The Oxidative Stress in Epilepsy-Focus on Melatonin.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to evaluate the potential anticonvulsant and antioxidant effects of curcumin in the context of epilepsy, particularly as an adjuvant therapy.
Results Summary
The study found that curcumin, along with other antioxidants, demonstrated anticonvulsant effects in animal models and showed promise as an adjuvant therapy for pediatric intractable epilepsy in limited clinical data.
Population
Animal models and pediatric patients with intractable epilepsy.
Effective Dosage
Not specified
Duration
Not specified
Interactions
None mentioned
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
antiseizure medications | decrease | oxidative stress | - | - | reduce | #1 |
exogenous antioxidants (vitamin E, resveratrol, hesperidin, and curcumin) | decrease | seizures | animal models of seizures | - | exert an anticonvulsant effect | #2 |
curcumin | neutral | pediatric intractable epilepsy | pediatric intractable epilepsy | - | affective adjuvant | #3 |
Melatonin | decrease | seizure activity | rodents | - | attenuate | #4 |
Melatonin | decrease | seizure activity | patients | - | clinical effectiveness has been also confirmed | #5 |
endogenous melatonin | increase | seizure activity | - | - | may possess proconvulsive activity | #6 |
endogenous melatonin | increase | seizure activity | - | - | may act as a proconvulsant | #7 |
Antioxidants, including melatonin | neutral | epilepsy | patients with epilepsy | - | may be considered as adjuvants | #8 |
melatonin | neutral | sleep disorders | patients with epilepsy suffering from sleep disorders | - | adjuvant | #9 |
Oxidative stress develops when there is an excess of oxidants leading to molecular and cellular damage. Seizure activity leads to oxidative stress and the resulting increased lipid peroxidation. Generally, antiseizure medications reduce oxidative stress, although the data on levetiracetam are ambiguous. Exogenous antioxidants (vitamin E, resveratrol, hesperidin, and curcumin) have been documented to exert an anticonvulsant effect in animal models of seizures and some recent clinical data point to curcumin as an affective adjuvant for the therapy of pediatric intractable epilepsy. Melatonin is an antioxidant with an ability to attenuate seizure activity induced by various convulsants in rodents. Its clinical effectiveness has been also confirmed in a number of clinical studies. Experimental studies point to a possibility that endogenous melatonin may possess proconvulsive activity. Moreover, some scarce clinical data seem to express this view; however, a limited number of patients were included. The anticonvulsant activity of exogenous melatonin may involve GABA-mediated inhibition, while endogenous melatonin may act as a proconvulsant due to a decrease in the brain dopaminergic transmission. Antioxidants, including melatonin, may be considered as adjuvants in the therapy of epilepsy and melatonin, in addition, in patients with epilepsy suffering from sleep disorders.