Physical Exercise in Women with Intractable Epilepsy

Abstract

Fifteen women with pharmacologically intractable epilepsy were given physical exercise (aerobic dancing with strength training and stretching) for 60 min, twice weekly, for 15 weeks. Seizure frequency was recorded by the patients for 3-7 months before the intervention, during the intervention period, and for 3 months after the intervention. Medication and other known seizure-influencing factors were kept as constant as possible. Self-reported seizure frequency was significantly reduced during the intervention period. The exercise also led to reduced level of subjective health complaints, such as muscle pains, sleep problems, and fatigue. The exercise reduced plasma cholesterol ratio and increased maximum O2 uptake. Because most of the patients were unable to continue the exercise on their own after the intervention period, the exercise effects were not maintained during the follow-up period. The patients were not unwilling to continue the exercise, but it was not sufficient to offer them the possibility of continuing similar types of exercise. We believe that 15 weeks is too short a time to establish a life-style change and that continued physical exercise for these patients requires a well-organized and supportive program, requiring experienced and dedicated instructors.

Physical exercise in rats with epilepsy is protective against seizures: evidence of animal studies

“…we also might suggest that in refractory epilepsy, the possibility of exercise to provoke seizure could be increase. To reinforce the findings cited above, a study evaluating physical exercise in woman with intractable epilepsy showed a decreased the number of seizures during the aerobic physical training period 20 .…”

Low levels of maximal aerobic power impair the profile of mood state in individuals with temporal lobe epilepsy

“…Similarly, Nakken et al 9 observed that a 4-week exercise program improved the mental state and sociability of people with epilepsy. Furthermore, a regular exercise program improved performance and psychosocial quality of life of women with refractory epilepsy 10 . An improvement in the mood of individuals with epilepsy after 12 weeks of physical training has also been demonstrated by McAuley and collaborators 17 .…”

“…Comparison of C and TLE groups on the Profile of Mood States (POMS) scores domains. activity is a non-pharmacological therapy which can provide health benefits such as reduction in the risk of cardiovascular and endocrine diseases, improvement in bone and muscle conditioning 25 , and prevention of psychological and emotional disturbances 10,15,17,26 . Consistent with this, mood disturbances are more prevalent among sedentary rather than physically active individuals 27 .…”

“…In the general population, regular exercise contributes to mood-related benefits 4 and minimizes the impact of stressful life events 5 ; similar results have been found in people with epilepsy 6,7 . The favorable effects of regular exercise on physical fitness and general health are unquestionable and numerous studies have reported positive effects of regular physical activity in people with epilepsy 6,7,8,9,10,11,12 . Regular physical activity has been proposed as a positive coping strategy in the management of patients with epilepsy that are diagnosed with mood disorders 13,14 .…”

Transition: Driving and exercise

“…In a study of a teenage clinic, 207 patients (aged [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] were referred with "definite or probable epilepsy." 3 Epilepsy was the eventual diagnosis in 173 (84%).…”