Complementary and alternative medicine in epilepsy: A global survey of physicians’ opinions
Asadi-Pooya A.A. Brigo F. Lattanzi S. Karakis I. Asadollahi M. Trinka E. Talaat El Ghoneimy L. Pretorius C. Contreras G. Daza-Restrepo A. Valente K. DAlessio L. Turuspekova S.T. Aljandeel G. Khachatryan S. Ashkanani A. Tomson T. Kutlubaev M. Guekht A. Alsaadi T. Calle-Lopez Y. Mesraoua B. Ríos-Pohl L. Al-Asmi A. Villanueva V. Igwe S.C. Kissani N. Jusupova A.
April 2021Academic Press Inc.
Epilepsy and Behavior
2021#117
Purpose: To investigate the opinions of physicians on the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in patients with epilepsy (PWE) worldwide. Methods: Online survey addressed to neurologists and psychiatrists from different countries. Results: Totally, 1112 physicians from 25 countries (different world region: Europe, North America, South America, Middle-East, Africa, Former Soviet Union Republics) participated; 804 (72.3%) believed that CAM might be helpful in PWE. The most commonly endorsed CAM included meditation (41%) and yoga (39%). Female sex, psychiatry specialization, and working in North and South America were associated with the belief that CAM is helpful in PWE. Two-hundred and forty five out of 1098 participants (22.3%) used/prescribed CAM to PWE; among them, 174 (71%) people perceived CAM to be less effective and 114 (46.5%) people found CAM to be safer than conventional antiseizure medications (ASMs). The most common reasons to prescribe CAM for PWE were: to satisfy the patient (49.9%), dissatisfaction with the efficacy (35.6%), and dissatisfaction with the adverse effects (31.2%) of conventional therapies. Conclusion: Although the evidence supporting the use of CAM for the treatment of epilepsy is extremely sparse, most physicians worldwide believe that it could be integrated with the use of conventional ASMs, at least in some patients. High-quality controlled trials are warranted to provide robust evidence on the usefulness of CAM options in PWE.
Alternative , Complementary , Epilepsy , Integrative , Seizure
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Epilepsy Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran; Jefferson Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, Department of Neurology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
Department of Neurology, Hospital of Merano (SABES-ASDAA), Merano-Meran, Italy
Neurological Clinic, Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Marche Polytechnic University, Ancona, Italy
Department of Neurology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, United States
Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Department of Neurology, Christian-Doppler Medical Centre, Paracelsus Medical University, 5020 Salzburg, Austria; Institute of Nursing Science and Practice, Paracelsus Medical University, 5020 Salzburg, Austria; Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, 5020 Salzburg, Austria, Associated Member of the European Reference Network EpiCARE
Cairo University Epilepsy Unit (CUEU), Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
Department of Psychology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
Department of Pediatric Neurology, Hospital Metropolitano, Quito, Ecuador
Epilepsy Unit. La Trinidad Medical Center, Caracas, Venezuela
Laboratory of Clinical Neurophysiology, Deparment of Psychiatry, Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo (HCFMUSP), São Paulo, Brazil
Buenos Aires University, Epilepsy Center, Ramos Mejía and El Cruce Hospitals, IBCN-CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Department of Nervous Diseases with a Course of Neurosurgery, Asfendiyarov Kazakh National Medical University, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Iraqi Council for Medical Specializations, Faculty of Epileptology, Medical City, Baghdad, Iraq
Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, National Institute of Health, Yerevan, Armenia
Ahmadi Hospital, Kuwait, Kuwait
Department of Clinical Nueroscience, Karolinska institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
Department of Neurology, Bashkir State Medical University, Ufa, Russian Federation
Moscow Research and Clinical Center for Neurospychiatry; Department of Neurology, Nerosurgery and Medical Genetics, Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University, Moscow, Russian Federation
Deptartment of Neurology, American Center for Psychiatry and Neurology, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Neurology Section, University of Antioquia, Fundación Clínica del Norte-Neuroclínica, Medellín, Colombia
Neurosciences Department, Hamad Medical Corporation and Weill Cornell Medical College, Doha, Qatar
Clinica Integral de Epilepsia Infanto-Juvenil, Santiago, Chile
Neurology Unit, Department of Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sceinces, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman
Refractory Epilepsy Unit, Neurology Service, Hospital Universitario y Politécnico La Fe, Valencia, Spain
Department of NeuroPsychiatry, Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, Nigeria
Laboratory of Clinical and Experimental Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, Cadi Ayyad University, Marrakech, Morocco; Department of Neurology, Teaching Hospital Mohammed VI, Marrakesh, Morocco
Kyrgyz State Medical Academy, Neurology and Clinical Genetics Department, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
Epilepsy Research Center
Department of Neurology
Neurological Clinic
Department of Neurology
Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences
Department of Neurology
Cairo University Epilepsy Unit (CUEU)
Department of Psychology
Department of Pediatric Neurology
Epilepsy Unit. La Trinidad Medical Center
Laboratory of Clinical Neurophysiology
Buenos Aires University
Department of Nervous Diseases with a Course of Neurosurgery
Iraqi Council for Medical Specializations
Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery
Ahmadi Hospital
Department of Clinical Nueroscience
Department of Neurology
Moscow Research and Clinical Center for Neurospychiatry; Department of Neurology
Deptartment of Neurology
Neurology Section
Neurosciences Department
Clinica Integral de Epilepsia Infanto-Juvenil
Neurology Unit
Refractory Epilepsy Unit
Department of NeuroPsychiatry
Laboratory of Clinical and Experimental Neuroscience
Kyrgyz State Medical Academy
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