Conditions: Epilepsy
Keywords: epilepsy cardiac risk factors memory cognition n-3 fatty acids fish oil EPA DHA seizures
Allocation: RANDOMIZED | Intervention model: CROSSOVER
Enrollment: 24
Healthy volunteers: no

Brief summary:
The purpose of this study is to determine if Omega-3 fatty acids reduce seizures and modify cardiac risk factors in people with epilepsy.

Detailed description:
Epilepsy is a common and disabling condition, characterized by recurrent seizures. Sudden unexpected death (SUDEP) is a major cause of mortality in people with epilepsy. SUDEP accounts for up to 20% of all cause mortality, and is most common in younger people, especially in their 20's to 40's year olds. In those with drug resistant epilepsy, SUDEP is five times more common than in well-controlled epilepsy. Likely causes of death include cardiac arrhythmias due to impaired autonomic regulation and reduced heart rate variability. Similarly, patients with recent myocardial infarction and congestive heart failure are at higher risk for sudden death, and manifest markedly reduced heart rate variability. Clinical studies of heart disease indicate that n-3 fatty acids, prevent cardiac arrhythmias, reduce mortality after myocardial infarction, and reduce the risk of sudden cardiac death. The mechanism by which EPA and DHA exert their anti-arrhythmia effect is due to inactivation of high frequency sodium and L-type calcium channels in the heart. In addition, n-3 fatty acids improve HRV in cardiac patients, and this reduction in HRV is postulated to be a marker of the anti-arrhythmic effect of n-3 fatty acids. Preliminary data from our group indicates that n-3 fatty acids improve HRV in people with epilepsy, especially those with low HRV (SDNN \< 50). The commonality between n-3 fatty acids and improvement in HRV in patients with heart disease and epilepsy serves as a basis for our hypothesis that n-3 fatty acids may reduce the risk of SUDEP in epilepsy. The purpose of this proposal is to determine if n-3 fatty acids reduce seizures and modify cardiac risk in people with epilepsy who are at risk of SUDEP.

Arms:
arm 1: Corn Oil Placebo (n-6 fatty acids) arm 2: 2160 mg of EPA + DHA arm 3: 1060 mg of EPA + DHA

Interventions: intervention 1: Placebo intervention 2: High Dose Fish Oil intervention 3: Low Dose Fish Oil
Intervention descriptions: intervention 1: corn oil (n-6 fatty acids) intervention 2: n-3 fatty acids, 1060 mg EPA + DHA intervention 3: n-3 fatty acids, 2160 mg EPA + DHA

Protocol document: