NEWS
Red Sea fungus yields leads for new epilepsy drugs
New treatments for epilepsy are sorely needed because current medications don't work for many people with the disease. To find new leads, researchers have now turned to the sea -- a source of unique natural products that have been largely untapped for prospective...
Catamenial Epilepsy Pathophysiology
Catamenial epilepsy is a form of seizure disorder which is related to the hormonal changes during menstrual cycling in normal women. It has been found to account for about a third of women with epilepsy. PHOTO: Chuck Carmen, EpilepsyU Founder and Dr. Denise Taylor...
CBD Oil: All the Rage, But Is It Really Safe and Effective?
Cannabidiol (CBD) oil has become the hot new product in states that have legalized medical marijuana. The non-intoxicating marijuana extract is being credited with helping treat a host of medical problems -- everything from epileptic seizures to anxiety to...
Qualifying for Social Security Disability Benefits with Epilepsy 2018
If you or someone you love has epilepsy, you may be eligible for benefits from the Social Security Administration (SSA). Epilepsy will not qualify with a diagnosis alone, but depending on what type of seizures you have and how well you’re able to control your...
Lightning strikes can affect brain implants, study says
Doctors suggest that physicians and medical-device companies add lightning strikes to the list of things that patients with electrodes implanted in their brains should watch out for. One stormy afternoon in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, thunder rolled, a bolt of...
Treatments for Dravet Syndrome
Dravet syndrome is a very rare type of epilepsy that causes frequent and severe seizures, often beginning in the first year of life. While there is currently no definitive cure for Dravet syndrome, there are treatments available to reduce the number of seizures that...
What Is Dravet Syndrome?
Dravet syndrome is a severe type of childhood epilepsy characterized by prolonged seizures that begin in the first year of life. It is a rare condition that affects one in 20,000 to 40,000 people worldwide. What causes Dravet syndrome? Dravet syndrome is a...
Can Marijuana Treat Autism? These Clinical Trials Aim to Find Out
A growing number of clinical trials are looking into whether compounds in marijuana can be used to treat some of the symptoms of autism. One of these clinical trials was just announced at the University of California, San Diego, and others are slated to take...
FDA Approves Medtronic’s Deep Brain Stimulation Therapy for Refractory Epilepsy
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted premarket approval for Medtronic’s Deep Brain Stimulation DBS) therapy as adjunctive treatment for reducing the frequency of partial-onset seizures in individuals 18 years of age or older who are refractory to 3 or...
Research reveals new insights into severe childhood epilepsy
Genetic research reveals new insights into severe childhood epilepsy In a new study on children with severe forms of epilepsy, researchers have found the genetic copying mistake that causes the severe epilepsy in children can be found in their parents who do...
Epilepsy does not impact likelihood of pregnancy
Women with epilepsy, without previous infertility and related disorders, who were attempting to get pregnant were as likely to conceive as their counterparts without epilepsy, according to findings recently published in JAMA Neurology. “Prior studies report lower...
Can CBD oil help with migraines?
Cannabidiol oil comes from the marijuana plant, but it contains only trace amounts, if any, of the compound that produces a high. While cannabidiol oil has no psychoactive effects, it may relieve pain, and it shows some promise as a treatment for migraines. ...
Detecting mosaic variation in parents improves genetic counseling
Mosaic variations in the cells of a parent may explain why childhood epilepsy strikes twice in some families Advances in genetic testing offer new insights to parents who have a child with a rare but serious form of epilepsy, epileptic encephalopathy (EE),...
Memory-boosting brain implants are in the works. Would you get one?
Neural prostheses look promising in new studies, though there's still a lot of work to do. How far would you go to keep your mind from failing? Would you go so far as to let a doctor drill a hole in your skull and stick a microchip in your brain? It’s...
How does epilepsy affect the brain and nervous system?
The brain and central nervous system Epilepsy is typically associated with symptoms of seizure. As such, the primary area that the condition affects is the central nervous system. The brain acts as the central hub in the body. Here, all voluntary and involuntary...
Repairing a leaky blood-brain barrier in epilepsy
Study of rodent brain capillaries identifies pathway that contributes to blood-brain barrier dysfunction in epilepsy! Blocking the activity of an enzyme that interferes with the blood-brain barrier, contributing to the generation of recurring seizures, may provide a...
What Modern Day Challenges Affect Epilepsy Treatment?
Researchers recently published an article in The Lancet Neurology discussing the difficulties facing seizure detection in patients with epilepsy. Epilepsy is a neurological disorder that is characterised by short repetitive epileptic seizures. These seizures...
Wake Forest Baptist memory study shows signs of improving short-term recall
Research progress in improving short-term memory performance could represent an important step toward two key health goals, according to a joint project involving Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. The study is aimed at helping restore short-term memory loss and...
Antiepileptic drugs linked with an increased risk of Alzheimer’s and dementia, says research
According to a new study from the University of Eastern Finland and the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, DZNE, antiepileptic drugs are associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. The clinical investigation, led by Heidi...
Cysticercosis epidemiology in Spain: What’s new?
Cysticercosis, an infection caused by larval cysts of a pork tapeworm, is a leading cause of seizures and epilepsy in many parts of the world. Now, researchers writing in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases have for the first time assessed the impact of cysticercosis...
