Epilepsy is a neurological illness that leads to the brain’s activities becoming abnormal, resulting in seizures, strange behavior, sensations, and sometimes loss of consciousness.
Epilepsy affects men and women of diverse races, ethnic backgrounds, and ages. Hence, Epilepsy may affect everyone.
In this disorder, seizures are caused by excessive electrical discharges in a group of brain cells. These discharges can occur in a variety of brain locations.
Seizures can range from minor attention lapses or muscular jerks to severe and lengthy convulsions. Seizures might vary from fewer than one per year to numerous per day.
A single seizure does not indicate Epilepsy. In comparison, two or more unprovoked seizures are considered Epilepsy.
The side effect of a ketogenic diet for Epilepsy
Ketogenic is a high-fat, low-carb, and moderate-protein plan diet intended to help reduce seizures in people with Epilepsy.
The diet effectively reduces seizures in some patients and can cause side effects like weight loss. If you’re considering trying the ketogenic diet as a treatment option for your child’s Epilepsy, it’s essential to understand what this might mean for their health and nutrition.
Ketosis is a metabolic situation in which your body doesn’t have enough glucose (a type of sugar) available for energy production. Your liver converts fatty acids into ketones and releases them into the bloodstream when this happens.
These ketones then enter cells, which are used as energy instead of glucose by changing their metabolic processes from glycolysis (which depends on carbohydrates) to beta-oxidation (which occurs without carbohydrates).
Theoretically, this should prevent seizures because there aren’t enough carbohydrates available to trigger epileptic activity – but does it work? We’ll get there soon!
Importance of medication in Epilepsy
As you may know, people with Epilepsy who have focal seizures are much more likely to have a driver’s license if they take a proper anti-seizure medication than if they don’t.
Medications may also prevent your outbreaks from worsening over time and help you live a longer and healthier life.
But what if you are not taking your medication regularly? What effect will that have on your general health and lifestyle? What about people who drive?
According to research published in the journal, people with Epilepsy who do not take their medicine as prescribed are at an increased risk of having an injury or death resulting from a motor vehicle accident compared to patients who adhere to prescribed treatment regimens.
Pregnancy and anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs)
A new study proposes that women who take anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) during pregnancy risk having a child with a congenital disability, but the risk is small.
The study, published in Neurology on March 13, found that women who took AEDs were more likely to have children with specific congenital disabilities than those who did not.
However, the overall risk is still low for most AEDs. According to lead author Dr. Anne-Marie Nybo Andersen from Odense University Hospital in Denmark, it only applies to specific congenital disabilities.
Recent Developments and Research
A drug has been developed that might effectively treat pediatric Epilepsy and doesn’t have severe side effects. The substance is derived from cannabis but does not contain THC, which causes the “high” associated with marijuana, unlike other similar substances.
Epidiolex, a cannabidiol substance developed by GW Pharmaceuticals that the FDA has approved for use in pediatric Epilepsy, is derived from cannabis.
It is the first FDA-approved drug containing “cannabidiol,” or CBD. Cannabidiol is one of the 100s of compounds found in cannabis plants and, unlike THC, does not cause euphoria or impair cognition.
CBD was first isolated in 1940 by Roger Adams at Indiana University and was synthesized in 1963 by Raphael Mechoulam at Hebrew University.
CBD is now licensed to treat Epilepsy and tuberous sclerosis complex seizures. According to some early research, CBD may be an effective therapy for other kinds of Epilepsy. Various CBD products, like Full Spectrum CBD and Oils, are popular due to their potential health benefits.
While Cannabis products work wonders for some people, they may increase the frequency of seizures in certain people. If you have seizures, see your doctor before using any cannabis products.
A peptide developed at Northwestern University has proven to be a highly effective way to reduce or prevent seizures in mice and is currently being tested for human use.
Peptide, a short chain of amino acids, can be found in nature, but in this case, the researchers developed the peptide.
The ketogenic diet for Epilepsy is weight loss based on an individual’s food choices. Researchers at Thomas Jefferson University have discovered that specific molecules in the brain that control seizure activity work by affecting the levels of a protein called NMDA receptor subunit GluN2C. This finding may help them develop new treatments for Epilepsy.
NMDA receptors are involved in Epilepsy. This glutamate receptor is found throughout the central nervous system, which plays a crucial role in neuronal plasticity and cognitive function.
Glutamate is an important neurotransmitter that helps control aspects of learning, memory, and thought processes in the brain by facilitating communication between neurons.
Summing It Up
As the science of epilepsy research progresses, discoveries are being made about how to treat this chronic condition. Promising developments are happening in medicine and treatment for people with Epilepsy all over the world.
To keep up with these developments, we need your help! Please share your stories with us to include them in our following newsletter or post them on social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter.
We want everyone to know how important it is for scientists to work together on finding effective treatments for people suffering from seizures!
