2012年11月21日 訊 /生物谷BIOON/ --近日,，研究人員從耐藥性癲癇重癥患兒所使用的特定飲食中發(fā)現(xiàn)一種新的藥物,，該藥物或許是治療癲癇的新方法，相關(guān)研究結(jié)果發(fā)表在雜志Neuropharmacology上,。
皇家霍洛威學(xué)院科學(xué)家與倫敦大學(xué)學(xué)院（University College London）合作,，確定了某種脂肪酸具有強(qiáng)大的抗癲癇作用，它可以幫助控制兒童和成人的癲癇發(fā)作,。這一發(fā)現(xiàn)可能代替現(xiàn)有的生酮飲食,，生酮飲食往往給耐藥性癲癇兒童帶來嚴(yán)重副作用,。
高脂肪、低碳水化合物的飲食模仿機(jī)體饑餓狀態(tài),，迫使身體燃燒脂肪，而不是碳水化合物,。這種飲食結(jié)構(gòu)往往是有效的,，但它也引來了不少批評，因?yàn)槠滹@著副作用,，如可能導(dǎo)致便秘,，低血糖，生長遲緩和骨折,。通過針對脂肪酸的生酮飲食雖然能有效控制癲癇,，但研究人員希望他們可以開發(fā)出藥丸可以控制癲癇，同時(shí)又不會帶來副作用,。
皇家霍洛威學(xué)院生物醫(yī)學(xué)科學(xué)中心的教授Robin Williams說：這是一個(gè)重要的突破,，我們已經(jīng)確定中鏈脂肪酸家族有安全之治療癲癇的潛力。這項(xiàng)研究測試了生酮飲食中一系列脂肪酸對癲癇的治療作用,。
倫敦大學(xué)學(xué)院神經(jīng)學(xué)研究所Matthew Walker教授說：癲癇影響超過50億人,，是全球約三分之一的癲癇患者沒有得到充分治療。這一發(fā)現(xiàn)提供了一個(gè)全新的方法來治療耐藥性癲癇兒童和成人,。（生物谷：Bioon.com）
doi:10.1016/j.neuropharm.2012.11.004
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Seizure control by ketogenic diet-associated medium chain fatty acids
Pishan Changa, Nicole Terbacha, Nick Plantb, et al.
The medium chain triglyceride (MCT) ketogenic diet is used extensively for treating refractory childhood epilepsy. This diet increases the plasma levels of medium straight chain fatty acids. A role for these and related fatty acids in seizure control has not been established. We compared the potency of an established epilepsy treatment, Valproate (VPA), with a range of MCT diet-associated fatty acids (and related branched compounds), using in vitro seizure and in vivo epilepsy models, and assessed side effect potential in vitro for one aspect of teratogenicity, for liver toxicology and in vivo for sedation, and for a neuroprotective effect. We identify specific medium chain fatty acids (both prescribed in the MCT diet, and related compounds branched on the fourth carbon) provide significantly enhanced in vitro seizure control compared to VPA. The activity of these compounds on seizure control is independent of histone deacetylase inhibitory activity (associated with the teratogenicity of VPA), and does not correlate with liver cell toxicity. In vivo, these compounds were more potent in epilepsy control (perforant pathway stimulation induced status epilepticus), showed less sedation and enhanced neuroprotection compared to VPA. Our data therefore implicates medium chain fatty acids in the mechanism of the MCT ketogenic diet, and highlights a related new family of compounds that are more potent than VPA in seizure control with a reduced potential for side effects.
