Intractable epilepsy tied to nutritional deficits
NEW YORK, June 14 (Reuters) The nutrient levels in young children with poorly controlled seizure disorders is often below the recommended levels, researchers report.
Growth problems have been reported in children with epilepsy and poor nutrition may be a factor, especially in children with intractable epilepsy.
To further investigate, Dr Stella L Volpe, at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and colleagues conducted a nutritional analysis comparing 43 children with intractable epilepsy with 1,718 healthy children between 1 and 8 years of age. The subjects were part of the National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (NHANES) between 2001 and 2002.
Intractable epilepsy was defined as one or more seizures every month, despite treatment with at least three antiepileptic drugs.
The average age of the children was 4.7 years.
The investigators divided the children into two age groups -- between 1.0 and 3.9 years of age, and between 4.0 and 8.9 years of age -- to correspond with Dietary Reference Intakes.
As reported in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, children with epilepsy ate statistically significant lower levels of total calories, protein, carbohydrates, fat, dietary fiber, and multiple vitamins and minerals, compared with healthy children.
The team found that 30 per cent of the children with seizures had lower-than-recommended intakes of vitamins D, E and K, folate, calcium, linoleic acid and alpha-linoleic acid.
The younger children had lower levels of micronutrients than the older children.
Volpe
and
colleagues
write
that
their
study
''suggests
that
health
care
professionals
caring
for
children
with
intractable
epilepsy
should
be
aware
of
this
pattern
of
decreased
nutrient
intake
and
educate
families
to
provide
an
adequate
diet
and/or
consider
vitamin/mineral
supplementation.''
REUTERS
SG
RK0935