Epilepsy and Associated Comorbidities: Role of Phytomedicines in Epilepsy Management

Abstract

Epilepsy is the most dynamic of the neurological disorders, with seizures being the most common symptom.
Treatment of seizure occurrence and frequency is more than just an epilepsy treatment option. Treating epilepsy
comorbidities in addition to seizures would, in fact, improve epileptic patients' quality of life. When compared
to the general population, epileptic patients have higher levels of psychiatric comorbidities. Anxiety, cognitive
impairment, and depression are major comorbidities. However, there's also a correlation between
neuroinflammation, autism and epilepsy in the brain. The suppression of ϒ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which
causes an imbalance in inhibitory and excitatory neurotransmitters is a major pathological cause of epilepsy.
Other factors, such as heredity, as well as treatment with older generation antiepileptic medicines, have been
investigated and found to play a role in the development of comorbidities. Medicinal plants with therapeutic
potential have grabbed the interest of many researchers, scientists, and doctors, in addition to the available AED
treatment strategies. Phytomedicines are secondary metabolites found in plants with therapeutic potential that
can be employed in the treatment of diseases and their associated comorbidities. By doing so, the current review
paper concludes the related comorbidities of epilepsy, their pathological aetiology, and the hunt for a molecule
with therapeutic potency and limited side effects from medicinal plants.