LifeCare Chiropractic

The Best Chiropractic Care in Mesa, Arizona

epilepsy

POOR BLOOD FLOW IN THE BRAIN LINKED TO CHIROPRACTIC CONDITION

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Can we all agree that more blood flow to the brain is a good thing?  I’m sure anyone experiencing a blood choke in ju-jitsu would agree-it’s NOT the best feeling in the world.

Increased blood flow to the brain means more nutrients, more oxygen and more removal of waste products.  These are all ideal situations and lead to increased brain health.  The converse is equally as bad.

We already know of several things that increase blood flow to the brain, such as exercise and whole body vibration.  In addition to increasing blod flow, increasing the availability of nutrients that improve the production of ATP in the mitochondria such as choline, CoQ10, Vitamin E (as mixed tocopherols–NOT straight alpha tocoperol) and alpha-lipoic acid will also result in very positive improvements in brain function and will likely lead to reductions in the risk of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, dementia, hearing loss, migraines and seizures.

So what’s missing from this list?

Based on this particular study, chiropractic treatment.

Researchers looked at the effect of chronic neck and upper back pain on the blood flow in the brain (cerebral perfusion).  They found that these patients with pain had less blood flow into their brains when compared to those who did not have chronic pain.  In the worst case, those with the most severe pain had 45% less blood flow to the parietal and frontal regions of the brain.  The parietal region functions heavily in evaluation the spatial relationships within our bodies and environment, while the frontal lobe is involved in higher mental functions like personality and decision making.

Given how important these regions of the brain are, I’m thinking that 45% sounds like way too much of a loss.  Now this does not mean that you run up to your favorite dolt and poke them in the upper trapezius muscle and ask if it hurts, but certainly entertains the additional value of chiropractic care to address pain in these regions.

If the combination of soft tissue treatment, at home stretches / yoga and chiropractic adjusting can help to increase movement in this region and reduce pain, it would make sense that blood flow to the brain would improve.  This would make chiropractic care an integral component of the treatment of the above mentioned conditions like seizures, migraines and dementia.  But that’s my biased opinion…

DRUG TREATMENT IN EPILEPSY AND MIGRAINES

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BRAIN DAMAGE OCCURS DESPITE SUCCESSFUL DRUG TREATMENT IN EPILEPSY AND MIGRAINES.  One of my continuing frustrations in our treatment of seizures (this includes true migraines) is that we view the treatement as successful if the seizures or migraines have stopped.  The reality is all we’ve done is dumbed down the brain cells’ ability to communicate with one another, but have not improved the health of the neurons.  In many cases it is quite the opposite.

This study adds weight to this idea in finding that treatment with one AED (Depakote) actually stopped the brain’s ability to recover from insult (plasticity) and promoted cognitive loss.

MORE UNDERSTANDING OF THE CAUSES OF EPILEPSY

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Many doctors that deal with epileptic patients will just shake their heads and say that we really do not know what causes seizures and epilepsy.  The best reply to this statement would be to ask this particular doctor what they are personally reading to keep up with the rapidly changing world of medical literature.  The answer is usually less than ideal.

Read the entire article here

POWERHOUSE DIET ROCKS AGAIN FOR SEIZURES

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So we’ve talked several times about the ketogenic diet and how incredibly effective it is at controlled seizures.  The numbers are very consistent in study after study and, quite frankly, are amazing.

So amazing, in fact, that I remain stumped as to why this isn’t the FIRST path of treatment rather than the absolute last.  The ketogenic diet is almost always used in refractory seizures, which means that the diet is not used until a vast array of medications have been used and have failed.

The ketogenic diet is similar to the Atkins’ diet, in that it is very high in proteins and fat.  The argument against the ketogenic diet is that it is hard to remain compliant with, because apparently having your brain damaged by aberrant firing of neurons is not as important as that slice of bread.

However, recent studies have shown that the modified ketogenic diet, which allows a slightly higher percentage of carbohydrates, is just as effective.  This particular study looks at the compliance argument and pretty much bashes it to shreds.

In a long term follow up study of the ketogenic diet in children over 20 years, 65% of the patients remained on the diet.  I can tell you that, in terms of medication, to get 64% of patients to be compliant with taking a medication for TWENTY years is practically unheard of.

