Abstract
Thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) has been successfully used for treating children
with neurologic disorders including epilepsy. The effectiveness of TRH and a TRH analog
has been reported in West syndrome, Lennox–Gastaut syndrome, and early infantile epileptic
encephalopathy that were intractable to anticonvulsants and adrenocorticotrophic hormone
(ACTH). However, the peptide has not been widely studied as a treatment of intractable
epilepsy outside Japan. TRH is safe in children and effective in some cases of West
syndrome and Lennox–Gastaut syndrome. TRH is considered as a possible new strategy
for treating West syndrome and Lennox–Gastaut syndrome prior to ACTH therapy, especially
for the patient with an infection, immunosuppression, or severe organic lesions in
the brain. The mechanisms of its antiepileptic action may differ from those of other
antiepileptic drugs. One possibility is that TRH may act as an antiepileptic through
a kynurenine mechanism, considering that kynurenic acid acts as an antagonist on the
N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor complex.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
July 19,
2001
Received in revised form:
July 16,
2001
Received:
May 28,
2001
Identification
Copyright
© 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
