New study examines effectiveness of traditional & non traditional seizure treatment for ASD

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A portion of the funding from this study was provided by ARI
New study examines effectiveness of traditional & non-traditional seizure treatments for ASD

A study published in this month's BMC Pediatrics provides insight into which traditional and non-traditional medical treatments are potentially most beneficial for individuals with autism spectrum disorder and seizures.

Richard E. Frye, MD, PhD from the University of Texas in Houston and James B. Adams, PhD from the Arizona State University in Tempe surveyed 733 parents of children with autism spectrum disorder and seizures, epilepsy, and/or sub-clinical seizure-like brain activity in order to rate the effectiveness of 25 traditional and 20 non-traditional medical treatments for seizures. The survey also assessed the effect of those treatments on other symptoms (sleep, communication, behavior, attention and mood), and side effects.

Overall, anti-epileptic drugs were reported by parents to improve seizures but worsen other symptoms, while non-antiepileptic drugs were perceived to improve other symptoms without improving seizures to the same extent as the anti-epileptic drugs. Four anti-epileptic drugs, valproic acid, lamotrigine, levetiracetam, and ethosuximide, were reported to improve seizures the most, and, in general, they showed little positive or negative effect on other symptoms. Certain traditional non-anti-epileptic drug treatments, particularly the ketogenic diet, were perceived to improve both seizures and other symptoms.

Dr. Frye concludes, "The information gained from this study will help physicians more effectively manage children with autism spectrum disorder and seizures." Dr. Adams states: "This study suggests that several non-traditional treatments, such as special diets (ketogenic, Atkins, and gluten-free, casein-free), are worth further investigation as adjunct treatments for treating seizures."

Roughly 25 to 35 percent of individuals with autism eventually develop seizures - and many of the remainder have sub-clinical seizure-like brain activity; however, little is known about which treatments are effective for the ASD population.

Learn More - Read the complete study in BMC Pediatrics