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.
Related: The eight mechanisms of anti-Alzheimer’s effects of curcumin
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.
The study conducted by researchers at McGill University in Montreal and published in January issue of Nature Neuroscience showed that the music increased dopamine levels in certain areas of the brain. Various types of music were shown to be effective depending on individual preferences. >> More at Brainfuels.com
(WebMD) A group of drugs used to treat epilepsy may also treat Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.
New research shows treatment with T-type calcium channel blockers, used to treat epilepsy, protected nerve cells from the brains of mice that can be damaged by neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.
Researchers say there aren’t any effective medications that protect brain cells from age-related damage and degeneration. If these findings hold up under further study in humans, they could lead to a new class of more effective treatments for age-related neurological diseases.
Calcium-signaling pathways play an important role in the survival of nerve cells (neurons) in the brain. As people age, this process can become disrupted and can lead to cognitive and functional decline.
Researchers say that opens up the possibility of using chemicals like calcium channel blockers that are involved in the calcium-signaling process to protect the nerve cells from death.
The study, published in Molecular Neurodegeneration, looked at the effects of treatment with calcium channel blockers on the brain cells of mice.
Researchers found neurons showed an increase in viability after treatment with the calcium channel blockers over both the long term and short term.
“Our data provides implications for the use of this family of anti-epileptic drugs in developing new treatments for neuronal injury, and for the need of further studies of the use of such drugs in age-related neurodegenerative disorders,” says researcher Jianxin Bao, PhD, of Washington University in St. Louis, in a news release.
(WebMD) A group of drugs used to treat epilepsy may also treat Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.
New research shows treatment with T-type calcium channel blockers, used to treat epilepsy, protected nerve cells from the brains of mice that can be damaged by neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.
Researchers say there aren’t any effective medications that protect brain cells from age-related damage and degeneration. If these findings hold up under further study in humans, they could lead to a new class of more effective treatments for age-related neurological diseases. Calcium-signaling pathways play an important role in the survival of nerve cells (neurons) in the brain. As people age, this process can become disrupted and can lead to cognitive and functional decline.
Researchers say that opens up the possibility of using chemicals like calcium channel blockers that are involved in the calcium-signaling process to protect the nerve cells from death. The study, published in Molecular Neurodegeneration, looked at the effects of treatment with calcium channel blockers on the brain cells of mice.
Researchers found neurons showed an increase in viability after treatment with the calcium channel blockers over both the long term and short term.
“Our data provides implications for the use of this family of anti-epileptic drugs in developing new treatments for neuronal injury, and for the need of further studies of the use of such drugs in age-related neurodegenerative disorders,” says researcher Jianxin Bao, PhD, of Washington University in St. Louis, in a news release.
