Probiotics May Help Reduce Seizures in Epilepsy Patients

Source: Frontiers in microbiology

Summary

Researchers studied the effects of probiotics on people with epilepsy by analyzing data from six clinical trials that included a total of 656 patients. These trials compared the use of probiotics alongside standard anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) to using AEDs alone. The goal was to see if adding probiotics could help improve seizure control and overall treatment outcomes.

The findings showed that patients who took probiotics along with their AEDs had better results than those who only took AEDs. Specifically, those in the probiotic group experienced fewer seizures, shorter seizure durations, and improvements in certain brain activity measurements. Importantly, there were no significant differences in side effects between the two groups, suggesting that probiotics were safe to use alongside standard treatments.

This study is important because it suggests that probiotics could be a helpful addition to traditional epilepsy treatments, potentially improving the quality of life for those affected. However, the researchers noted that the number of studies included was small, which means more research is needed to confirm these results and understand how probiotics work in epilepsy management.

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