Hypoallergenic diet may control refractory epilepsy in allergic children: A quasi experimental study

Recent data has suggested a definitive role for inflammatory processes in the pathophysiology of epilepsy. In this study we hypothesized that food allergies, as chronic inflammatory processes, underlie the pathophysiology of refractory idiopathic epilepsy and investigated whether food elimination diets may assist in managing refractory epilepsy. The study was conducted on 34 patients up to 16 years of age with refractory convulsions who attended the Allergy Outpatient Clinic, Mofid Children Hospital between 2015 and 2016 with youngest and oldest participants at ages of 3 months and 16 years old, respectively. The participants were categorized into three groups according to the results of skin prick test and serum specific IgE measurements. Elimination diets were instituted for the patients with non IgE-mediated and mixed food allergies. The study was conducted for a period of 12 weeks. The participants were assessed for at least 50% reduction in number of seizures following the intervention. There was a significant reduction in number of seizures (p < 0.001) following the intervention. Seventeen patients (50%) did not experience any seizures after 8 weeks of treatment and 12 patients (35%) had a significant (51-99%) decrease in the number of their seizures. Five patients did not show any changes in their daily seizure frequency. The obtained data suggest that food allergy may play a role in triggering refractory epilepsies and their adequate response to treatment. A trial of elimination diet showed more than 50% seizure reduction in more than 85% of the children studied. However, we believe these results are preliminary and they motivate a fully controlled study in the future.