Complementary and alternative medical therapies.
OBJECTIVE
Complementary and alternative medical therapies include herbs, acupuncture, and mind-body therapies. This review highlights the findings of recently published studies of complementary and alternative medical therapies and epilepsy, and provides an update of the US Food and Drug Administration's role in regulating herbal products.


RESULTS
Complementary and alternative medical therapies are often tried by patients with epilepsy, frequently without physician knowledge. Many modalities have been evaluated in patients with epilepsy, though methodological issues preclude any firm conclusions of efficacy or safety. Some herbal medicines have been shown experimentally to have mechanisms of action relevant to epilepsy and promising actions in animal models.


CONCLUSIONS
There is currently a paucity of credible evidence to support the use of complementary and alternative medical therapies in patients with epilepsy. Herbal medicines traditionally used for epilepsy and compounds isolated from them, as well as other herbal medicines and their constituent compounds that have been shown experimentally to have mechanisms of action relevant to epilepsy, should undergo further preclinical evaluation with a view towards clinical development under the new US Food and Drug Administration guidelines. Additional studies of other, nonherbal complementary and alternative medical therapies are also warranted based on anecdotal observations or pilot studies that suggest a favorable risk-benefit ratio.
Schachter
Steven C
SC
Osher Research Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA. sschacht@bidmc.harvard.edu
D026881:Acupuncture / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic / Q000592:standards; D000529:Complementary Therapies / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends*; D004335:Drug and Narcotic Control / Q000639:trends; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine / Q000592:standards; D029001:Herbal Medicine / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D026441:Mind-Body Therapies / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use
D010936:Plant Extracts