Title:Evaluating the Potential of Light Exposure on Reducing the Frequency of
Epileptic Seizures
Volume: 23
Issue: 4
Author(s): Basheer Abdulfattah AlDajani, Mohammad Uzair, Hammad Qaiser, Ali Mir, Nojoud Mohammad Saleh, Raidah Al Baradie, Saneela Tahseen and Shahid Bashir*
Affiliation:
- Neuroscience Center, King Fahad Specialist Hospital Dammam, Dammam, Saudi Arabia
Keywords:
Epilepsy, light therapy, photosensitive epilepsy, optogenetics, red light, blue light.
Abstract: Epilepsy is one of the most common and devastating neurological disorders that causes unprovoked,
recurrent seizures arising from excessive synchronized neuronal discharging. Although antiepileptic
drugs (AEDs) reduce the frequency of epilepsy seizures, drug-refractory epileptic patients
exert resistance to AEDs, resulting in treatment difficulty. Moreover, pharmacological treatments do
not show satisfactory results in response to photosensitive epilepsy. In the recent era, light therapy
emerged as a potential non-pharmacological approach for treating various diseases, including depression,
seasonal affective disorders, migraine, pain, and others. Several studies have also shown the potential
of light therapy in treating epilepsy. In addition, Red light evokes epilepsy seizures. Blue lenses
filter the red light and significantly suppress the frequency of epilepsy seizures. However, the effects
of green light on the frequency of epileptic seizures are not studied yet. In addition, light-activated
gene therapy or optogenetics also emerged as a possible option for epilepsy treatment. Animal models
have shown the therapeutic possibilities of optogenetics and light therapy; however, human studies
addressing this possibility are still vague. This review provides the beneficial effects of light in reducing
seizure frequency in epilepsy patients. A limited number of studies have been reported so far;
therefore, light therapy for treating epilepsy requires more studies on animal models to provide precise
results of light effects on seizures.
