Anticonvulsant News and Research

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New review examines potential of medicinal cannabis to help treat intractable epilepsy

A new British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology review examines the potential of medicinal cannabis--or medical marijuana--for helping patients with intractable epilepsy, in which seizures fail to come under control with standard anticonvulsant treatment.

8 Aug 2018

Research sheds light on composition of cannabis used to treat children with epilepsy

A pioneering study has found Australian parents who turned to medicinal cannabis to treat children with epilepsy overwhelmingly (75 percent) considered the extracts as "effective". Contrary to parental expectations, extracts generally contained low doses of cannabidiol - commonly considered to be a key therapeutic element and that has been successfully used in recent clinical trials to treat epilepsy.

5 Jul 2018

Anticonvulsants found to be ineffective for low back pain and can have adverse effects

Anticonvulsant drugs are increasingly being used to treat low back pain, but a new study in CMAJ finds they are ineffective and can have adverse effects.

3 Jul 2018

Early-life seizures prematurely switch on key brain synapses related to autism

Early-life seizures prematurely switch on key synapses in the brain that may contribute to further neurodevelopmental delay in children with autism and other intellectual disabilities, suggests a new study from researchers at Penn Medicine published online in Cell Reports.

29 May 2018

UCI research team uncovers new unexpected mode of neurotransmitter-based communication

Researchers at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine have discovered the first example of a novel mode of neurotransmitter-based communication.

22 May 2018

Compound derived from cannabis may alter blood levels of antiepileptic 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 antiepileptic drugs.

7 Aug 2017

Research shows potential way to limit damage to the brain caused by seizure disorder

Tiny vesicles isolated from adult mesenchymal stem cells and administered intranasally can limit the damage to the brain of animal models caused by a seizure disorder called status epilepticus, according to research published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

21 Apr 2017

Genes implicated in rare pediatric epilepsy contribute to common forms of disorder, study finds

An international study led by Columbia University Medical Center and NewYork-Presbyterian researchers has found that several genes previously implicated only in rare, severe forms of pediatric epilepsy also contribute to common forms of the disorder.

12 Jan 2017

ADD Program receives $19.5 million NIH contract to test drugs for treating epilepsy

The University of Utah College of Pharmacy's Anticonvulsant Drug Development Program has been awarded a five-year $19.5 million contract renewal with the National Institutes of Health to test drugs to treat epilepsy, and the major focus of the project is to address needs that affect millions of people worldwide -identify novel investigational compounds to prevent the development of epilepsy or to treat refractory, or drug-resistant, epilepsy.

23 Nov 2016

$Researchers discover risk factors that contribute to fracture nonunion in adults$

Researchers discover risk factors that contribute to fracture nonunion in adults

Dr. Robert Zura, the Robert D'Ambrosia Professor and Head of Orthopaedic Surgery at LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine, was part of a research team that identified risk factors which may help orthopaedic surgeons better predict a serious complication of bone fractures.

7 Sep 2016

FDA approves new ExAblate Neuro to treat patients with essential tremor

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved the first focused ultrasound device to treat essential tremor in patients who have not responded to medication. ExAblate Neuro uses magnetic resonance (MR) images taken during the procedure to deliver focused ultrasound to destroy brain tissue in a tiny area thought to be responsible for causing tremors.

11 Jul 2016

Existing anti-inflammatory drugs may be effective in treating epilepsy

In epileptic patients, seizures lead to an increased level of inflammation-related proteins called chemokines in the brain, and systemic inflammation likely helps trigger and promote the recurrence of seizures, making inflammation a promising new target for anticonvulsant therapy.

6 Jul 2016

Epilepsy drug exposure does not increase newborn orofacial cleft risk

Pregnant women with epilepsy should not rule out continuing lamotrigine therapy due to concerns that exposure could increase the risk of orofacial clefts in their babies, say investigators.

7 Apr 2016

Anticonvulsant medication gabapentin effectively reduces common complication of PONV

The anticonvulsant medication gabapentin—already a useful part of strategies to control pain after surgery—also effectively reduces the common complication of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV), reports a study in Anesthesia & Analgesia.

23 Mar 2016

Study provides new insights into Retigabine drug

A study published ahead of print in the The Journal of General Physiology has revealed new insights into Retigabine, a known pharmacological treatment for epilepsy.

19 Feb 2016

UCI researchers uncover new underlying factor of seizures

University of California, Irvine researchers with the School of Medicine have identified the mechanism by which valproic acid controls epileptic seizures, and by doing so, also revealed an underlying factor of seizures.

15 Sep 2015

First drug produced by 3D printing is approved by FDA

Levetiracetam manufactured using three-dimensional (3D) printing has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of epilepsy.

5 Aug 2015

New epilepsy drug holds promise as Alzheimer's treatment

University of British Columbia researchers say a new epilepsy drug holds promise as a treatment for Alzheimer's disease.

7 May 2015

Electronic micropump combined with anticonvulsant drug may treat brain diseases

Many potentially efficient drugs have been created to treat neurological disorders, but they cannot be used in practice. Typically, for a condition such as epilepsy, it is essential to act at exactly the right time and place in the brain.

16 Apr 2015

UV researchers study neurobiological link between ASD and epilepsy

Researchers at the University of Veracruz (UV), in the west coast of Mexico, study the neurobiological link between the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and epilepsy, in order to understand the reason why the brain of an autistic child is 20-30 percent more susceptible to seizures that an infant without this condition.

6 Apr 2015