LEAP – MRT® as a tool in the treatment of a child with epilepsy
Date 2005/9/12 23:15:10 | Topic: Clinical Disorders
| Children with epilepsy, especially those with difficult to control cases like MAE (myoclonic astatic epilepsy) also known as Doose Syndrome, need to reduce proinflammatory stressors as much as possible. The LEAP® Test (Lifestyle Eating And Performance) from Signet Diagnostics, available through Carbon Based Corporation can be an important tool to help reduce the effects of foods and food additives on many health issues and in particular seizure disorders.
The LEAP® report which is referenced in this article can be downloaded here: Anastasia Schauss LEAP® Report.
The sample LEAP® report included with this article is that that of my daughter Anastasya Schauss who suffers from an idiopathic form of epilepsy, with no definitive diagnosis but exhibiting all the features of MAE. These symptoms include absence, atonic and myoclonic seizures. Other behavioral problems including temper tantrums, attention deficit, and learning delays are also seen with many epileptic children as well.
With Tasya, as we like to call her, she goes through periods of remission, with little or no seizure or behavioral problems then suddenly she begins having temper tantrums as well as atonic and absence seizures for no apparent reason. For years we suspected foods and used an elimination diet with no success. An IgG/IgE test revealed only a minor allergy to egg, a food Tasya has refused to eat for years.
When I found out about the LEAP® Test I was impressed by the breadth of research done on the efficacy of the test with both Migraine and Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Immediately I began to look into the value for epilepsy.
The results of the test were both surprising and illuminating. They explained a lot about the triggers that preceded her increased seizure activity and may help to explain some of her behavioral problems.
As you can see on the report, the foods are ranked for their test reaction levels with green being non-reactive, yellow being moderately reactive and red being reactive. The list of foods being tested includes 127 foods and 24 food additives (chemicals). Some of the reactive foods were expected, some not. Many of the foods that showed high reactivity matched with Tasya’s cravings, a classic sign of food sensitivity and allergy.
Here is a brief synopsis of the reactive and moderately reactive foods and additives.
| Group | Reactive – Red | Moderately Reactive - Yellow | | Vegetables | None | Spinach, Zucchini, String Bean, | | | | Eggplant, Pumpkin, | | Grains | None | Corn, Wheat | | Chemicals | Phenylethylamine | Aspartame, Tyramine, | | | | FD&C Red, Potassium Nitrate, | | | | Sodium Sulfite, Solanine, | | | | Saccharine | | Fruits | Olive, Orange | Strawberry, Apricot | | Meats & Poultry | Pork | None | | Seafood | None | Crab | | Flavor Enhancers | Lemon | Mint, Cayenne Pepper | | Beans & Legumes | Lentil | Sunflower Seed, Lima Bean, | | | | Pinto Bean, Green Pea, | | | | Soybean | | Dairy | None | Cow’s Milk, Blue Cheese, | | | | American Cheese | | Miscellaneous | None | Tea |
Not surprisingly, before a recent increase in defiant behavior, Tasya had consumed crab, string bean, hard cheeses and chocolate (both high in phenylethlamine), olives and olive oil, as well as oranges and lemon juice, all of which are either reactive foods or moderately reactive. They were not eaten in one day, but over a few days before her behavior changed.
We then began to carefully monitor her diet and eliminated all reactive and moderately reactive foods and she seemed to calm down dramatically and became the happy child we always knew her to be. In addition, her seizure activity was non existent. Then her younger sister had an ice cream social at her new school and before we could get to her, she had a bowl of lemon sherbet along with a number of red dyed gummy bears and some cow’s milk ice cream and soy ice cream. Our expectation was that her seizure activity, especially the nocturnal variety would crop back up. We were not surprised when that came true that night.
Tasya also began to become “twitchy” with a few absence seizures the following morning and two atonic “drop” seizures. She had dark circles under her eyes and looked “drab” for lack of a better word. We immediately began to add anti-inflammatory nutrients (Acai, glutathione precursors, and omega 3 fatty acids). In a few hours, she was back to normal feeling relaxed and happy. The next day she looked fine and was completely normal.
Of course this is a very short term response and reaction but there is greater hope for a longer term improvement in Tasya’s life following the ImmunoCalm® program that comes with her LEAP® Report. The first step is to eliminate completely all the foods with high reactivity. Here is a listing of the common and hidden sources for the foods and additives that were in the Red group in Tasya’s test results.
| Food | Common and Hidden Sources | | Phenylethylamine | Chocolate, red wine, aged cheeses | | Olive | Black olives, green olives, olive oil, ethnic foods (Greek, Italian, Middle Eastern) | | Orange | Anything orange, orange juice, fruit juice blends, soft drinks, candies | | Pork | Anything pork, bacon, hot dogs, sausages, canned baked beans, soups, Chinese soups | | Lemon | Baked dessert goods, candies, soft drinks, ice creams, ices, condiments | | Lentil | Indian foods, canned soups and stews, veggie burgers. |
But it’s not enough to eliminate just the most reactive foods; you need to reduce the moderately reactive foods as well. Each LEAP® Report includes a complete guide to help find all of the sources of these foods. By eliminating as many of proinflammatory reactive foods as possible, healing is more likely and easier to accomplish.
As Tasya continues her recovery we will be posting update regularly to this web site and to www.markschauss.com. Also, if you are interested in this remarkable test, call Carbon Based Corporation at 775-851-3337 or email us at LEAPinfo@carbonbased.com.
You may download a pdf of this article LEAP – MRT® as a tool in the treatment of a child with epilepsy which includes the actual LEAP® result pages.
MRT, LEAP® and ImmunoCalm are all Registered Trademarks of Signet Diagnostic Corporation.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. They are only the opinion of the author and not that of Signet Diagnostics. This test is not meant to treat, diagnose, cure or prevent any disease.
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