CURRENT STATUS OF EPILEPSY IN MALAYSIA AND WAY AHEAD
Keywords:
Epilepsy, Malaysia, Impact on quality of life, Medicinal plants, Anti-epilepticsAbstract
Epilepsy is the third most common neurological disorder, following stroke and Alzheimer's disease with the highest frequency of newly identified cases occurring among children and adults. About 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, and nearly 80% of epilepsy occur in developing countries including Malaysia. In Malaysia, epilepsy is still a highly misunderstood and a number of studies explored the poor understanding of the illness. Epilepsy patients have the serious impact on quality of life. Both individuals and families of the patients have an appalling experience. Another factor is cost of AEDs which is very high. It is a burden for both patients and their families to meet the costs. There is a significant need persists to develop an accessible, cost effective, efficacious and less toxic antiepileptic drugs. Natural products used in traditional herbal medicine can be an important source for the search of novel anti-epileptogenic compounds. A number of plants used in traditional medicine have shown to possess anticonvulsant activity. Malaysia is rich in medicinal plants. Attempts have been made in the past to explore the effectiveness of some medicinal plants for the treatment of epilepsy, but the rationale for selection of plants was not justifiable and hence they failed to get a hit. Some of the Malaysian plants are used by traditional healers in the treatment of epilepsy, but their therapeutic effectiveness is not being scientifically explored. This review focused to enlighten the status of epilepsy and research required for the Malaysian medicinal plants for the treatment of epilepsy.
Â
Downloads
References
World Health Organization. Fact Sheet-Epilepsy; 2012.
Turner MD, Glickman RS. Epilepsy in the oral and maxillofacial patient: current therapy. J Oral Maxillofac Surg 2005;63(7):996-1005.
Jacobsen PL, Eden O. Epilepsy and the dental management of the epileptic patient. J Contemp Dent Pract 2008;9(1):54-62.
Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Epilepsy in adults and access to care--United States 2010. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2012;61(45):909.
.Neni SW, Latif AZA, Wong SY, Lua PL. Awareness, knowledge and attitudes towards epilepsy among rural populations in east coast peninsular malaysia: a preliminary exploration. Seizure 2010;19(5):280-90.
Rahman AFA. Awareness and knowledge of epilepsy among students in a Malaysian university. Seizure 2005;14(8):593-6.
Yayasan Sime Darby. Epilepsy Awareness and Treatment Program with Sime Darby Medical Centre Subang Jaya; 2014.
Ramasundrum V, Hussin ZAM, Tan CT. Public awareness, attitudes and understanding towards epilepsy in Kelantan, Malaysia. Neurol J Southeast Asia 2000;5:55-60.
Lim KS, Tan LP, Lim KT, Tan CT. Survey of public awareness, understanding, and attitudes toward epilepsy among Chinese in Malaysia. Neurol J Southeast Asia 1999;4:31-6.
Hasan SS, Wei WWG, Ahmadi K, Ahmed IS, Yong AKS, Anwar M. Knowledge and attitudes toward epilepsy among Malaysian Chinese. Int J Collab Res Int Med Pub Health 2010;2(11):361-76.
Epilepsy Council. Consensus guidelines on the management of epilepsy. Malaysia Soc Neurosci; 2010.
Ong LC, Yang WW, Wong SW, Siddiq FA, Khu YS. Sleep habits and disturbances in Malaysian children with epilepsy. J Paediatr Child Health 2010;46(3):80-4.
Hashim SN, Abdullah B, Abdullah JF, Tharakan J, Musa Y. Quality of life of epilepsy patients with obstructive sleep apnea in Malaysia. Biomed Res India 2013;24(2):230-4.
Lim KS, Wo SW, Wong MH, Tan CT. Impact of epilepsy on employment in Malaysia. Epilepsy Behav 2013;27(1):130-4.
Ahmad N, Othaman NI, Islahudin F. Medication adherence and quality of life in epilepsy patients. Int J Pharm Pharm Sci 2013;5(Suppl 2).