Further,  20% became seizure free and 36% had a 75–99% decrease in seizures. Overall, 56% of the patients had a seizure reduction of more than 75%.  Holy cow! 

So what happened to those who didn’t continue the diet?  Twenty patients who had become seizure free discontinued the diet, but seizures recurred in five (25%). Of 40 patients with a seizure reduction of more than 50% who discontinued the diet, only 25% presented with recurrent seizures.  This means that there was a clear, long lasting benefit to seizure reduction just from being on the diet.

So again, I ask the question about why we use this diet only in refractory seizures.  It is exceedingly powerful.  Patients who follow the diet are very likely to stay on it long term.  AND, it seems to positively change the long term likelihood of having a seizure even in those who discontinue the diet.

DO YOUR MENSTRUAL CYCLES AFFECT YOUR MOOD?

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Let’s be real here.  I think the above question, from a male’s standpoint, is purely rhetorical.  But why?  While many may disagree, the normal female cycle should be of minimal impact and last maybe 3-4 days.  Anything past that–any pain, heavy bleeding or increased / decreased frequency is abnormal.

In today’s society, the answer given to most is the birth control pill.  Unfortunately, the BCP does not fix a darn thing, and may actually make the underlying condition worse.

This particular study is done by Dr. Andrew Herzog at Harvard.  Dr. Herzog has done some amazing research on the powerful impact of progesterone on seizures in women.  In this study, his team goes beyond seizures and looks at Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD).  As far as I know, PMDD was a condition created when Prosac was going off patent and they needed to find a condition is could be used for to get a new patent.  So they merely created one.  Got to give them points for creativity..

Progresterone gets converted to a neurosteroid called allopregnonalone.  This is one of the most protective anti-seizure compounds on the planet, synthetic or natural.  Thus, a woman have problems with her cycles will likely have too little progesterone being produced, sending the brain into havoc. 

Post partum depression, mood disorders and seizures can all be a result.  Thus, restoration of optimal levels of progesterone is very important.  This means managing prediabetes (a major contributor because the elevated testosterone shuts down healthy ovarian function and release of progesterone from the corpus luteum).  It means lowering your exposure to environmental estrogens from constipation, plastics and other chemicals as well as maintaining an ideal body weight.

Topical progesterone can also be a good temporary fix to supplement the body’s production of progesterone until the other physiological problems are brought into balance.

Read more…

INCREDIBLE TREATMENT FOR EPILEPSY REALLY THIS SIMPLE?

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Few neurologists, as a front line discussion, will bring up the ability of anything other than medications to alter seizure susceptibility.  There is rarely discussion of stress management, exercise, targeted nutraceuticals, avoidance of excitotoxins like MSG and Nutrisweet.  There is rarely a discussion of the power of diet; specifically the ketogenic diet.

A decade ago, few would have understood or even heard of the ketogenic diet.  However, due to the similarities to the popular Atkin’s diet, most would find the carbohydrate restrictions of the ketogenic diet familiar.

When it comes to seizure control, the ketogenic diet is amazingly powerful.  Consistently across studies, 1/3 of those on a ketogenic diet have >90% seizure reduction and another 1/3 have >50% reduction.  This is powerful stuff.  Far, far more effective than any anti-seizure medication available.  And yet it is considered as a last line of approach to seizure control (especially in children) instead of the first line.

The strict carb restriction, tendency towards constipation and the concern over certain nutrients deficiences lead many to think that this is a tough program to follow.  This is one of the frequent reasons cited as to why it is so uncommonly used. 

Surprisingly, there is little research into why the ketogenic diet is effective.  We can through billions at developing new drugs, but can’t spend pennies on a study of diet.  We do know that a less strict version such as the modified Atkin’s diet can provide similar seizure control and is more tolerable.  We know that the increase in polyunsaturated fat intake (think olive oil and nuts) plays a large role in the seizure reduction.

This particular article begins to delve even more intently into the cellular mechanisms of the ketogenic diet and determine that the adenosine A1 receptor may be a target by increasing the amount of adenosine, which is a potent molecule already known to be involved in seizure prevention in animals. (http://www.jci.org/articles/view/58391)

The more we know about how the ketogenic diet works, the more we can tease apart the aspects of the diet that are important and keep the aspects the are critical.  This may increase not only the effectiveness, but the palatability of the diet as a lifestyle.

http://www.jci.org/articles/view/57813