According to Michael Wong, MD, PhD (1), although there’s a noticeable progress in anti-epileptic drug development, two obstacles remain unchanged for many decades:
1. The number of cases resistant to the best and newest drugs does not decrease
2. The best drugs address symptoms and not the cause of the disease, namely, they might suppress the seizures but they cannot make them disappear. As a result of such a failure, we still have no anti-epileptic therapies.
Recent studies, however, addresses potential neuroprotective and anti-epileptogenic actions of substances naturally occurring in plants. For example, Resveratrol (a phytoalexin) is found in plants such as peanuts and grapes, but it’s especially abundant in red wine. In plants, Resveratrol defends the cells against the consequences of injury, parasitics, and infectious diseases — hence its antiinflammatory, antioxidant, anti-tumor, and, if given to animals, its neuroprotective effects.
In the article “Protective Effect of Resveratrol Against Kainate-Induced Temporal Lobe Epilepsy in Rats” Resveratrol is described as a potent anti-epilepsy agent, which protects against epileptogenesis (not just against seizures) in animal model of temporal lobe epilepsy (2).
Another success story was told about curcumin, which is the major ingredient in the popular Indian spice, tumeric. Tumeric has been used for centuries in parts of India as an herbal therapy; including treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and epilepsy. As resveratrol, curcumin has been shown to inhibit acute seizures. The recent study (3) studied the effect of curcumin on epileptogenesis in a rat model of post-traumatic epilepsy. Curcumin decreased the development of and seizures and improved memory and learning.
1. M Wong. HERBS AND SPICES: UNEXPECTED SOURCES OF ANTIEPILEPTOGENIC DRUG TREATMENTS? Epilepsy Currents, Vol. 10, No. 1 2010 pp. 21–23
2. Protective Effect of Resveratrol Against Kainate-Induced Temporal Lobe Epilepsy in Rats. Wu Z, Xu Q, Zhang
L, Kong D, Ma R, Wang L. Neurochem Res 2009;34(8):1393–1400.
3. Curcumin Protects Against Electrobehavioral Progression of Seizures in the Iron-Induced Experimental Model
of Epileptogenesis. Jyoti A, Sethi P, Sharma D. Epilepsy Behav 2009;14(2):300–308.
HERBS AND SPICES: UNEXPECTED SOURCES OF ANTIEPILEPTOGENIC DRUG TREATMENTS?
According to Michael Wong, MD, PhD (1), although there’s a noticeable progress in anti-epileptic drug development, two obstacles remain unchanged for many decades.
- The number of cases resistant to the best and newest drugs does not decrease
- The best drugs address symptoms and not the cause of the disease, namely, they might suppress the seizures but they cannot make them disappear. As a result of such a failure, we still have no anti-epileptic therapies.
Recent studies, however, address potential neuroprotective and anti-epileptogenic actions of substances naturally occurring in plants. For example, Resveratrol (a phytoalexin) is found in plants such as peanuts and grapes, but it’s especially abundant in red wine. In plants, Resveratrol defends the cells against the consequences of injury, parasitics, and infectious diseases — hence its antiinflammatory, antioxidant, anti-tumor, and, if given to animals, its neuroprotective effects.
In the article “Protective Effect of Resveratrol Against Kainate-Induced Temporal Lobe Epilepsy in Rats” Resveratrol is described as a potent anti-epilepsy agent, which protects against epileptogenesis (not just against seizures) in animal model of temporal lobe epilepsy (2).
Another success story was told about curcumin, which is the major ingredient in the popular Indian spice, tumeric. Tumeric has been used for centuries in parts of India as an herbal therapy; including treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and epilepsy. As resveratrol, curcumin has been shown to inhibit acute seizures. The recent study (3) studied the effect of curcumin on epileptogenesis in a rat model of post-traumatic epilepsy. Curcumin decreased the development of and seizures and improved memory and learning.
Sources
- M Wong. CURRENT LITERATURE IN BASIC SCIENCE. Epilepsy Currents, Vol. 10, No. 1 2010 pp. 21–23
- Protective Effect of Resveratrol Against Kainate-Induced Temporal Lobe Epilepsy in Rats. Wu Z, Xu Q, Zhang
- L, Kong D, Ma R, Wang L. Neurochem Res 2009;34(8):1393–1400.
- Curcumin Protects Against Electrobehavioral Progression of Seizures in the Iron-Induced Experimental Model of Epileptogenesis. Jyoti A, Sethi P, Sharma D. Epilepsy Behav 2009;14(2):300–308.