ViswanathanI S, Khalid RA. Socioeconomic and psychological impact of quality of life in Malaysian patients with epilepsy. Neurol Asia 2004;9(1):141.
Norsa’adah B, Zainab J, Knight A. The quality of life of people with epilepsy at a tertiary referral center in Malaysia. Health Qual Life Out 2013;11(1):143.
Hasan SS, Bahari MB, Babar ZU, Ganesan V. Antiepileptic drug utilization and seizure outcome among pediatric patients in a Malaysian public hospital. Singapore Med J 2010;51(1):21-7.
Neuropharmacology of Antiepileptic Drugs: Bromfield EB, Cavazos JE, Sirven JL. In: An Introduction to Epilepsy. West Hartfort: American Epilepsy Society; 2006.
Holmes GL. Role of glutamate and GABA in the pathophysiology of epilepsy. Ment Retard Dev DR 1995;1(3):208-19.
Sancheti JS, Shaikh MF, Khatwani PF, Kulkarni SR, Sathaye S. Development and validation of a hptlc method for simultaneous estimation of L-glutamic acid and γ-aminobutyric acid in mice brain. Indian J Pharm Sci 2013;75(6):716.
Faught RE, Weiner JR, Guerin A, Cunnington MC, Duh MS. Impact of nonadherence to antiepileptic drugs on health care utilization and costs: findings from the RANSOM study. Epilepsia 2009;50(3):501-9.
Shaikh MF, Sancheti J, Sathaye S. Effect of Eclipta alba on acute seizure models: a GABAA-mediated effect. Indian J Pharm Sci 2013;75(3):380.
Sancheti J, Shaikh MF, Akhade M, Shaikh FA, Sathaye S. Nutritional therapy for epilepsy. J Pharm Bio Sci 2013;4:149-56.
Wijeweera P, Arnason JT, Koszycki D, Merali Z. Evaluation of anxiolytic properties of Gotukola–(Centella asiatica) extracts and asiaticoside in rat behavioral models. Phytomed 2006;13(9):668-76.
Pan SY, Zhou SF, Gao SH, Yu ZL, Zhang SF, Tang MK, et al. New perspectives on how to discover drugs from herbal medicines: CAM's outstanding contribution to modern therapeutics. J Evidence-Based Complementary Altern Med 2013;6:273-5.
Spinella M. Herbal medicines and epilepsy: the potential for benefit and adverse effects. Epilepsy Behav 2001;2(6):524-32.
Peebles CT, McAuley JW, Roach J, Moore JL, Reeves AL. Alternative medicine use by patients with epilepsy. Epilepsy Behav 2000;1(1):74-7.
Al-Khamees WA, Schwartz MD, Alrashdi S, Algren AD, Morgan BW. Status epilepticus associated with borage oil ingestion. J Med Toxicol 2011;7(2):154-7.
Kaufman DW, Kelly JP, Rosenberg L, Anderson TE, Mitchell AA. Recent patterns of medication use in the ambulatory adult population of the United States: The Slone survey. JAMA 2002;287(3):337-44.
Quintans Júnior LJ, Almeida JRGS, Lima JT, Nunes XP, Siqueira JS, Oliveira LEGD, et al. Plants with anticonvulsant properties: a review. Braz J Pharmacog 2008;18:798-819.
Farooq SM, Alla TR, Rao NV, Prasad K, Shalam, Nandakumar K, et al. A study on CNS effects of milk extract of nuts of Semecarpus anacardium Linn (Anacardiaceae). Pharmacol Online 2007;1:49-63.
Singh J. Plants to cure epilepsy? Deccan Herald; 2012.
Burkill HM. The useful plants of west tropical Africa. Kew: Royal Botanic Gardens; 1995.
Yusoff MM, Ahmad FB, Pasok G. Traditional medicinal plants of the Dusun Tobilung of Kampong Toburon, Kudat, Sabah, Malaysia BRB; 2003;34:120-8.
