Pro-inflammatory cytokine activity: The root cause of catamenial seizures

IF 2.1 4区医学 Q3 MEDICINE, RESEARCH & EXPERIMENTAL

Medical hypotheses Pub Date : 2024-07-14 DOI:10.1016/j.mehy.2024.111441

Rya Cornelia Holzman

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

About 40% of women with epilepsy experience catamenial seizures, which can be mentally and physically debilitating. Catamenial epilepsy (CE) refers to the relationship between the timing of a woman’s seizures and the monthly hormonal changes that occur throughout her menstrual cycle. The prevailing hypothesis theorizes that these hormonal changes cause CE seizures. However, researchers have not isolated the catamenial seizure neurological trigger mechanism; as a result, standard anti-seizure medications (ASMs) mostly are ineffective. Recent research substantiates the significant role inflammatory cytokines play in epilepsy, menstrual disorders, and the female reproductive system. This paper poses a new hypothesis that the direct trigger of catamenial seizures is an increase in pro-inflammatory cytokines that occurs at several times during the menstrual cycle. The hypothesis is evaluated using published evidence that the occurrences of catamenial seizures during the menstrual cycle align temporally with the surges in pro-inflammatory cytokines. Consequently, the anti-inflammatory benefits of exercise, endocannabinoid-based drugs and safe, neuroprotective dietary supplements could enable hundreds of thousands of women with catamenial epilepsy to enjoy more productive lives from a much reduced risk of seizures.

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促炎细胞因子活性：诱发癫痫发作的根本原因

约有 40% 的女性癫痫患者会经历继发性癫痫发作，这可能会在精神和身体上造成衰弱。继发性癫痫（CE）是指女性癫痫发作的时间与整个月经周期中每月发生的荷尔蒙变化之间的关系。目前流行的假说认为，这些荷尔蒙变化导致了中枢性癫痫的发作。然而，研究人员尚未分离出癫痫发作的神经触发机制；因此，标准的抗癫痫药物（ASMs）大多无效。最新研究证实，炎性细胞因子在癫痫、月经紊乱和女性生殖系统中发挥着重要作用。本文提出了一个新的假设，即惊厥发作的直接诱因是月经周期中多次出现的促炎细胞因子的增加。已发表的证据表明，月经周期中的惊厥发作与促炎细胞因子的激增在时间上是一致的。因此，运动、以内源性大麻素为基础的药物以及安全的神经保护性膳食补充剂所带来的抗炎益处可使成千上万的女性惊厥性癫痫患者因癫痫发作风险大大降低而享受更有成效的生活。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Medical hypotheses 医学-医学：研究与实验

CiteScore

10.60

自引率

2.10%

发文量

167

审稿时长

60 days

期刊介绍： Medical Hypotheses is a forum for ideas in medicine and related biomedical sciences. It will publish interesting and important theoretical papers that foster the diversity and debate upon which the scientific process thrives. The Aims and Scope of Medical Hypotheses are no different now from what was proposed by the founder of the journal, the late Dr David Horrobin. In his introduction to the first issue of the Journal, he asks ''what sorts of papers will be published in Medical Hypotheses? and goes on to answer ''Medical Hypotheses will publish papers which describe theories, ideas which have a great deal of observational support and some hypotheses where experimental support is yet fragmentary''. (Horrobin DF, 1975 Ideas in Biomedical Science: Reasons for the foundation of Medical Hypotheses. Medical Hypotheses Volume 1, Issue 1, January-February 1975, Pages 1-2.). Medical Hypotheses was therefore launched, and still exists today, to give novel, radical new ideas and speculations in medicine open-minded consideration, opening the field to radical hypotheses which would be rejected by most conventional journals. Papers in Medical Hypotheses take a standard scientific form in terms of style, structure and referencing. The journal therefore constitutes a bridge between cutting-edge theory and the mainstream of medical and scientific communication, which ideas must eventually enter if they are to be critiqued and tested against observations.