Interesting thought about sulfur. I was looking into that a week or so ago, and then got sidetracked and forgot to pursue it. Zonegran (which did work to stop Jon's tonic-clonics, but which he was just weaned off) is a sulfonamide -- contains sulfur.
ETA: was trying to remember why I was looking up sulfur to begin with, and just now remembered because of it's anti-inflammatory properties. Very high in meat, fish, garlic, onions
Karen,
In the late 1990s I saw a neurologist who had participated in some of the research on L-Taurine. He noted that adding the taurine as a supplement seemed to work to correct something gone wrong with metabolism. He suggested that this imbalance is sometimes corrected in about two years, when I began to taper off on using it.
The amino acid, L-taurine, does have some history and research behind it for use with seizures, more recently for Tourette's syndrome. As I wrote earlier, this amino acid is what put a final end to my partial seizures leaving me seizure free since 1998. In the book, "The Healing Nutrients Within, (about amino acids)" there is a lot of information on L-taurine and some of the earlier research that is well worth looking into. It looks like the book is now available online on google books:
The Healing Nutrients Within: Facts, Findings, and New Research on Amino Acids Eric R. Braverman, Carl ... TAURINE LOADING Taurine is a well-absorbed amino acid with few side ... and symptoms of taurine deficiency include epilepsy, anxiety, hyperactivity, and impaired brain function. Availability Free-form L-taurine is available in 500 mg capsules.
https://books.google.com/books?id=-...l-taurine sulfur amino acids epilepsy&f=false
In "Epilepsy: A New Approach: What Medicine Can do; What you can do for Yourself," the authors write about using L-taurine on page 172: "The amino acid, taurine, occurs naturally n the body as a by-product of metabolism. it is not one of the eight essential amino acids. However, it's importance has recently been recognized, and it is now being adde to commercial infant formulas such as Similac to make them more equivalent to breast milk, which is rich in taurine. In the brain, taurine helps to stabilize nerve cell membranes and prevent the neurons from sending too many impulses too fast, which is what happens in a seizure. Taurine is closely associated with manganese, and it may work with manganese to alleviate seizure conditions."
On page 174: "Taurine: Certain esential brain chemicals are metabolized from protein. One of these, taurine, has been taken as a supplemental therapy with success in reducing seizures."
There are some possible side effects, Which the authors note on page 173 where they suggest using 500mg A.M and P.M.: "For some people taurine in such high dosages may give some peptic ulcer distress. It disappears when the Taurine Is Discontinued. "
took it for several years at higher doses before having any GI distress and stopped using it. I do use it for periods of time now when it seems like I might benefit from it.
The following Google searches will turn up more good information on this topic:
"sulfur amino acids" "seizures"
"l-taurine for seizures"
Reading the earlier research gave me a lot of insight into how diet and anticonvulsants may factor into triggering seizures. One last link here:
Prevention of epileptic seizures by taurine.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/...
National Center for Biotechnology Information
by A El Idrissi - ?2003 - ?Cited by 78 - ?Related articles
Prevention of epileptic seizures by taurine. El Idrissi A(1), Messing J, Scalia J, Trenkner E. Author information: (1)New York State Institute for Basic Research in...
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12908638