Epilepsy

Epilepsy is a group of disorders marked by problems in the normal functioning of the brain. These problems can produce seizures, unusual body movements, a loss of consciousness or changes in consciousness, as well as mental problems or problems with the senses.

What is Epilepsy?

Epilepsy is a condition that has been known to mankind since ancient times. It affects the brain to cause repeated convulsions or seizures - also called fits in common parlance. The word “epilepsy” comes from the Greek and means to be taken, seized or attacked.

Epilepsy Classification

Epilepsy Epidemiology

Epilepsy Pathophysiology

Epilepsy Seizure Types

Epilepsy Syndromes

Epilepsy Treatment

Epilepsy Legal Implications

Epilepsy in Children

Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP)

Catamenial Epilepsy

Catamenial Epilepsy Diagnosis and Treatment

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Can Stem Cells be Used to Treat Epilepsy?

Latest Epilepsy News and Research

Idiopathic intracranial hypertension is on the rise, finds study

A new study has found a brain pressure disorder called idiopathic intracranial hypertension is on the rise, and the increase corresponds with rising obesity rates.

20 Jan 2021

Hematopoietic stem cell transplants may prevent worsening of MS disability

A new study shows that intense immunosuppression followed by a hematopoietic stem cell transplant may prevent disability associated with multiple sclerosis (MS) from getting worse in 71% of people with relapsing-remitting MS for up to 10 years after the treatment.

20 Jan 2021

Personalized neuromodulation approach provides relief from severe depression symptoms

Targeted neuromodulation tailored to individual patients' distinctive symptoms is an increasingly common way of correcting misfiring brain circuits in people with epilepsy or Parkinson's disease.

18 Jan 2021

iTHRIV announces recipients of health research pilot projects

The Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) hub partnership between Virginia Tech, the University of Virginia, Carilion Clinic, and Inova Health System has awarded $200,000 in funding to five research projects through the Pilot Translational and Clinical Studies Program. Multi-institutional teams of scientists, physicians, and engineers will study Parkinson's disease, celiac disease, pediatric heart transplant, pediatric telemedicine, and epilepsy.

15 Jan 2021

Researchers identify a new link between seizures and connexin 36 deficiency

For the brain to learn, retain memories, process sensory information, and coordinate body movements, its groups of nerve cells must generate coordinated electrical signals. Disorder in synchronous firing can impair these processes and, in extreme cases, lead to seizures and epilepsy.

12 Jan 2021

UMass Lowell researcher receives NIH support to develop therapies for young people with TBIs

A UMass Lowell researcher developing innovative therapies for injured children and teens has received more than $700,000 from the National Institutes of Health to support that work.

11 Jan 2021

Study finds associations between functional seizures and psychiatric disorders, stroke

In a large-scale study of electronic health records, Vanderbilt University Medical Center investigators have determined the prevalence of functional seizures and characterized comorbidities associated with them.

7 Jan 2021

Focused ultrasound shows potential to benefit people with Parkinson's disease

A scalpel-free alternative to brain surgery has the potential to benefit people with Parkinson's disease symptoms that are much more severe on one side of the body, new research suggests.

7 Jan 2021

Study shows how human brains navigate physical space and keep track of others' location

For the first time, scientists have recorded how our brains navigate physical space and keep track of others' location. Researchers used a special backpack to wirelessly monitor the brain waves of epilepsy patients as each one walked around an empty room hunting for a hidden, two-foot spot.

24 Dec 2020

Study reveals how our brains track where we and others go

As COVID cases rise, physically distancing yourself from other people has never been more important. Now a new UCLA study reveals how your brain navigates places and monitors someone else in the same location.

23 Dec 2020

Researchers control cardiac waves with light to study abnormally rapid heart rhythms

Over 300,000 people die each year in the U.S. due to sudden cardiac death. In many cases, sudden cardiac death is caused by abnormally rapid heart rhythms called tachycardias, which means the heart cannot pump adequate blood to the body.

22 Dec 2020

Trinity team uncovers mutations linked with early onset dementia

Scientists at Trinity College Dublin today announced a significant advance in our understanding of an early onset form of dementia that may also progress our understanding of conditions such as Alzheimer's disease.

22 Dec 2020

Researchers explore why seizures happen in a subset of MS patients

A research team at the University of California, Riverside School of Medicine has identified a pathway involving astrocytes, a class of central nervous system support cells, that could shed light on why seizures happen in a subset of multiple sclerosis, or MS, patients.

21 Dec 2020

Study reveals critical role of perirhinal cortex in managing learning process

The famous patient Henry Molaison (long known as H.M.) suffered damage to his hippocampus after a surgical attempt to cure his epilepsy. As a result, he had anterograde amnesia, which meant that things he learned never made it past his short-term memory.

21 Dec 2020

Researchers develop a technique to predict epileptic seizures

A third of epilepsy sufferers are resistant to treatment for this neurological disease that affects 1% of the population.

18 Dec 2020

Microglial surveillance helps prevent seizure activity in the brain

An important part of the brain's immune system, cells called microglia constantly extend and retract "branches" from their cell body to survey their environment.

14 Dec 2020

Study reveas how the brain uses neural activity patterns to compare expectations with the present

Imagine you are sitting on the couch in your living room reading. You do it almost every night. But then, suddenly, when you look up you notice this time something is different.

14 Dec 2020

Comorbid psychiatric disorders explain elevated suicide risk in autism spectrum disorders

A population-based study revealed reasons behind elevated suicide risk, attempted suicides, and other selfharm, which require special health care, among a and young adults with autism spectrum disorders. Comorbid disorders, especially non-affective psychoses and the affective and anxiety disorders, explained the risk.

10 Dec 2020

Antiepileptic drug reduces early signs of clinical dysfunction in people with ALS

The antiepileptic drug ezogabine reduced pathologic excitability of cortical and spinal motor neuron cells that are early signs of clinical dysfunction in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), according to a study conducted by the Neurological Clinical Research Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital.

10 Dec 2020

Severe cortical damage associated with COVID-19 case report

In December 2019, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) began to cause a flu-like infection in people living in Wuhan, China.

10 Dec 2020