Three types of childhood epilepsies which are particularly likely to be drug resistant are complex partial epilepsy, West's syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome . Patients who suffer from drug-resistant epilepsy require emotional and social support in addition to medical therapy. It is important to treat the whole person, not just the seizures. An interdisciplinary team, including doctors, nurses, psychologists, therapists and social workers, as well as alternative therapy practitioners, is essential for people who would like a comprehensive or holistic approach to their treatment. The role of traditional and folk medicine in the management of disease processes should not be overlooked.
Many patients come from cultures that contain strong beliefs in such practices.
Other treatments can be effective adjunctive measures in the treatment of epilepsy because of the importance of psychosocial factors. Certain remedies may also possess actual antiepileptic properties. Many of our modern drugs have been derived from folk remedies and there is a need to evaluate and analyze newly discovered herbal treatments and other folk medicines for active ingredients. Even Western physicians in China refer patients with medically intractable epilepsy to traditional cultural physicians. As well, they feel that acupuncture may at times be effective, particularly for nonconvulsive generalized seizures.