Effect of Curcumin on Pediatric Intractable Epilepsy.

Objectives: Epilepsy is the most prevalent chronic neurologic disorder in children. One-third of patients with epilepsy do not respond to antiepileptic drugs. This condition is known as intractable epilepsy. Previous studies have shown the beneficial effects of curcumin in the treatment of epilepsy. There are no randomized controlled clinical trials assessing the use of curcumin in epilepsy. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of nanomicelle curcumin on intractable pediatric epilepsy. Materials & Methods: This double-blinded randomized crossover clinical trial was performed by a consecutive sampling to select 22 patients with intractable epilepsy divided into two groups. Patients received a daily dose of 4 mg/kg of curcumin or placebo as add-on therapy for 4 weeks. After a 2-week washout period, the treatment was replaced, and the new treatment was given for another 4 weeks. The SPSS software version 16 was used for statistical analysis. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Iran. Results: A total of 22 children were enrolled in this study, 11 of which were boys. The mean age of the patients was 4.28±5 years. A female patient taking a placebo was excluded in the first week of the trial due to parental dissatisfaction. The most common type of seizure among our patients was a generalized myoclonic seizure (42.9%). The mean number of seizure attacks among the subjects was 68.76±69.26 pre-intervention and 39.85±39.41at the end of the intervention, which represents a statistically significant difference (P=0.01). Conclusion: Nanomicelle curcumin reduced the number of seizures significantly. Our results imply that curcumin treatment can help treat patients with intractable pediatric epilepsy.

Sleep Apnea Syndrome after Posterior Fossa Surgery: A Case of Acquired Ondine's Curse.

INTRODUCTION: Ondine's Curse is a catastrophic but rare condition in adults. It is referred to as a congenital or acquired condition, in which the patient cannot breathe automatically while asleep. Acquired causes of this disease can be any cause affecting the ventrolateral part of the medulla, which is considered to be the breathing center in humans.  CASE REPORT: A 51-year-old woman, with ataxia and the symptoms and signs of rising Intra-Cranial Pressure, who underwent ventriculoperitoneal shunting and removal of tumour, developed episodic apnea during sleep after surgery and hypercapnia when awake. In her post-operative CT scan, some fine spots of hypodensity in the left lateral part of the medulla were observed. She was managed pharmacologically and underwent tracheotomy. After 50 days, she was discharged from the hospital when she was able to breathe normally. CONCLUSION: Having experience with this condition after resection of a fourth ventricle tumor, it was found that Ondine's Curse can be considered as one of the complications of posterior fossa surgery and is curable by proper management.