Chattopadhyay D, Dungdung SR, Mandal AB, Majumder GC. A potent sperm motility-inhibiting activity of bioflavonoids from an ethnomedicine of Onge, Alstonia macrophylla Wall ex A. DC, leaf extract. Contracept 2005;71(5):372-8.
Gul T, Singh K, Srivastava A, Ahirwar V. Biochemical alteration of methanolic extract of Amaranthus spinosus on liver of Sprague Dawley rats. Biol Med 2011;3(2):365-9.
Chattopadhyay D, Maiti K, Kundu AP, Chakraborty MS, Bhadra R, Mandal SC, et al. Antimicrobial activity of Alstonia macrophylla a folklore of bay islands. J Ethnopharmacol 2001;77(1):49-55.
Chattopadhyay D, Arunachalam G, Ghosh L, Mandal AB. CNS activity of Alstonia macrophylla leaf extracts: an ethnomedicine of onge of bay islands. Fitoterapia 2004;75(7):673-82.
Elisabetsky E, Costa-Campos L. The alkaloid alstonine: a review of its pharmacological properties. J Evidence-Based Complementary Altern Med 2006;3(1):39-48.
Abbas SA, Nighat F, Ahmed G, Choudhary MI, Alvi KA, Silva KTDD, et al. Chemical constituents of Alstonia macrophylla. J Nat Prod 1991;54(3):750-4.
Arunachalam G, Chattopadhyay D, Chatterjee S, Mandal AB, Sur TK, Mandal SC. Evaluation of anti-inflammatory activity of Alstonia macrophylla Wall ex A DC leaf extract. Phytomed 2002;9(7):632-5.
Chaudhary MA, Imran I, Bashir S, Mehmood MH, Rehman NU, Gilnali AH. Evaluation of gut modulatory and bronchodilator activities of Amaranthus spinosus Linn. BMC Complement Altern Med 2012;12(1):166.
Burkill HM. The useful plants of west tropical Africa. Edition 2. Vol. 1: families AD. Kew, Royal Botanic Gardens; 1985.
Zhang Y, Wang C, Wang L, Parks GS, Zhang X, Guo Z, et al. A novel analgesic isolated from a traditional chinese medicine. Curr Biol 2014;24(2):117-23.
Abdullah JM. Interesting asian plants: their compounds and effects on electrophysiology and behaviour. Malays J Med Sci 2011;18(4):1-4.
Fabricant DS, Farnsworth NR. The value of plants used in traditional medicine for drug discovery. Environ Health Perspect 2001;109(Suppl 1):69-75.
Patwardhan B, Vaidya ADB, Chorghade M, Joshi SP. Reverse pharmacology and systems approaches for drug discovery and development. Curr Bioact Compd 2008;4(4):201-12.
Zhu YP. Chinese materia medica: Chemistry, Pharmacology and Applications. CRC Press; 1998.
Sharma PC, Yelne MB, Dennis TJ, Joshi A, Billore KV. Database on medicinal plants used in Ayurveda; 2000.
Gimlette JD, Burkill IH. The medical book of Malayan medicine. Botanic Gardens; 1930.
Gimlette JD, Thomson HW. A Dictionary of Malayan Medicine. A Dictionary of Malayan Medicine; 1939.
Chan CK, Goh BH, Kamaruddin MNA, Kadir HA. Aqueous fraction of Nephelium ramboutan-ake rind induces mitochondrial-mediated apoptosis in HT-29 human colorectal adenocarcinoma cells. Molecule 2012;17(6):6633-57.
Moghadamtousi SZ, Goh BH, Chan CK, Shabab T, Kadir HA. Biological Activities and Phytochemicals of Swietenia macrophylla King. Molecule 2013;18(9):10465-83.
Goh BH, Chan CK, Kamarudin MNA, Kadir HA. Swietenia macrophylla King induces mitochondrial-mediated apoptosis through p53 upregulation in HCT116 colorectal carcinoma cells. J Ethnopharmacol 2014;153(2):375-85.
Schachter SC. Botanicals and herbs: a traditional approach to treating epilepsy. Neurother 2009;6(2):415-20.