Evaluation of intense physical effort in subjects with temporal lobe epilepsy

Abstract

-People with epilepsy have been discouraged from participating in physical activity due to the fear that it will exacerbate seizures. Although the beneficial effect of aerobic exercise in people with epilepsy, little objective evidence regarding the intensity of exercise has been reported. We investigated the effect of incremental physical exercise to exhaustion in people with epilepsy. Seventeen persons with temporal lobe epilepsy and twenty one control healthy subjects participated in this study. Both groups were submitted to echocolordoppler and electrocardiogram at rest and during physical effort. None of patients reported seizures during physical effort or in the recovery period of ergometric test. Both groups presented physiological heart rate and blood pressure responses during the different stages of the ergometric test. Only few patients presented electrocardiography or echocardiography alterations at rest or during effort. In conclusion, this work suggests that physical effort to exhaustion is not a seizure-induced component.Key WOrdS: epilepsy, exercise, ergometric test, seizure, patient, maximal physical effort.avaliação do esforço físico intenso em indivíduos com epilepsia do lobo temporal resumo -Pessoas com epilepsia têm sido desencorajadas a participar de atividades físicas por medo que o exercício físico possa exacerbar as crises epilépticas. Apesar dos efeitos benéficos do exercício físico aeróbico em pessoas com epilepsia, informações em relação à intensidade do exercício têm sido pouco estudadas. Neste estudo, investigamos o efeito do exercício físico incremental até a exaustão (teste ergométrico) em pessoas com epilepsia. dezessete pessoas com epilepsia do lobo temporal e vinte e um indivíduos saudáveis (controles) participaram do estudo. Os dois grupos foram submetidos a ecocardiograma e eletrocardiograma em repouso e durante o esforço físico. Nenhum indivíduo com epilepsia apresentou crises durante o esforço físico ou no período de recuperação do teste ergométrico. Ambos os grupos apresentaram respostas fisiológicas da frequência cardíaca e pressão arterial durante os diferentes estágios do teste de esforço. Somente algumas pessoas com epilepsia apresentaram alterações ecocardiográficas e eletrocardiográficas em repouso ou durante o esforço. em conclusão, este estudo sugere que o esforço físico exaustivo parece não ser um componente indutor de crises epilépticas.PAlAvrAS-chAve: epilepsia, exercício, teste ergométrico, crises epiléticas, paciente, esforço físico máximo.

Effect of endurance training on seizure susceptibility, behavioral changes and neuronal damage after kainate-induced status epilepticus in spontaneously hypertensive rats

“…The beneficial role of aerobic exercise on epilepsy has been proved in both animal and human studies. Most of the preclinical and clinical research aimed at evaluating the effects of physical training programs on spontaneous seizures during the chronic epileptic state reported reduced ictal activity, decreased susceptibility to subsequently evoked seizures after exercise as well as positive plastic neurochemical changes in hippocampal formation (Arida et al, 2004(Arida et al, , 2007(Arida et al, , 2010Camilo et al, 2009;Vancini et al, 2010). A few animal studies on the effects of exercise programs on seizure threshold and epileptogenesis reported that physical training delayed the development of amygdala kindling (Arida et al, 1998), increased the latency and decreased the duration of pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus (SE) (Setkowicz and Mazur, 2006) and attenuated pentylenetetrazole (PTZ)-induced seizures in rats .…”

Evaluation of physical educators' knowledge about epilepsy

“…For instance, most experiments on brain electrical activity have shown that abnormal discharges disappear in most patients during physical activity but return at rest 11,16 . It has been also observed that fewer seizures occur during both mental and physical activity compared with periods of rest 18,19 . The increased vigilance and attention involved in exercise could explain the reduction in the number of seizures 16 .…”

“…The increased vigilance and attention involved in exercise could explain the reduction in the number of seizures 16 . In animal studies, a reduction of seizure frequency was observed after an aerobic physical training 14,19 . In this line, all the positive effects are reached since the physical exercise is well-guided and accompanied by specialized professional 21 .…”

A strength exercise program in rats with epilepsy is protective against seizures

“…Considering that strength exercise involves intense muscle contractions, we could presume that it is an exhaustive effort. Although animal and human studies have reported that intensive exercise does not alter seizure susceptibility [4,5,7,37], it remains unclear whether strength exercise is helpful, harmful, or essentially has no impact on the frequency of seizures. Strength training or weight training is used by many people and for many different reasons.…”

“…An investigation conducted by McAuley and coworkers reported no impact of seizure frequency after 12 weeks of a physical exercise program [3]. In addition, studies have explored whether intensive exercise alters the seizure susceptibility in people with epilepsy, and, from the few studies that explored this subject, people with temporal lobe epilepsy did not experience seizures after incremental physical exercise to exhaustion or during the recovery period of an ergometric test [4,5].…”