Burkhard P R, Burkhardt K, Haenggeli C A, Landis T
Department of Neurology, University Hospital, CH-1211 Geneva 14, Switzerland,
J Neurol. 1999 Aug;246(8):667-70. doi: 10.1007/s004150050429.
Several plant-derived essential oils have been known for over a century to have epileptogenic properties. We report three healthy patients, two adults and one child, who suffered from an isolated generalized tonic-clonic seizure and a generalized tonic status, respectively, related to the absorption of several of these oils for therapeutic purposes. No other cause of epilepsy was found, and outcome was good in the two adult cases, but the course has been less favorable in the child. A survey of the literature shows essential oils of 11 plants to be powerful convulsants (eucalyptus, fennel, hyssop, pennyroyal, rosemary, sage, savin, tansy, thuja, turpentine, and wormwood) due to their content of highly reactive monoterpene ketones, such as camphor, pinocamphone, thujone, cineole, pulegone, sabinylacetate, and fenchone. Our three cases strongly support the concept of plant-related toxic seizure. Nowadays the wide use of these compounds in certain unconventional medicines makes this severe complication again possible.
一个多世纪以来，人们已经知道几种植物来源的精油具有致癫痫特性。我们报告了三名健康患者，两名成年人和一名儿童，他们分别因出于治疗目的吸收了其中几种精油而出现了孤立的全身强直阵挛发作和全身强直状态。未发现其他癫痫病因，两名成年患者预后良好，但儿童患者的病程不太乐观。文献调查显示，11种植物的精油因含有高反应性单萜酮，如樟脑、松樟酮、侧柏酮、桉叶素、长叶薄荷酮、桧烯乙酸酯和小茴香酮，而具有强大的惊厥作用（桉树、茴香、牛膝草、薄荷、迷迭香、鼠尾草、新疆圆柏、艾菊、崖柏、松节油和艾草）。我们的三个病例有力地支持了与植物相关的中毒性癫痫这一概念。如今，这些化合物在某些非传统药物中的广泛使用使得这种严重并发症再次成为可能。
