Study suggests promising results for epilepsy surgery

Study suggests promising results for epilepsy surgery as you can read in this BBC News report. "The most common type of surgery undertaken on people in the study was temporal lobe surgery, which focuses on the area of the brain behind the forehead between the ear and the eye, where most seizures originate. Researchers who carried out the study, published in The Lancet, reported that 63% of all patients were free of seizures two years after surgery (excluding simple partial seizures), 52% after five years and 47% after 10 years." - I can't say I'd consider these percentages very 'promising' myself...

But you may be very hesitant about embarking on brain surgery - and I'd certainly be with you on that! - and you probably wish there could be a third option, i.e. not surgery and not drugs either. - I'd be with you about avoiding anti-epilepsy drugs too because they tend to have undesirable side-effects, don't they? (Though some of the serious side-effects, e.g. weight gain, from anti-epileptics such as Epilim, can be greatly reduced by cutting down on salt and salty food. See amitriptyline and other drugs.)

Well there is indeed a third option, and it has much to commend it. - Maybe you have already heard of it? - The ketogenic diet? - The ketogenic diet is a high fat, adequate protein, low carbohydrate diet. Maybe you have heard of it but been advised that it is a difficult diet to stick to, and so you haven't given it further thought. - But compared with brain surgery! - Surely it's a no-brainer as an option to brain surgery!? - Check out this excellent, reassuring article about this kind of diet. As a matter of fact, although I do not suffer from epilepsy, I nevertheless eat a ketogenic diet and have done so for many months now and it suits me very well. You may like to consider it and discuss it with your medical adviser and read further about it on the internet.

Sodium Valproate (Epilim) Poses Risk of Major Birth Defects if Taken During Pregnancy

WARNING!
The FDA is updating the warning for the antimigraine and antiepileptic drug valproate sodium and related drugs, which include Depacon, Depakote, Depakene and Stavzor. Use during pregnancy can cause neural tube defects and other major birth defects. The agency released information for healthcare professionals on December 3, alerting them that women of childbearing age should be informed that the use of these drugs could cause a wide variety of birth defects.
Read article at aboutlawsuits.com (USA)

Leicester Royal Infirmary's inexcusable delay over Dr Andrew Holton's wrong treatment that led to suffering and death for 3 year old Ryan Pitcher

BBC News reports that Leicester Royal Infirmary took years to apologise and admit responsibility for the death of 3 year old Ryan Pitcher. Dr Andrew Holton, a consultant paediatrician, misdiagnosed hundreds of children over 10 years at the hospital and was responsible for the "incorrect treatment" for epilepsy that Ryan received. His parents described Ryan as "like a zombie" on the medication he was prescribed.

Ryan died in 1997. Since then, we read in thisisleicestershire.co.uk, his "devastated family has told of a 12-year battle to find out why their young son died," and that, "Since then, an investigation has found Dr Holton had misdiagnosed 618 cases and put 500 children on the wrong doses of drugs."

"Compensation of around £3m has been paid by the trust to children wrongly diagnosed with epilepsy by Dr Holton."

I hope you will click on the links and read the articles. Severe and avoidable suffering was inflicted on hundreds of children because of the customary failure of the NHS to take complaints seriously and to act appropriately to save other patients from harm when grave medical mistakes are made. This shocking case reaffirms the low priority the NHS accords to patient safety. It routinely protects negligent/incompetent/ill-informed and frankly dangerous doctors, rather than protecting their innocent, suffering patients/victims.

This matter is a national scandal of which the NHS should be deeply ashamed.

(The drug that caused most damage to Ryan was sodium valproate, aka Epilim. Beware of this drug! Doctors do not seem to be very well-informed about its harmful side-effects.)

The babies of women who take topiramate, an epilepsy drug, while pregnant are at increased risk of birth defects, scientists warn.

Warning over epilepsy drug topiramate linked to birth defects
Article in the Telegraph

Extract:

"The drug topiramate, which is also used to treat migraines in some people, was linked to a significantly higher risk of cleft palate or lip and genital deformities.

Experts say that epilepsy drugs should be used with caution in pregnant women due to the risks.

However, epileptic seizures can also harm the unborn child and lead to miscarriages so women with epilepsy are advised to consult their doctor when trying to become pregnant.

A new study published in the journal Neurology, examined 178 babies born to women who fell pregnant while taking topiramate alone or in combination with other drugs.

Sixteen babies had major birth defects, three of them were born to women only taking topiramate and the others were born to women taking it in combination with other drugs."