Taurine

The amino acid taurine was a subject of interest of mine for awhile. It is one of those supplements that is mentioned repeatedly in medical abstracts as a potential source of epilepsy relief, usually in the context of it being a 'complimentary' treatment option.

I first started investigating the basic pharmacokinetics of taurine, which were studied here, which ultimately led me to how they potentially could impact seizures, either in conjunction with mainstream AEDs or by itself. Since taurine has the ability to cross the blood-brain-barrier (BBB) and it is widely recognized as being a neuroprotectant, I figured I would be able to find some significant epilepsy studies on it. However, like vinpocetine, I couldn't track down many that involved the effects of taurine on seizures that weren't animal studies, other than a lone clinical trial, that I could not find results on. I did find some interesting facts on neurotransmission and the impact taurine has on the central nervous system, which can be located here.

Taurine acts as a membrane stabilizer, particularly with voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCCs) - the article goes into great technical depth with and explanation, which I can only digest and interpret so much of before my eyes glaze over. One of the main takeaways I read in the article, was how taurine's inhibition or monitoring of VGCCs, was also the assumed mechanism of action of Lyrica. Since MIra has been on Lyrica (pregabalin) for years now, I found it necessary to explore the potential relevance. Based on this connection alone, I kept traveling down the taurine rabbit hole. Ultimately, I found a ton of information of what taurine supposedly does, in the articles listed below, but again, not a lot of direct, conclusive studies:

Taurine and Neurotransmission

Taurine and the Retina

Taurine and Gaba

Based on this article, there seemed to be a lot of interest in taurine and an anti-seizure medication, back in the 1970's. All of the references for studies were all done prior to 1979. I lost interest in reading about taurine, as I found more research in animal studies, and even more studies for taurine in relation to canine epilepsy. While I found taurine as being a simple amino acid, its relevance to cell membrane functioning was complex and confusing. Based on what I read, it had a wide range of influential activity, but not really much specific to epilepsy and/or seizure control. Please email me or post links if you can find some conclusive studies or additional information.