Epilepsy

Epilepsy

Amino acids can significantly help people with epilepsy, also in the most challenging cases, such as pharmoresistant epilepsy, where conventional anti-epileptic drugs fail to provide relief.
Effectiveness in pharmoresistant Epilepsy
In our experience, many patients with pharmoresistant epilepsy have experienced a reduction in the number of seizures after starting amino acid treatment. Remarkably, in some cases, seizures have been completely eliminated. Additionally, there have been notable changes in the nature of the seizures, transitioning from generalized seizures to partial or short-term ones. This shift can dramatically improve the quality of life for patients, making their condition more manageable.

Benefits Beyond Seizure Control

Epilepsy often impacts more than just the frequency and severity of seizures. Many children with epilepsy face delays in speech, mental, and motor development. Amino acids have shown promise in addressing these developmental challenges. Here’s how:
1. Speech Development: Amino acids can help stimulate the neural pathways involved in speech, aiding children who have delayed speech development to make significant progress.
2. Mental Development: Cognitive functions can improve with amino acid supplementation, leading to better intellectual development and overall mental performance.
3. Motor Development: Improved motor skills and coordination have been observed, helping children achieve milestones that were previously out of reach.

How Amino Acids Work

Amino acids play a crucial role in brain function by:
- Modulating Excitatory and Inhibitory Processes: By balancing these processes, amino acids help normalize brain activity, reducing the likelihood of seizures.
- Enhancing Neurotransmitter Function: Amino acids are the building blocks of neurotransmitters, which are essential for effective communication between neurons.
- Supporting Brain Metabolism: They provide the necessary components for the brain’s metabolic processes, ensuring optimal brain health and function.

Conclusion

The use of amino acids in the treatment of epilepsy offers a promising alternative, particularly for those who do not respond to conventional medications. The potential to reduce or even eliminate seizures, combined with improvements in speech, cognitive, and motor development, makes amino acids a valuable tool in managing epilepsy.
Treatment with amino-acid preparations is also effective for children in whom epilepsy is accompanied by disorders of psychomotor development. Amino-acids directly stimulate intellectual development, speech development, significantly improve gross and fine motor skills, as well as balance and co-ordination of movements. Improvement of speech development, cognitive functions and motor development takes place also in children with resistant forms of epilepsy, in which the patient does not respond or responds only minimally to treatment with anti-epileptic drugs. 

In younger and older with epilepsy the overall psychological condition improves upon treatment with our amino-acid preparations, as well as concentration and memory, and the intensity of complaints after the subsidence of an epileptic seizure is reduced – drowsiness, fatigue, headache. The overall adjustment of the organism is improved – dysphoria recedes, as do states of asthenia, physical condition and overall strength improve, intellectual activity, ability to inter-react and concentrate are increased. 

Children with West's syndrome, who mostly do not respond to treatment with anti-epileptic drugs, are “revived” upon treatment with our amino-acid preparations. It is hard to imagine the relief of parents when instead of for example 65-70 seizures (infantile spasms) per day their children have only 5-7 seizures. Children become awakened, more lively, alert and begin to familiarise themselves with the world around them. The parents of our patients often say that they see their child smile for the first time. 

Amino-acid preparations help harmonise excitation and inhibition processes in neurons in patients with epilepsy, thus bringing about a reduction of the epileptic activity of the brain. They also support neurogenesis, thus producing a positive effect also in children with disorders of psychomotor development. 

In many cases children with epilepsy have speech and mental development problems. All conventional anti-seizure medications have some side effects and may further inhibit (suppress) speech and mental development in this group of epileptic children. Amino acid treatment in this group of children could improve their speech and mental abilities and in many cases, this treatment could also gradually reduce epilepsy manifestations. Even if a child has a resistant form of epilepsy in which conventional anti- seizure medications do not provide a reduction in seizures and neither amino acids treatment helps, amino acids improve the child’s speech and mental development. The important thing is to take care of the psychological condition of the patient. Signs of dysphoria and asthenia are considerably reduced, while the physical and intellectual activity and realization control are increased; control of perception and the ability of interactions and reactivity are improved. A positive effect was found also during the EEG monitoring. In most patients, a qualitative and quantitative minimization of the epileptic complexes and reactivity of the brain cortex is manifested and the reactivity of the brain cortex in the event of functional load is reduced.

The term “epilepsy” comes from the Greek meaning “to take hold of” to describe its effects. Epilepsy could be described as a disorder that disrupts the transmission of electrical signals inside the brain. Although one may assume that epilepsy causes episodes of uncontrolled movements and loss of consciousness, the condition is actually quite variable. Symptoms known as seizures are often subtle, causing strange sensations, emotions and behavior. 

Seizures can affect any process of brain coordination. A seizure can produce temporary confusion, complete loss of consciousness, a staring spell, or uncontrollable jerking movements of the arms and legs. Symptoms vary depending to the type of seizure. In many cases, a person with epilepsy tends to have the same type of seizure each time, so the symptoms are very similar from episode to episode. Doctors classify seizures as either partial or generalized, based on how the abnormal brain activity begins. When seizures appear to result from abnormal activity in just one part of the brain, they're called partial or focal seizures. Seizures that seem to involve all of the brain are called generalized seizures. 

Partial seizures

• Simple partial seizures. These seizures don't result in loss of consciousness. They may alter emotions or change the way a person acknowledges the surrounding environment.
• Complex partial seizures. These seizures alter consciousness, causing a patient to lose awareness for a period of time. Complex partial seizures often result in staring and uncontrollable movements – such as arm positioning, lip smacking, hand rubbing.

Generalized seizures

• Absence seizures (petit mal). These seizures are characterized by subtle body movement, staring and brief lapses of awareness.
• Myoclonic seizures. These seizures cause sudden jerks of legs and arms.
• Atonic seizures. These seizures cause a sudden collapse or falling down.
• Tonic – clonic seizures (grand mal). The most intense seizures, these are characterized by a loss of consciousness, body shaking and stiffening and sometimes, tongue biting.

Many years of experience of administration of amino acids for treatment of epilepsy in children shows well pronounced results in improving their speech and mental abilities. In many cases amino acid treatment could also gradually reduce epilepsy manifestations.
 

Witam,mój syn jest po niedotlenieniu okoloporodowym, choruje na dziecięce porazenie mózgowe.W wieku 4 lat przyjmowaliśmy aminokwasy I byłam zadowolona bo synowi zmniejszyło się napięcie. Gdy został posadzony w fotelu to umiał prosto siedzieć i się podpierać. Jak byliśmy na kontroli u neurologa to był zaskoczony, że syn idzie do przodu i jeszcze trochę będzie trzymał głowę. Że względu finansowych musieliśmy przerwać co spowodowało cofnięciem dotychczasowych rezultatow. Pojawło się większe napięcie i negatywne odruchy. Teraz syn ma 15 lat I na nowo zaczelismy przyjmować aminokwasy. Można zauważyć gaworzenie i lepszy kontakt wzrokowy.My nie żalujemy,że przyjmowaliśmy aminokwasy I na nowo zaczelismy. Polecam warto. Beata Kopeć W wieku 4 lat tak potrafił sobie siedzieć

Beata Kopeć