NEWS
What are ketogenic diets? Can they treat epilepsy and brain cancer?
Ketogenic diets are back in the news with claims they are a "cure-all". Research shows that in epilepsy not controlled by current treatment, around 50% of children and adults following ketogenic diets have a reduction in seizures. For brain cancer, most research has...
Pioneering research reveals how altered brain networks can lead to seizures
An international team of scientists, led by mathematicians from the University of Exeter's Living Systems Institute, have developed a ground-breaking new method that can identify regions of brain tissue most likely to generate seizures in people with epilepsy. The...
Epilepsy and Seizures in Older Adults
Did you know that seizures are more likely to develop in older adults? Learn to recognize the signs of seizures and how you can help. Epilepsy is a broad term used for a brain disorder that causes seizures. In the United States, 2.4 million adults aged 18 years or...
Self-Management Programs Help with Epilepsy
For 10 years the CDC Managing Epilepsy Well Network has developed innovative programs using e-tools to reach people with epilepsy. Learn how these programs can help your patients with epilepsy better manage their condition. The Importance of Epilepsy Self-Management...
3D printed brain-like tissue for neurotransmitter production
Armed with a 3D printer and bio-ink made from stem cells, Australian scientists have created brain-like tissue in a breakthrough research. The unique bio-ink is composed of human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) – possessing the same properties as embryonic stem...
New method identifies brain regions most likely to cause epilepsy seizures
Scientists have developed a new way to detect which areas of the brain contribute most greatly to epilepsy seizures, according to a PLOS Computational Biology study. The strategy, devised by Marinho Lopes of the University of Exeter and colleagues, could help surgeons...
Estrogen-mediated brain protection directly linked to intake of of fatty acids found in oils
Scientists are increasingly appreciating estrogen's role in brain health. Now for the first time, production of estrogen in the brain has been directly linked to the presence of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). DHA is found in abundance in fish oils and is also synthesized...
National and State Estimates of the Numbers of Adults and Children with Active Epilepsy — United States, 2015
Epilepsy, a brain disorder leading to recurring seizures, has garnered increased public health focus because persons with epilepsy experience pronounced and persistent health and socioeconomic disparities despite treatment advances, public awareness programs, and...
Childhood Absence Epilepsy: 5 Things You Need to Know
Childhood absence epilepsy (CAE), a syndrome that occurs in 1 out of 1000 children, is one of the most common types of early childhood (first decade) seizures. A classic CAE scenario may be that of a little girl who has just started kindergarten and has periods of...
What is West Syndrome?
Epileptic spasms, also known as infantile spasms, juvenile spasms, or West syndrome[ is an uncommon-to-rare epileptic disorder in infants, children and adults. It is named after the English physician, William James West (1793–1848), who first described it in an...
What Are Epileptic Seizures and What Causes Them?
A person can suffer from an epileptic seizure (also frequently known as an epileptic fit) when they experience abnormal electrical activity in the brain. This can be a serious medical condition, and any member of the population could potentially experience an...
More Americans living with epilepsy than ever before!
The number of Americans with epilepsy is on the rise, with at least 3 million adults and 470,000 children living with the disorder, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Epilepsy is a disorder of the brain that causes seizures....
It was all yellow: did digitalis affect the way Van Gogh saw the world?
Extracted from foxgloves, digitalis was once used as a treatment for epilepsy. Could a side effect have triggered the artist’s “yellow period”? It was recently the 127th anniversary of the tragic death of Vincent van Gogh. His short life came to an untimely end two...
What Is Cortical Dysplasia?
Focal cortical dysplasia (FCD) is a congenital abnormality of brain development where the neurons in an area of the brain failed to migrate in the proper formation in utero. Focal cortical dysplasia is a common cause of intractable epilepsy in children and is a...
Zynerba’s cannabis-based epilepsy gel fails in phase 2 trial
Zynerba Pharmaceuticals has reported that its cannabis-based epilepsy gel ZYN002 (cannabidiol [CBD] gel) has failed to meet the primary point in a phase 2 clinical trial. The trial dubbed as STAR 1 was held in 188 adult epilepsy patients with focal seizures across 14...
What is abdominal epilepsy?
Abdominal epilepsy, also known as autonomic epilepsy, abdominal epilepsy is a rare condition most frequently found in children that consist of gastrointestinal (GI) disturbances caused by epileptiform seizure activity. Abdominal epilepsy has been described as a type...
Save a Life – Please Be Aware Water Born Amoeba Causes Seizures and Even Death
Today I received some devastating news. I received a Facebook Message from someone I know: "Chuck, My son died of epilepsy on Mother's Day. He may have had abdominal form since middle school. How can we raise awareness for those with epilepsy and cyclic vomiting? ...
Compound derived from marijuana interacts with anti-epileptic drugs
New research published in Epilepsia, a journal of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE), suggests that an investigational neurological treatment derived from cannabis may alter the blood levels of commonly used anti-epileptic drugs. It is important for...
Neuroscientists develop new forms of diagnosis and therapy for temporal lobe epilepsy
What if you fell off your bicycle today and ten years later you developed epilepsy? Relationships like this might appear far-fetched but are entirely possible, say Freiburg researchers. Using the latest MRI scanning procedures, Prof. Dr. Carola Haas, Department of...
People with autism are less surprised by the unexpected
Adults with autism may overestimate the volatility of the world around them, finds a new UCL study published in Nature Neuroscience. The researchers found that adults with autism were less surprised by unexpected images in a simple learning task than adults without...
