Bacopa monnieri and epilepsy

Reseach Paper from December 2007

Title
Decreased glutamate receptor binding and NMDA R1 gene expression in hippocampus of pilocarpine-induced epileptic rats: Neuroprotective role of Bacopa monnieri extract

A nice paper well researched.

Summary:

The paper uses rats as an experimental model of epilepsy. The model of temporal lobe epilepsy in rats is induced with pilocarpine treatment.

The amino acid glutamate is an exitatory neurotransmitter

Epileptic seizures are thought to be caused by excessive amounts of the
amino acid glutamate being released by neurons.

The amino acid glutamate activates the NMDA receptors.

The model of epilepsy in rats showed that activity levels of glutamate dehydrogenase and the NMDA receptor are significantly different to control rats.

The epilepsy rats were treated with the Bacopa extract. They were then shown to have levels of glutamate dehyrogenase and receptor similar to normal rats.

The rats were tested with a maze, and they were timed in their escape. The epilepsy rats were significantly slower than normal rats. But when they were treated with Bacopa extract, they escaped in a similar time to the normal rats.

Current drugs used to treat epilepsy target the symptoms and not the cause of the problem. Additionally the drugs in use now can contribute to some cognitive deficits that are already evident in patients with epilepsy. Therefore the need to treat the cause of the disease is very
important.

Bacopa extract appears to have some interesting properties regarding treatment of epilepsy, but the big pharmaceutical companies will not be interested in developing Bacopa based treatments because the plant can be so easily be grown and used by anybody. They would not be able to patent a specific drug, as it would be a natural product. Hopefully there is enough funding in the academic sector and it is worth further research.