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COMPLEMENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE
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Volume 2 (Issue 3)
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 Exciting things are happening in the treatment of epilepsy. In November 2001, New York
University Medical Centre hosted an international conference on “Complementary and Alternative Therapies for Epilepsy.” The conference, organized by F.A.C.E.S. (Fight Against Childhood Epilepsy & Seizures), featured presentations by a wide range of practitioners of both standard medicine and complementary and alternative therapies. This issue of Epilepsy Matters summarizes the content of many of the talks at the conference. For some people, anticonvulsant medications and surgical options alone cannot provide sufficient seizure control or an acceptable quality of life. Others may have adequate control and quality of life, but want to learn everything they can about all the options available. According to Dr. Orrin Devinsky, medical director of the NYU Comprehensive Epilepsy Center and the lead-off presenter at the conference, 70 percent of people on anticonvulsants experience side effects and/or lack seizure control. He says there may be a role for specific complementary and alternative therapies for managing epilepsy, and advocates a partnership between science-based medicine and complementary and alternative medicine for improvement of seizure control. He reminds us that for most of our history we relied on complementary and alternative medicine, until the advent in the 1800’s of “modern, western, science-based medicine.”
Many substances and methods purported over the years to help control seizures have no strong scientific basis, and/or no proven track record. As we explore options for managing epilepsy in the hope of improving our health and quality of life, it is important not to be drawn in by convincing marketing strategies for ineffective treatment, but rather to focus on finding safe and effective treatments. One of the prime messages of the conference was that, no matter which approach we choose, kindness, caring, information and hope are central to all healing.
More from the conference
preface/disclaimer: the content of this newsletter is a report from a conference featuring a wide range of practitioners of both standard medicine and complementary and alternative therapies. The information provided is our best attempt to accurately convey a brief summary of the content presented, based upon material provided by the speakers. The Canadian Epilepsy Alliance does not endorse the therapies, treatments, practitioners, or resources presented here. Always consult your physician before making any changes to your treatment plan. Not all the approaches discussed here are available in all regions. |
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