Alternative therapies involve remedies for a disease that fall outside conventional drugs or other medical treatments delivered by western medical practitioners. Anyone considering alternative therapies for epilepsy should consult with a doctor before trying any methods on their own. The Epilepsy Foundation advises that any alternative or complementary therapies be used in conjunction with standard medical care for epilepsy, not in place of it. The exception is in cases where the physician specifically prescribes the alternative method, such as using the ketogenic diet in children whose epilepsy may not respond to seizure medication.
Ketogenic Diet
The ketogenic diet is well-established as an effective form of epilepsy treatment in some pediatric patients, according to the Mayo Clinic. The ketogenic diet is a high-fat, low-protein, no-carbohydrate diet that must be prescribed by a physician and planned by a dietician with specific expertise in this type of meal planning. The diet works by causing the body to burn fat instead of carbohydrates, which causes the production of ketones. High levels of ketones inhibit seizures, possibly by stabilizing the cell membranes of neurons in the brain. The ketogenic diet may also be effective for some epileptic adults, but this has not been well studied. Milder versions of the ketogenic diet that allow some limited proteins or carbohydrates may also work for some epileptics to help reduce seizures.
Supplements
According to Peace Health, vitamin E shows promise in treating epilepsy in children. The site recommends a dose of 400mg of vitamin E supplementation used in addition to traditional seizure medications. The vitamin doesn't appear to have an effect on adult epileptics, however. Taurine, melatonin and omega-3 fatty acids also may affect the frequency or duration of seizures in epileptics, but more studies are needed on these compounds to determine their true effectiveness.
Herbal Remedies
Neurology Reviews describes the herbal remedies kava and mistletoe as having some potential for use in epileptics, although both come with side effects. According to Peace Health, some herbs have shown contradictory results in preliminary trials or been insufficiently studied but remain the subject of investigation as complementary treatments for epilepsy. These include pinellia root, cassia bark, ginger root, licorice root, jujube fruit, Asian ginseng and bupleurum when used along with peony root.
Other Therapies
The New York University Langone Medical Center describes relaxation, which involves employing various strategies to reduce stress, and biofeedback, which aims to exert voluntary control over normally involuntary processes such as heart rate and breathing, as possible options for reducing seizures in epileptics, although they are not likely to completely eliminate seizures. Neurofeedback, in which a person learns to control electrical activity in the brain, is another promising technique for epileptics. Other remedies such as acupuncture and chiropractic adjustment have not yet undergone the studies needed to determine their effectiveness.
References
- New York University Langone Medical Center: Complementary and Alternative Therapies
- PeaceHealth: Epilepsy
- Neurology Reviews: Patients with Epilepsy Increasingly Embrace Alternative and Complementary Medicines
- Mayo Clinic: Epilepsy Treatment of Children at the Mayo Clinic
- Epilepsy Foundation: Complementary Treatment
