NEWS
Brain scans may predict possibility of recovering from coma
Brain scans of people in a coma may help predict who will regain consciousness, according to a study published in the November 11, 2015, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The study looked at connections between areas...
Epilepsy Experiences – Outstanding Athlete Gets Back in the Game
With consistent treatment adherence, most people with epilepsy can even enjoy competitive sports. As an outstanding 15-year-old athlete, Nolan loved to play football. He enjoyed the competition, the camaraderie, and the focus and discipline of being on the team. He...
New FDA-Approved, Non-Drug Treatment Offers Hope for Those with Drug-Resistant Epilepsy
Following FDA approval of the AspireSR® generator for the VNS Therapy® system inJune 2015, more than a thousand patients with drug-resistant epilepsy across the United States have received this new treatment option. Many of these patients are experiencing benefits...
Genes May Play Greater Role in Focal Epilepsy than Previously Thought
Although focal epilepsies generally have not been considered to be genetic disorders, an international team led by researchers from the University of South Australia in Adelaide has uncovered evidence that a genetic component indeed exists. After identifying an...
A Look at Epilepsy Electrical Outbursts in the Brain
When you hear the word epilepsy, you might think of intense seizures with muscle spasms and loss of consciousness. But most epilepsy seizures are surprisingly subtle and may be hard to recognize. These little spells can be an early warning sign of epilepsy, a brain...
What Do You Know About Epilepsy?
What should you know! Do you know what causes a seizure? Epilepsy is a neurological disorder of the brain, where a person has recurring seizures. It is not contagious, a mental illness or a mental impairment. It is not even a single disease. Causes can include head...
Flies may have the answer to preventing epilepsy, say Manchester scientists
University of Manchester researchers believe they have found the answer to the early prevention of epilepsy in the tiny nervous systems of fruit flies Scientists in Manchester believe they have found the answer to the early prevention of epilepsy - in the tiny nervous...
Psychogenic Non-Epileptic Seizures: How Do Pediatric Patients Fare
Researchers reported at the Child Neurology Society annual meeting that one-third of children diagnosed with psychogenic non-epileptic seizures achieve symptom remission within six months of diagnosis, which is sustained for at least two years. One-third of children...
Estrogen-like drug may not be beneficial to women with Alzheimer’s dementia
An estrogen-like drug, raloxifene, has no demonstrated benefit on memory and thinking skills for women with dementia due to Alzheimer's disease, according to a study published in the November 4, 2015, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American...
More Positive Results With Cannabidiol in Epilepsy
WASHINGTON, DC — Researchers are reporting further positive results using an investigational product containing pure cannabidiol (Epidiolex, GW Pharmaceuticals) in children with intractable epilepsy. Francis Filloux, MD, chief, Division of Pediatric Neurology,...
Pertussis infection in children associated with small increased risk of epilepsy
Although the absolute risk was low, researchers found an increased risk of childhood-onset epilepsy among children in Denmark who had a hospital-diagnosed pertussis infection (whooping cough), compared with the general population, according to a study in the JAMA....
Good Results with Early Resective Surgery for Epilepsy
Surgeons are more likely than ever to consider resective procedures in infants and young children who have refractory seizure disorders. Surgical, anesthetic and pediatric care advances have increased this procedure’s safety margin. Freedom from seizures,...
In Epilepsy, Sleep Apnea Can Be at Play Even When You Least Expect It
Case shows importance of sleep apnea screening in all epileptic patients By Nancy Foldvary-Schaefer, DO, MS Presentation A 25-year-old man presented to Cleveland Clinic’s Epilepsy Center in 2002 with epileptic seizures occurring as frequently as once a day and...
Sad News – Coach Jerry Kill Retiring
While coaching football, Jerry Kill taught us about epilepsy If there’s a guy you could root for in Minnesota sports, it was U of M football coach Jerry Kill, if only to mute the sportswriters who wanted him fired a few years ago when his epilepsy caused him to...
BREAKTHROUGH: Scientists decode central signal switch associated with epileptic seizures
Scientists at the University of Bonn and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Israel) have decoded a central signal cascade associated with epileptic seizures. If the researchers blocked a central switch in epileptic mice, the frequency and severity of the seizures...
SUDEP RESEARCH: Study: Blackouts, near drownings linked to sudden death risk
The annual congress of the South African Heart Association is being held in Rustenburg from Oct. 25-28, 2015. Experts from the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) will present a special programme. Professor Brink said: "LQTS is a cardiac disorder associated with...
Gene May Boost Death Risk for People With Mild Epilepsy
Researchers say they've identified a gene mutation that might increase the risk of sudden death in people with mild epilepsy. The researchers studied a four-generation family with nine members who had epilepsy caused by a mutation of the DEPDC5 gene. This form of...
Turing Pharmaceuticals AG Announces FDA Acceptance of Investigational New Drug Application and Fast Track Designation for TUR-004
ZUG, Switzerland, Oct. 23, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Turing Pharmaceuticals AG today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared the Investigational New Drug (IND) application for TUR-004 in the treatment of epileptic encephalopathies....
MS TREATMENT: Study shows promise for developing targeted treatments for multiple sclerosis
Modern scientific understanding has considered multiple sclerosis (MS) to be a disease controlled by the T cell, a type of white blood cell. Research has shown that in MS, T cells inappropriately attack myelin, the protective layer of fat covering nerves in the...
The push to develop smart devices to predict, stop epileptic seizures
ROCHESTER, Minn. — Researchers at Mayo Clinic were awarded a $6.8 million, five-year federal grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop intelligent devices to track and treat abnormal brain activity in people with epilepsy. The grant, part of a...
