Showing posts with label EPILEPSY. Show all posts
Showing posts with label EPILEPSY. Show all posts

Ashwagandha- arishtam


Dullness, loss of memory, epilepsy, Insanity and EMACIATION. IT INCREASES THE OJAS AND NOURISHES ALL DHATUS



15-30 ml, twice daily after food.



Bhaishajiaratnaavali
Moorchaaroga  chikitsa.

Ayurvedic treatment for epilepsy


Treatment principle of epilepsy includes all the three major types viz., Devotional, Medications and Psychosomatic
          In order to bring about cleaning of body channels and mind which have become occluded, cleanig ought be carried out . The term Prabodhana has been clarified by Cakrapani that it refers to restoration of activities of the above mentioned systems to their normal status which is devoid of any derangement.
        
          The type of purification advised is based on the specific energy classification i.e., enema in Vataja epilepsy, purgation in Pittaja epilepsy and emesis in Kaphaja epilepsy 
Conventional  treatments  :
          Various classical formulations have been advocated in epilepsy treatment some of which are specified for each Dosa.
Rasayana :
          In case of epilepsy which does not respond to conventional treatment regimen and in chronic conditions, Rasayana is advocated
Unmada Cikitsa :
          This has been advocated by Caraka specifically in cases which seem to be Agantuja in origin
Graha Cikitsa :
          In addition to the above regimens, the Yogas mentioned in Graha Cikitsa are advocated by Susruta 
Sira Vyadhana and Mangalya Dharana:
          according to Susruta the venesection has to be carried out on the Sira present in the middle of mandible joint.

         The treatments of epilepsy also includes purgation, eye lineig fumigation  and pasting.

Do's and Donts :
Pathya :
                                                                                           Sattvika Aharas like Sali, Godhuma, Mudga, Ksira, Kusmanda, leafy vegetables, Patola, Brahmi, Dadima, Draksa, Parusaka etc.
do's :
                                                                                           The individual who recovers from the epileptic seizure should not be reminded of the event. In order to liven up his affected mind, he should be encouraged to indulge in pleasant activities.
        

donts :
                                                                                           Incompatible, dirty, contaminated food,  alcohol, fish, meat, certain actions, pouring hot water on the head and the like.

EPILEPSY


Epilepsy

Epilepsy is a discontinuous process. Depending on the patient, seizures of any type have varying periodicity that may relate to the sleep cycle, the menstrual or other hormonal cycle or to unpredictable bodily rhythms. Certain seizures may occur one or more times a day in some individuals, but at much longer intervals in others. Even the clinical inter-seizure state may be characterised by more or less continuously abnormal cerebral electrical activity, as demonstrated on surface electroencephalography or on deep brain recordings. Therefore, two clinical states of the brain characterise the individual with epilepsy : the actual ictal or seizure disturbance and the inter-ictal state.
          Many investigations of epileptogenesis during the past century have centered on the anatomic, physiologic and metabolic states involved in neuronal hyper excitability.

          The metabolic environment of the cerebral neurons is most important. Acetylcholine and related transmitter substances, aminoacids including glutamic and gamma amino butyric acids (GABA) and other components are involved as well as those in oxidative cycles. A critical factor is the maintenance of resting neuronal potential by intraneuronal and extraneuronal distribution of electrolytes. Shifts in this cationic balance have been  associated with seizures and on enhanced permeability of the neural membrane. Increased intraneuronal sodium and extraneuronal potassium, for example, and changes in the control of their transport by calcium, may precede seizure activity. These metabolic distortions, along with an excess in excitatory transmitters, may produce the partial depolorisations necessary to support repetitive discharges and the eventual propagation of seizures.
          Nevertheless, the occurrence of repetition and propagation of neuronal discharges as the hallmark of epileptogenesis remains difficult to understand.
          One of the most difficult questions in epileptogenesis is how a seizure state has its inception. This becomes important especially when there is an early brain insult or injury because of either a genetic factor responsible for a neural abnormality or because of a neuronal susceptibility to excitatory activity, trauma, or a disease affecting the neurons. The myoclonic epilepsies are an example of specific cellular neuronal abnormalities of various aetiologies.

          An important factor to be considered is time. The interval between the insult and the development of recurrent seizure activity may appear silent, a period during which cerebral function apparently progresses normally. This silent interval can last from weeks to years.

          The silent interval was described by Gowers thus : “The third mode of onset is with a single severe fit, and no other fit or sign of epilepsy for months or even years, when another attack occurs, after which they usually become frequent.”

          A link between early major convulsions and later development of temporal lobe epilepsy was suggested by Lennox and emphasis was given on possible vascular pathogenesis. The silent interval was associated with the development of scar formation in the meninges and brain parenchyma by Penfield. Local vascular abnormality in association with atrophic microvascular areas was emphasised by him. The conclusion given by him was that any acute brain injury can be followed by progressive scarring or “epileptogenic ripening”. “The whole question of what the ripening process may be after brain injury is synonymous with the real secret of epilepsy”.


          Epilepsy is a sort of hurricane in the brain; its onset is marked by a transition from the customary  uncoordinated (perhaps even chaotic) firings of neighbouring neurons into (ironically enough) a periodic common firing. The organising principle behind epileptic seizures, by contrast, is not yet known (Raima Larter et al).

          The mystery parameter behind the triggering of an epileptic seizure might be the speed of communication among the synchronized neurons. And this speed, in turn, might be related to how glial cells process calcium ions. The glial cells are now known to be sensitive to neurotransmitters which initiate waves of calcium concentration among the glia like water waves rolling around the pool. Thus, the coming and going of epilepsy might be related to a chemical wave in the brain.

DIET FOR EPILEPTIC PATIENT


                                     KETOGENIC DIET
          The ketogenic diet is a high fat, low carbohydrate diet developed in the 1920s for the intractable epilepsy in children. A significant advancement was achieved by a diet having high ratio of ketogenic foods (fats) to antiketogenic foods i.e., carbohydrate and protein (Welder, 1920).
          A ketogenic diet consists of a daily regimen of 19/kg protein, enough fat to make up the desired caloric requirement and a very small amount of carbohydrates. The ketogenic potential to antiketogenic potential ratio of 3:1 potential should be achieved to produce enough ketonemia and acidemia to effect seizure control. Higher ketogenic: antiketogenic ratios correspond with increased anti epileptic activity. This diet was designed after the observation that fasting patients had fewer seizures. The main object was to induce starvation like condition in the body.

          The ratio is expressed in the following formula :
          Ketogenic potential                       0.9 (g fat) + 0.46 (gm. protein)
                                                             antiketogenic potential          =        (g carbohydrate) + 0.1 (g fat)
                                                                   + 0.58 (gm. protein)