RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS AS AN AUTOIMMUNE DISORDER AND ITS AYURVEDIC CORRELATE AMAVATA

Abstract

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic systemic autoimmune inflammatory disease
characterized by persistent synovitis, autoantibody formation, progressive cartilage and bone
damage, functional limitation, and extra-articular morbidity. Contemporary burden estimates
indicate that approximately 17.6 million people were living with RA worldwide in 2020, with a
marked female predominance and a projected rise in absolute case numbers as populations
grow and age. The condition is driven by interactions among genetic susceptibility,
environmental and mucosal exposures, loss of immune tolerance, adaptive and innate immune
activation, and cytokine-mediated synovial pathology. Early diagnosis and prompt initiation of
disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) remain central to preventing irreversible
structural damage. (Black et al., 2023)
Ayurvedic literature describes Amavata as a disorder arising from the interaction of Ama
with aggravated Vata in the setting of impaired Agni, followed by systemic circulation,
obstruction of channels, and localization in joints. Its clinical description shares several features
with inflammatory polyarthritis, including joint pain, swelling, stiffness, heaviness,
constitutional symptoms, and restricted movement. However, Amavata and biomedical RA are
conceptual entities derived from different knowledge systems and should not be treated as
perfectly interchangeable diagnoses. The present article therefore uses an integrative
comparative approach rather than claiming one-to-one equivalence. (Madhavakara, 2012)