GINKGO BILOBA'S WARNING OF EPILEPSY SEIZURES


BBC News - Jan 29, 2010. People with epilepsy should be warned that using a popular herbal remedy may increase the risk of seizures, researchers say. The remedy is used by many to treat complaints including depression.
German scientists, writing in the Journal of Natural Products, said they had found 10 written reports of seizures linked to ginkgo biloba. They said they were convinced the herb could have a "detrimental effect". “We are now convinced that ginkgo biloba medications and other products can have a detrimental effect on a person's health condition.” University of Bonn researchers.

Ginkgo biloba remedies - made from the leaves of the tree of the same name - are used by many thousands of people in the UK as a remedy for health problems ranging from depression and memory loss, to headaches and dizziness. The team from the University of Bonn focused on a particular chemical compound in the herb called ginkgotoxin. They said that evidence suggested that it might alter a chemical-signalling pathway in the body linked to epileptic seizures, and potentially interfere with the effectiveness of anti-seizure medications.
In addition to any benefits, which still remained unproven, they wrote, there was a "clear potential for adverse effects", particularly in susceptible patients. Even though there was no definitive proof that the herb had been the cause of the increase in seizures in the reported cases, patients should be warned about the possibility, and manufacturers asked to test their ginkgo products for levels of the toxin.
Professor John Duncan, from the National Society for Epilepsy, said that the current evidence did not necessarily warrant restrictions on the use of the remedy. He said: "We believe that some herbs, for example St John's wort, are linked to a higher risk of seizures, but there is still not a great deal of evidence about problems related to ginkgo. "We would say that if someone who has epilepsy wants to take this remedy, they should simply be aware of the possibility."

Posted on February 10th, 2010 

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Posted on February 4th, 2010 

 IMAGING RESEARCH SHEDS NEW LIGHT ON SEIZURES


Boston, December 8 -- How the brain becomes susceptible to seizures is under intense investigation by scientists seeking to cure and prevent epilepsy. The search is increasingly dependent on advanced technologies that provide an unprecedented window into the actions and structures of brain cells, and new insight into how seizures affect the brain.
Researchers at the American Epilepsy Society 63rd Annual Meeting report using a technique called fast, multicellular imaging, to focus on small groups of neurons to observe the action of single cells during experimental seizures. Other investigators using a related technique report on observing the neuronal response to seizures of different duration, and determining whether seizures of relatively short duration produce brain injury.
In what is the first report of fast, multicellular imaging of dentate granule cells (DGC) in hippocampal slices from animals exposed to a single experimentally induced prolonged seizure, researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia found that 64.8% of DGC showed calcium transients, an indicator of cell excitation or seizure susceptibility; whereas, calcium transients were seen in only 6% of DGC in slices from control animals. (Abstract 3.136)
Chang-Hoon Cho, PhD, lead author of the study, says his team’s ongoing research is pointing toward identifying the abnormally behaving (seizure-inducing) small subset of neurons to control the whole neuronal population in epilepsy. The team led by Michael Wong, MD, PhD, found that seizure-induced injury worsens with longer seizures, but even relatively brief seizures of 5-10 minutes may cause some dendritic injury.
“While the long-term evolution and functional consequences of this seizure-induced dendritic injury need to be investigated,” Wong says, “our findings raise concerns about the potential damaging effect of relatively brief seizures.” These and other studies of seizure-induced neuronal damage and subsequent potential for affecting cognition and memory are directly relevant to clinical practice and the treatment of seizures. Many clinicians now advocate aggressive intervention when seizures reach five minutes instead of longer durations previously allowed before initiating emergency medical intervention
Information Contact: Peter Van Haverbeke - pvanhaverbeke@aesnet.org

Posted on January 11th, 2010 

 CANADIAN LEAGUE AGAINST EPILEPSY SPEAKS OUT


RESEARCHER FEARS PUBLIC HAS BEEN LEAD TO BELIEVE DISEASE IS UNDER CONTROL.

