Magnolol, present in the bark of Magnolia officinalis, a tree of Chinese origin, could be the remedy for drug-resistant epilepsies. This is revealed by a study carried out in Belgium.
-1585135584.jpg "A magnolia bark compound to treat epilepsy")
- Treatments for epilepsy are ineffective for some patients
- Chinese medicine offers magnolia extracts that have shown real effectiveness
Six researchers from KU Leuven University (Belgium) have potentially found a new treatment for epilepsy. In their study published in the journal Journal of the American Chemical Societythe scientists explain having turned to traditional Chinese medicine “with the aim of discovering major compounds which could then be developed into active substances against drug-resistant epilepsies.”
Antiepileptic treatments ineffective for 1/3 of patients
Effectively, if there are already drugs, “a third of epileptic seizures do not respond to available treatments”, alerts the National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm).
Yet the different forms of epilepsy constitute, according to the institute, “the third most common neurological disease, behind migraine and dementia.” About 50 million people are affected worldwide, according to the World Health Organization (WHO)including 600,000 French, according to Inserm.
14 varieties of plants studied
The scientists first collected 14 varieties of plants used in traditional Chinese medicine for antiepileptic remedies. They then tested the extracts on two types of zebrafish with convulsions similar to epileptic seizures: one able to respond to conventional drugs, and the other not.
Only extracts from the bark of Magnolia officinalisa tree native to China, were able to reduce seizure-like behaviors in both types of fish.
Magnolol, a compound used to reduce seizures in drug-resistant mice
The researchers repeated the operation in mice: they found that the most potent anti-seizure compound in magnolia bark, magnolol, reduced seizures in drug-resistant rodents.
According to the scientists, this could be a starting point for the development of treatments for drug-resistant epilepsy.
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