroke.
– In a model of AD, withanoside-IV (W-IV), a withanolide component of WS, was able to reverse the synaptic loss and neurite atrophy characteristic of the disease (Kuboyama et al., 2006). This effect also translated to a better functional outcome of reduced cognitive deficits.
– Based on the study outcomes, WS works as a neuroprotectant and also shows effect on the regenerative and recovery pathways, however, a thorough longitudinal study analyzing major components of recovery processes could further substantiate our findings on the role of WS in stroke recovery.
Evaluation of Withania somnifera in a middle cerebral artery occlusion model of stroke in rats
Study done in 2003 by Geeta Chaudhary and others
Treatment with W. somnifera for 15 days did not improve motor performance or decrease the elevated levels of MDA. However, when the pretreatment time of W. somnifera was increased to 30 days, it prevented motor impairment and significantly decreased the raised levels of MDA compared with vehicle-treated rats. In the W. somnifera (30 days)-pretreated group, the percentage hemispheric lesion area in diffusion-weighted imaging was significantly attenuated (17 +/- 2%) compared with the vehicle-treated MCA-occluded group (30 +/- 4%). 4. Because W. somnifera has been documented to have anti-oxidant properties, the protection afforded by W. somnifera could be due to its anti-oxidant effect. The present study provides first evidence of the effectiveness of an Indian herb in focal ischaemia.
But again, this study is done on rats.
An Overview on Ashwagandha: A Rasayana (Rejuvenator) of Ayurveda
Article published in 2011 -Narendra Singh and others
Ashwagandha is used as a household remedy by Indians, who consider it as the best tonic for old people and children, and as aphrodisiac by young people. It is one of the best nervine tonics of Ayurveda, the most ancient system of Medical Sciences. Our clinical experience showed that besides the enumerated neurological conditions, brain strokes causing paralysis and neuronal deficit also improve in the long term treatment with Ashwagandha.
This seems to be anecdotal as no clear patient records, numbers etc. are cited.
It is clear that more definitive studies are needed before a clear conclusion can be drawn. However, anecdotal evidence- as set out above – says that at least in Rajesh Arora’s personal case it has been useful to him.
Do YOU have any experience with Ashwagandha in treatment after a stroke ? Good or bad ? Please do share by commenting herein to help all, or join our WhatsApp group to share as well as learn from others’ !
Disclaimer : No medical advice is being rendered in this post but a personal experience shared. There may be unknown/ unevaluated factors in the results achieved. Please exercise your own judgement, as well as advice of your treating doctor before adopting any line of treatment.
If you have limited/No information about Stroke, its symptoms and consequences, we STRONGLY suggest you read at least one of the following before you leave this Website, as well as share the links with your friends and family. You may save someone from sudden death or being crippled for life !
* Be fast – Stroke Symptoms in English with Videos of Actual Strokes
* स्ट्रोक (आघात) – हिंदी में कुछ जानकारी
* स्ट्रोक-के-साधारण-लक्षण
* In Bengali – Be Fast – দ্রুত !
* In Gujarati – જ્યારે સ્ટ્રોક આવે ત્યારે BE FAST
* In Marathi – BE FAST स्ट्रोक होतो तेव्हा !
* In Odiya – ଷ୍ଟ୍ରୋକ: ମୃତ୍ୟୁ ଅଥବା ଶାରୀରିକ/ମାନସିକ ଅସମର୍ଥ