Lactobacillus & enhanced cognitive function
I think I mentioned this a couple pages ago, but we put Jon on a probiotic about a month ago due to a flare-up of his IBD (Kid's Culturelle Powder, which is Lactobacillus).
So, anyway, we noticed that when he was on it, he was much calmer, less agitated, and less aggressive and more affectionate. I think I mentioned that back awhile ago, and also, after we noticed these happy changes, read a study that had been done in healthy young adults that found that Lactobacillus reduced anxiety...and something else -- I think I posted that link on this thread somewhere.
Anyway, I keep getting notes from Jon's teacher about how well he's been doing on cognitive tasks -- that he's suddenly doing stuff that he'd not been able (or willing) to do before, and is more on task and focused. Obviously, some of that would be from the Zonegran taper in May, but this has been progressive in the past several weeks. Could it be the Lactobacillus?
So, I went looking, and did find this study done on lab rats with hyperammonemia (which can cause encephalopathy, neuroinflammation, cognitive decline and anxiety disorder). Daily doses of Lactobacillus significantly reduced inflammatory markers, restored cognitive function, and improved anxiety-like behavior.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24554471
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On other fronts, just got the go-ahead from Jon's neurologist for the final wean of Zonegran. If all goes well, in about 3 weeks he will be completely AED free. :banana: