title: Tall gastrodis tuber combined with antiepileptic drugs repairs abnormal perfusion foci in focal epilepsy.
abstract: One hundred patients with focal epilepsy were recruited for the present study and their seizures controlled with antiepileptic drugs. The patients then orally received a capsule of tall gastrodis tuber powder, a traditional Chinese drug, and underwent single photon emission computed tomography, long-term electroencephalogram, and CT/MRI. Blood drug levels were monitored throughout the study. Before treatment with tall gastrodis tuber, 35 of the 100 cases had abnormal CT/MRI scans; 79 cases had abnormal single photon emission computed tomography images; 86 cases had abnormal electroencephalogram; and a total of 146 abnormal perfusion foci were observed across the 100 subjects. After treatment, the number of patients with normal single photon emission computed tomography images increased by 12; normal electroencephalogram was observed in an additional 27 cases and the number of patients with epileptiform discharge decreased by 29 (34% of 86); the total number of abnormal perfusion foci decreased by 52 (36%) and changes in abnormal foci were visible in 65 patients. These changes indicate that the administration of tall gastrodis tuber in combination with antiepileptic drugs repairs abnormal perfusion foci in patients with focal epilepsy. Our results demonstrate that traditional Chinese drugs can repair abnormal perfusion foci and, as such, are a promising new pathway in the treatment of focal epilepsy.
authors.affiliation: Epilepsy Center, Second Hospital, Lanzhou University, Gansu Provincial Center for Prevention and Treatment of Epilepsy, Lanzhou 730030, Gansu Province, China.
authors.forename: Weimin
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Epilepsy Center, Second Hospital, Lanzhou University, Gansu Provincial Center for Prevention and Treatment of Epilepsy, Lanzhou 730030, Gansu Province, China.
authors.forename: Zhenyu
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: Epilepsy Center, Second Hospital, Lanzhou University, Gansu Provincial Center for Prevention and Treatment of Epilepsy, Lanzhou 730030, Gansu Province, China.
authors.forename: Yongqin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Epilepsy Center, Second Hospital, Lanzhou University, Gansu Provincial Center for Prevention and Treatment of Epilepsy, Lanzhou 730030, Gansu Province, China.
authors.forename: Yuxia
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Epilepsy Center, Second Hospital, Lanzhou University, Gansu Provincial Center for Prevention and Treatment of Epilepsy, Lanzhou 730030, Gansu Province, China.
authors.forename: Yaqing
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Epilepsy Center, Second Hospital, Lanzhou University, Gansu Provincial Center for Prevention and Treatment of Epilepsy, Lanzhou 730030, Gansu Province, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoli
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Dang
authors.affiliation: Epilepsy Center, Second Hospital, Lanzhou University, Gansu Provincial Center for Prevention and Treatment of Epilepsy, Lanzhou 730030, Gansu Province, China.
authors.forename: Wenjun
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Epilepsy Center, Second Hospital, Lanzhou University, Gansu Provincial Center for Prevention and Treatment of Epilepsy, Lanzhou 730030, Gansu Province, China.
authors.forename: Yinping
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Epilepsy Center, Second Hospital, Lanzhou University, Gansu Provincial Center for Prevention and Treatment of Epilepsy, Lanzhou 730030, Gansu Province, China.
authors.forename: Jiang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ye
keywords: abnormal perfusion focus; antiepileptic drugs; brain injury; combination therapy; focal epilepsy; grant-supported paper; long-term vigilance-controlled electroencephalogram; neuoregeneration; neural regeneration; neuroimaging; photographs-containing paper; region of interest; single photon emission computed tomography; tall gastrodis tuber; traditional Chinese medicine