I've been participating in this great forum on a couple other threads regarding gut origin of seizure where neurology currently treats the disorder from the neck up. I've been trying to heal our dog's seizure cluster disorder of intestinal origin for the past 4 years. She passed by accident last week tragically due to a seizure triggered by morning sunlight, drowning in our pool. I had left her alone barely a minute and then thought she got out the back fence, so searched the neighborhood instead of realizing she might be under the pool cover seizing. Oh, the grief. She was making such fantastic strides based on healing her gut. I'd like to believe she would have been seizure-free eventually, but I know it was still an uphill battle. Based on gut therapy, horrific clusters seemed to be a thing of the past as I was able to halt what would have been 3 day clusters after just one seizure, monumental akin to stopping a freight train. It's been rough, though I can't imagine having a child with the problem; my heart goes out to everyone here. My dog inspired a life of work and learning. I'll soon submit a case report to the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association Journal sounding the alarm about gut origin of seizure. Huge thanks go out to Robin, Bernard and Eric for participating in these two threads where I've shared info about gut origin of seizure:
http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com...tophan-help-prevent-seizures-5183/index5.html
http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/forums/f23/systemic-candida-causing-seizures-2915/index4.html
Our dog suffered several photosensitive seizures, especially in the morning. Her gut was also more vulnerable in early morning hours. She was susceptible to both flickering light through trees and direct sunlight, but not when the sun was overhead in the afternoon. Now how is this related to intestinal imbalance also known as gut dysbiosis? I've been exploring the issue related to histamine excess and the lining of the small intestine here on my facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152089618110602&l=356b699e6d
Basically, the gut-brain connection is a two-way street. Brain can affect gut via stress and the gut can affect the brain on its own (that's the real underdiagnosed issue in the field of epilepsy including, I believe, the excruciating problem of Infantile Spasm).
One mechanism involves excess histamine, something microbes can make themselves, but also regulate production from mast cells in the gut. They may also be doing this to regulate mucin (mucus) generated by goblet cells. As my facebook exploration points out, there is a deficiency in DAO enzyme needed to break down histamine and ways to help including vitamin C, glucosamine sulfate and others including propolis used carefully. These things are known to help with migraines; perhaps they also apply to epilepsy. Healing/balancing the gut is more art than science these days. Here's a new article with a section about the two-way street. I've been learning about how the gut affects the brain, finally delving more into how the brain affects the gut, something much more commonly understood by neurology. The fact is the brain can affect the gut which then exacerbates problems in the brain, or the gut can do this on its own. http://www.apa.org/monitor/2012/09/gut-feeling.aspx
Now here's the connection to light as trigger: optic neuritis which is nerve inflammation caused by excess histamine. Isn't it interesting people with epilepsy need to be very careful in using antihistamines? One natural antihistamine I believe was really helping our dog is also a very powerful natural antibiotic: bee propolis. She had been on a month of an antibiotic called Rifaximin which works only in the gut. This allowed her to withstand large doses of probiotcs to recolonize when previously small doses caused seizure. Propolis seemed to be the final piece of the puzzle as it can normalize an imbalanced gut where pharmaceutical antibiotics fail, i.e., spore-forming clostridium bacteria. It remains to be known if some crucial types of beneficial flora can ever be recolonized (some children may be born imbalanced) such as the anaerobic bacteria and archaea. There are lots of implications including antibiotic abuse, routine vaccination and poor sanitation as causes of gut dysbiosis.
Here are some interesting associated links:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9950609 (this paper discusses histamine function in the morning in eyes)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1073153/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20803970
http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/forums/f23/antihistamines-fexofanadine-epilepsy-14646/
http://physrev.physiology.org/content/88/3/1183.full
Note: ultraviolet light (UV) is also known to affect microbes directly, especially yeast, another exploration connected with neurodegenerative disorders such as geographic distribution of multiple sclerosis.
Today happens to be International Day of Peace and I wish peace to everyone here . . . no stress wherever its origin.
Keith
http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com...tophan-help-prevent-seizures-5183/index5.html
http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/forums/f23/systemic-candida-causing-seizures-2915/index4.html
Our dog suffered several photosensitive seizures, especially in the morning. Her gut was also more vulnerable in early morning hours. She was susceptible to both flickering light through trees and direct sunlight, but not when the sun was overhead in the afternoon. Now how is this related to intestinal imbalance also known as gut dysbiosis? I've been exploring the issue related to histamine excess and the lining of the small intestine here on my facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152089618110602&l=356b699e6d
Basically, the gut-brain connection is a two-way street. Brain can affect gut via stress and the gut can affect the brain on its own (that's the real underdiagnosed issue in the field of epilepsy including, I believe, the excruciating problem of Infantile Spasm).
One mechanism involves excess histamine, something microbes can make themselves, but also regulate production from mast cells in the gut. They may also be doing this to regulate mucin (mucus) generated by goblet cells. As my facebook exploration points out, there is a deficiency in DAO enzyme needed to break down histamine and ways to help including vitamin C, glucosamine sulfate and others including propolis used carefully. These things are known to help with migraines; perhaps they also apply to epilepsy. Healing/balancing the gut is more art than science these days. Here's a new article with a section about the two-way street. I've been learning about how the gut affects the brain, finally delving more into how the brain affects the gut, something much more commonly understood by neurology. The fact is the brain can affect the gut which then exacerbates problems in the brain, or the gut can do this on its own. http://www.apa.org/monitor/2012/09/gut-feeling.aspx
Now here's the connection to light as trigger: optic neuritis which is nerve inflammation caused by excess histamine. Isn't it interesting people with epilepsy need to be very careful in using antihistamines? One natural antihistamine I believe was really helping our dog is also a very powerful natural antibiotic: bee propolis. She had been on a month of an antibiotic called Rifaximin which works only in the gut. This allowed her to withstand large doses of probiotcs to recolonize when previously small doses caused seizure. Propolis seemed to be the final piece of the puzzle as it can normalize an imbalanced gut where pharmaceutical antibiotics fail, i.e., spore-forming clostridium bacteria. It remains to be known if some crucial types of beneficial flora can ever be recolonized (some children may be born imbalanced) such as the anaerobic bacteria and archaea. There are lots of implications including antibiotic abuse, routine vaccination and poor sanitation as causes of gut dysbiosis.
Here are some interesting associated links:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9950609 (this paper discusses histamine function in the morning in eyes)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1073153/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20803970
http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/forums/f23/antihistamines-fexofanadine-epilepsy-14646/
http://physrev.physiology.org/content/88/3/1183.full
Note: ultraviolet light (UV) is also known to affect microbes directly, especially yeast, another exploration connected with neurodegenerative disorders such as geographic distribution of multiple sclerosis.
Today happens to be International Day of Peace and I wish peace to everyone here . . . no stress wherever its origin.
Keith
Last edited by a moderator: