Autism Studies and Related Medical Conditions, January 2009 - TACA

aseline. Physicians reported quality-of-life improvements in all areas assessed for at
least 3 of the 6 children. More than half of the patients with autism (58%) experienced
at least a 50% reduction in seizure frequency at 12 months. Improvements in all areas
of quality of life monitored were reported for most patients, particularly for alertness
(76% at 12 months). Although these preliminary findings are encouraging, a
prospective study using standardized measurement tools specific to these disorders and
a longer-term follow-up are necessary to better gauge the efficacy of VNS therapy
among these patient populations.
248. El Idrissi A et al. Prevention of epileptic seizures by taurine. Adv Exp Med Biol.
2003;526:515-25. PMID: 12908638
249. Dufour F et al. Modulation of absence seizures by branched-chain amino acids:
correlation with brain amino acid concentrations. Neurosci Res. 2001 Jul;40(3):255-63.
PMID: 11448517
250. Borowicz KK et al. Two essential amino acids, L-lysine and L-histidine, in five
types of experimental seizures. Pol J Pharmacol. 2000 Sep-Oct;52(5):345-52. PMID:
11334226
L-Lysine (250-2,000 mg/kg) and L-histidine (1,000-2,000 mg/kg) significantly raised the
electroconvulsive threshold. D-Histidine (1,000 mg/kg) was completely ineffective in this
regard. Both amino acids were generally inactive in pentetrazole-, picrotoxin- and
aminophylline-induced seizures, though L-histidine (2,500 mg/kg) significantly reduced
the number of mice with clonic convulsions in the pentetrazole test. Also, L-lysine
(2,500 and 3,000 mg/kg) significantly diminished mortality rate in aminophyllineinduced
seizures. In addition, L-lysine (2,500-3,000 mg/kg) and L-histidine (2,000-2,500
mg/kg) delayed the onset of aminophylline- and picrotoxin-evoked convulsions. L-Lysine
and L-histidine (both up to 1,000 mg/kg) did not affect amygdala-kindled seizures in
rats. The results indicate that some of indispensable amino acids may play a role in the
inhibitory transmission in the central nervous system. A possibility arises that
appropriate diet may be an important supportive factor in the treatment of some
epileptic patients, probably suffering from generalized tonic-clonic seizures.
251. Kirchner A et al. Effects of taurine and glycine on epileptiform activity induced by
removal of Mg2+ in combined rat entorhinal cortex-hippocampal slices. Epilepsia. 2003
Sep;44(9):1145-52. PMID: 12919385
PURPOSE: The imbalance between neuronal inhibition and excitation contributes to
epileptogenesis. Inhibition in the central nervous system (CNS) is mediated by gammaaminobutyric
acid (GABA) and glycine. Recent studies indicate the expression of glycine
receptor (GlyR) in hippocampus and neocortex. However, the function of GlyR in these
regions is not clarified completely. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the
GlyR agonists glycine and taurine promote an anticonvulsive effect…. Likewise glycine,
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