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•     Seizures and Autism
•     Informational Videos
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Complementary Treatments

Therapies such as hypnosis, acupuncture, and/or herbal remedies are not recommended as suitable treatments for epilepsy and it would be unwise to substitute them for medication. However, some people find that they can help control the frequency of their seizures by using stress reduction techniques to alleviate anxiety which can provoke seizures. Sleep deprivation is another common trigger of seizures, so getting sufficient and regular sleep can help. People with Photosensitive Epilepsy can avoid specific triggers like flashing lights to reduce or control seizures.

Mozart Effect
Professor John Jenkins assesses international evidence on the effect of music on the brain, and calls for more work to be done to discover the key ingredient in the "Mozart Effect". “It is suggested that music with a high degree of long-term periodicity… would resonate within the brain to decrease seizure activity and to enhance spatial-temporal performance”.

Computer analysis of pieces by various composers showed that the music of Mozart and Bach shared a common factor, a high degree of ‘long-term periodicity’, in other words, wave forms repeated regularly, but not very close together, throughout the piece of music. By contrast, music which had no effect on either spatial reasoning or on epileptic seizures did not have this factor.

Read the full article: http://www.epilepsy.org.uk/info/mozart.html

Alternative Treatments
Epilepsy patients frequently ask or seek complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) especially because of the high percentage of patients in which current FDA approved drugs have failed. CAM is a multi-billion dollar industry. Advertisements are everywhere and the frustration with conventional treatments makes alternatives tempting. CAM includes herbals, vitamin/mineral supplements, acupuncture, aromatherapy, chiropractic manipulation, homeopathy, biofeedback/stress management techniques, yoga, and even magnets. The use of CAM may not necessarily be for their epilepsy but for overall health. Community surveys have revealed that up to 40-50% of responders have used some form of CAM.  Interestingly, some studies indicate that people with controlled epilepsy may just as likely use CAM as those whose epilepsy is active. This is why it is important for those with epilepsy, their families and their physicians to be familiar with the two critical issues surrounding CAM. One is whether the treatment is effective and the second is whether there are risks to the treatment. Nevertheless, a key concern has been that a patient may forego evidence-based treatments for ones that have not gone through rigorous evaluation and proven efficacy.  Non-pharmacological treatments such as aromatherapy, yoga, acupuncture, reflexology and biofeedback carry little risk by themselves. On the contrary, these modalities can help with stress management and give a person a better sense of well-being. This is certainly beneficial in terms of quality of life. While there is little evidence that there is a direct effect on seizures it is hoped that lessening stress and improving mood can reduce seizure frequency.

Chiropractic manipulation needs to be approached with caution. There is no evidence that it has any impact on seizures. Moreover, neck injuries and, rarely, vertebral artery dissection can occur. Parents of a child with epilepsy should consult with their child’s neurologist before considering chiropractic care. On the positive, patients have reported feeling physically better but their seizures remained unchanged. It is likely that any benefit from chiropractic care would be similar with message therapy.  Overall, non-pharmacological therapy should be viewed as a lifestyle issue and should not replace standard anti-seizure treatment.

The issue with pharmacological agents such as herbals is more complex.  This is because many of them are metabolized by the liver’s enzyme P450 system and many anti-seizure medications depend on this system for their metabolism. Therefore, drug-drug interactions may occur.

What is the evidence for the use of herbals in epilepsy? Much of the experience with them in humans has been purely anecdotal and hence there is no direct evidence of benefit. Despite this, various references of alternative treatments make recommendations of some herbals specifically for seizures. The first consideration is to avoid those herbals that have been identified as being hazardous. Both kava and skullcap can cause liver damage.  The FDA has issued a warning to consumers in regards to kava and it is actually banned in some countries.

Unfortunately, herbal supplements have not gone through rigorous controlled trials. This is primarily because clinical trials are very expensive and drug companies as well as makers of the supplements cannot justify the cost. Since herbals are naturally occurring they cannot be patented like synthetically designed compounds and therefore, there is less profit to be made by their sale. This is not to say that there are no substances found in nature with anti-seizure properties. With thousands of chemicals, there may indeed be effective seizure medications. Many herbals have strong pharmacological effects and like drugs must be actively metabolized by the body once ingested. Herein lays the kicker; because supplements can behave like conventional drugs, they can be just as laden with adverse effects. Unlike FDA approved medications, supplements are not regulated and have not been thoroughly studied. Much of the claims of their benefits, as stated earlier, are primarily anecdotal. Hence, the current accurate understanding of the world of alternative therapy is minimal. 

Even when an herbal supplement is considered, dosage recommendations are difficult to give because there has been no standardization. Additionally, the quantities present vary from manufacturer to manufacturer as well as the suggested dose. Regardless, consumers are strongly advised to at least inform their neurologist about which supplement is being used. However, since the numbers of herbals available is vast, knowledge on the part of physicians may be limited. Therefore, consumers are also advised to seek information. A reliable source of information is the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine website: http://nccam.nih.gov/

Written by: Dr. Roy Sucholeiki, March 2008

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