Katherine Dedyna, Canwest News Service

The out-of-the blue brain seizures caused by epilepsy can be controlled in half or more patients thanks to medication and surgery, giving them basically normal lives.
It's the other 40 to 50 per cent of patients with uncontrolled epilepsy that Dr. Richard Wennberg is worried about. As president of the Canadian League Against Epilepsy, he has seen first-hand the widespread "catastrophic" fallout from the disease, and wonders whether research funders and the public are responding to how serious it is for one in every 200 Canadians.
The Toronto neurologist will give the keynote address at a conference hosted by the Victoria Epilepsy and Parkinson's Centre. "The studies that are done on quality of life in people with epilepsy are quite abysmal," Wennberg says, citing unpredictability as a major reason. "You can have a seizure at any time that effectively becomes a life-ruiner for many people. Most people with uncontrolled seizures after a few years of struggle will find themselves unemployed for the rest of their life. They can't drive, relationships break up and without employment, of course they don't prosper socially."
Advocates for epilepsy awareness "may have undersold the seriousness of the condition" he says, in their attempts to de-stigmatize a disorder that was seen as demon-possession by the ancient Greeks and still suffers from serious misconceptions. Many people erroneously believe epilepsy is now largely under control, says Epilepsy Canada. But Wennberg knows of families trying to care for people who have dozens of seizures every day, despite being semi-anesthetized on four different anti-epileptic medications. "Some people have terrible accidents," he says. "They die in falls, they fall onto the stove, they fall in the shower and hit the hot water and have third-degree burns all over their body." One of his patients must wear a helmet in everyday life and use a stimulator on the vagus nerve in her neck. And that's after surgery to cut the connections between the two halves of her brain.
Epilepsy is a symptom of a brain disorder that manifests itself in seizures. According to Epilepsy Canada, up to 85 per cent of diagnoses are in people under 18. And although the seizures will cease in half of childhood cases, it's a life-long disorder for the rest. The cause of epilepsy is unknown in up to 60 per cent of cases; in the rest it is attributed to tumours, stroke, head trauma, illness of the mother during pregnancy and meningitis, among other causes.
"I don't know that the general population realizes how futile our ability is to help so very, very many people with epilepsy," he says, wishing that the public was moved to the kind of annual marches that support illnesses such as cancer. Brain stimulation and brain surgery can't help people whose whole brain is involved with epilepsy, and recent drugs have not proved much better at stopping seizures, although they have fewer side-effects. "What you really need to do for people with epilepsy is to stop the seizures entirely," he says, citing a "miracle drug" as the likeliest way. Meanwhile, he worries that basic researchers are not choosing epilepsy or are shifting their focus to acquire public research funds.
None of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research has ever put out a directed call for applications for epilepsy research, says Prof. Michael Poulter of the Molecular Brain Research Group at the University of Western Ontario. Still, he says the CIHR does its best given what he calls inadequate federal funding. Epilepsy research has received $81 million since 2000 from the CIHR, though compared to $730 million for cardiovascular disease, an amount that is "woefully inadequate" in comparison, says a letter from Isa Milman, program co- ordinator of the Victoria centre, to the federal health minister.
Milman cites the burden of the disease as $100 million annually in medical treatment nationwide and $700 million annually in lost productivity. In response, CIHR president Dr. Alain Beaudet notes there is $27.9 million currently earmarked for epilepsy research and more than $602 million invested since 2000 in the wider field of neurosciences research. But the latter figure covers issues from Alzheimer's to stroke research, Poulter says, while epilepsy remains one of the most costly medical conditions in Canada.
Milman sees "one bright development on the horizon - the federal government has recently earmarked $15 million for research to the Neurological Health Charities Canada group."
Victoria Times Colonist - Kdedyna@tc.canwest.com
CANADIAN LEAGUE AGAINST EPILEPSY - http://www.clae.org


Posted on January 8th, 2010