Dravet Syndrome News and Research

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FDA approves marijuana based medication for epilepsy treatment

An advisory panel from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recommended the approval of a novel epilepsy drug that is made up of ingredients from marijuana. The agency normally follows the recommendations of the advisory panels regarding approvals and rejections of applications of new drugs. The recommendation statement came yesterday (19th April 2018).

19 Apr 2018

New drug discovered in zebrafish model of pediatric epilepsy shows promising results in clinical study

"Bench-to-bedside" describes research that has progressed from basic science in animal models that has led to therapies used in patients.

13 Feb 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

Purified cannabinoid reduces seizures in children and young adults with treatment-resistant epilepsy

Children and young adults with severe forms of epilepsy that does not respond to standard antiepileptic drugs have fewer seizures when treated with purified cannabinoid, according to a multi-center study led by researchers from UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital San Francisco.

6 Jan 2016

Understanding the causes of sudden death in epilepsy: an interview with Professor Sanjay Sisodiya

SUDEP is the sudden unexpected witnessed or unwitnessed, non-traumatic and non-drowning death in people with epilepsy, with or without evidence of a seizure. It doesn’t necessarily have to be in the known context of a seizure, excluding documented status epilepticus, where people have seizure after seizure.

24 Aug 2015

Feinberg physiology professor named recipient of 2015 AES Seed Grant

Today the American Epilepsy Society announced Anis Contractor, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Physiology at Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, as the recipient of a 2015 AES Seed Grant. Dr. Contractor's proposed research seeks to address a fundamental question about cellular and circuit level excitability in the mouse model of Dravet Syndrome.

3 Jun 2015

UK doctors to test cannabis-based medicine for children with severe epilepsy

Children with severe epilepsy could be helped by a new treatment derived from the cannabis plant.

18 Dec 2014

Scientists receive NIH grants to explore sudden unexpected death in epilepsy

Nine groups of scientists will receive funding totaling $5.9 million in 2014 to work together on increasing the understanding of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP), the leading cause of death from epilepsy. The consortium becomes the second Center Without Walls, an initiative to speed the pace of research on difficult problems in epilepsy by promoting collaborative research.

9 Dec 2014

Case Western Reserve selected to lead $27.3 million international effort to identify causes of SUDEP

Case Western Reserve is one of two universities in the country selected to lead a $27.3 million international effort to identify the causes of a mysterious and deadly phenomenon that strikes people with epilepsy without warning.

9 Dec 2014

Study shows link between cardiac abnormalities, sudden unexpected death in epilepsy

Groundbreaking findings describing the link between cardiac abnormalities and sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) will be presented at the American Epilepsy Society's Annual Meeting in December.

7 Dec 2014

New Colombia creates joint venture to produce cannabis and hemp based medicinal products

New Colombia Resources, Inc., a U.S. company with coal and other resource assets in Colombia, is pleased to announce they have formed a joint venture to produce cannabis and hemp based medicinal products in Colombia in association with an indigenous community in Colombia.

9 Oct 2014

Reducing brain levels of tau protein effectively blocks development of childhood epilepsy

Researchers at the Gladstone Institutes have shown that reducing brain levels of the protein tau effectively blocks the development of disease in a mouse model of Dravet syndrome, a severe intractable form of childhood epilepsy.

14 Aug 2014

Study examines potential use of medical marijuana, CBD in treating epilepsy

The therapeutic potential of medical marijuana and pure cannabidiol (CBD), an active substance in the cannabis plant, for neurologic conditions is highly debated.

23 May 2014

Can cannabis help curb convulsions?

Experts say that vigorous investigations are needed to determine whether or not the medical use of marijuana would be of benefit to patients with epilepsy.

22 May 2014

AES released list of new fellowship awardees for organization's early-career awards

Today, the American Epilepsy Society (AES) released its list of new fellowship awardees, naming 15 recipients for the organization's early-career awards.

15 Apr 2014

UCSF-led study gathers data on safety, tolerability of purified cannabinoid for children with epilepsy

A new international multi-center study led by researchers from UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital is the first to evaluate whether purified cannabinoid is effective in treating severe forms of childhood epilepsy that do not respond to standard antiepileptic drugs.

5 Feb 2014

Researchers discover new gene involved in severe childhood epilepsy

A European consortium of epilepsy researchers has reported the discovery of a new gene involved in severe childhood epilepsy. Using a novel combination of technologies, including trio exome sequencing of patient/parental DNA and genetic studies in the tiny larvae of zebrafish, the EuroEPINOMICS RES consortium found that mutations in the gene CHD2 are responsible for a subset of epilepsy patients with symptoms similar to Dravet syndrome - a severe form of childhood epilepsy that is in many patients resistant to currently available anti-epileptic drugs.

23 Jan 2014

Research findings suggest possible novel strategies to prevent SUDEP

Patients with epilepsy and, in particular, those with severe syndromic forms of the disorder, harbor a risk of sudden unexplained death in epilepsy, or SUDEP. Cardiac arrhythmias are a proposed cause. In a test of this theory, researchers have demonstrated that mice harboring a human SCN1A gene mutation that results in Dravet Syndrome, a severe and intractable genetic epilepsy, have electrical disturbances in the heart that culminate in ventricular fibrillation and sudden cardiac death.

9 Dec 2013

NIH-funded study finds zebrafish model may help identify treatments for childhood epilepsy

According to new research on epilepsy, zebrafish have certainly earned their stripes. Results of a study in Nature Communications suggest that zebrafish carrying a specific mutation may help researchers discover treatments for Dravet syndrome (DS), a severe form of pediatric epilepsy that results in drug-resistant seizures and developmental delays.

4 Sep 2013

Stem cell-based epilepsy approach may help in search for better medicines to treat seizure disorders

A new stem cell-based approach to studying epilepsy has yielded a surprising discovery about what causes one form of the disease, and may help in the search for better medicines to treat all kinds of seizure disorders.

25 Jul 2013