Epilepsy News and Research

Latest Epilepsy News and Research

Web-based video game players contribute to analysis of DNA sequences

Thousands of video game players have helped significantly advance our understanding of the genetic basis of diseases such as Alzheimer's, diabetes and cancer over the past year. They are the users of a web-based video game developed by Dr. J-r-me Waldispuhl of the McGill School of Computer Science and collaborator Mathieu Blanchette.

7 Dec 2011

DD and autism screening should be routine for all children seen in epilepsy clinics

Research presented today at the American Epilepsy Society's 65th annual meeting suggests that systematic screening for developmental delay (DD) and autism should be routine for all children seen in epilepsy clinics.

6 Dec 2011

Epilepsy in children with ASD is photosensitive: Study

Epilepsy is common in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). A new study indicates their epilepsy is surprisingly photosensitive as well. Since photosensitive epilepsies can be triggered by flickering lights, the self-stimulatory behavior of ASD children, such as hand flapping in front of the face, has the potential to dramatically increase the risk of inducing photosensitive seizures.

6 Dec 2011

Study looks at how severely low birth weight impacts attention and memory during adulthood

Babies born at a very low birth weight are more likely to have memory and attention problems when they become adults than babies born at a low to normal weight, according to a study published in the December 6, 2011, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

6 Dec 2011

Prenatal exposure to valproate may increase risk of autism in children

Investigators in a population-based study in Denmark reporting today at the American Epilepsy Society's 65th annual meeting have found there is an increased risk of autism spectrum disorder and childhood autism in children born of mothers who are exposed to the anticonvulsant valproate during pregnancy.

6 Dec 2011

Fetal exposure to valproate impairs IQ till age six

Researchers in the U.S. and U.K. are conducting an ongoing investigation of the cognitive effect of fetal exposure across four commonly used antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) as part of an NIH-funded Neurodevelopmental Effects of Antiepileptic Drugs (NEAD) Study. An early NEAD analysis found that fetal exposure to valproate impairs IQ at age three.

6 Dec 2011

Converting patients to lamotrigine extended-release for epilepsy treatment found effective and safe

Epilepsy drug-switching study shows that using more ethical control groups could be the way forward for testing both drug efficacy and safety

5 Dec 2011

Scientists discover new candidate gene for Dravet syndrome

Dravet syndrome is a severe genetic epilepsy that appears early in life. About 75 percent of cases can be attributed to mutations in the SCN1A gene encoding the sodium channel NaV1.1. The remaining patients with this syndrome are without a definitive molecular genetic diagnosis. Research presented today at the American Epilepsy Society's 65th Annual Meeting has found a non-SCN1A candidate gene and suggests that Dravet syndrome may be caused by any one of a number of yet unidentified genes.

5 Dec 2011

Epilepsy patients can benefit from gamma knife radiosurgery

Neurosurgeons continue to explore minimally invasive surgery with gamma radiation (gamma knife surgery / GKS) in the treatment of brain lesions causing seizures and epilepsy. Studies of the procedure are showing it to be an effective alternative to invasive microsurgery for hypothalamic hamartomas and other lesions that lie deep within the brain.

5 Dec 2011

Study: 3D-TV may cause seizures in children and adolescents

Certain visual patterns and flashing images can provoke seizures in susceptible individuals, particularly among children and adolescents. Some media reports on the recent introduction of 3D-television sets suggest that this new technology may cause seizures in some viewers.

5 Dec 2011

Potential medical and social barriers to resective epilepsy surgery in patients after initial evaluation

Epilepsy surgery is safe, effective and often curative in selected candidates. Although candidates for epilepsy surgery in the United States are estimated between 100,000 and 200,000, fewer than 5,000 such surgeries are conducted each year. The cause of this disparity is multi-factorial, including an unexplained low level of referrals by physicians and choices made by patients themselves.

5 Dec 2011

Hypothalamus may be involved in generating laughter

Anecdotal evidence suggests that the hypothalamus, a structure lying deep within the brain may be involved in generating laughter. Gelastic epilepsy, a rare condition characterized by laughing seizures, is commonly the result of a congenital brain lesion within the hypothalamus.

5 Dec 2011

U-M scientists generate Dravet-derived neurons

Scientists investigating the fundamental cause of Dravet syndrome, a severe childhood epilepsy, have reprogrammed fibroblasts, a type of skin cell, from Dravet patients and generated patient-specific neurons.

5 Dec 2011

Bromide shows promise against SCN1A-associated Dravet syndrome with intractable seizures

In the mid-nineteenth century Charles Locock, physician to Queen Victoria, introduced bromide as the first effective treatment for epilepsy. The drug was little used in treating the disorder until 1868, however, when its efficacy against seizures was first demonstrated in a clinical trial. Bromide was the sole anticonvulsant available until 1912 and the introduction of phenobarbital.

5 Dec 2011

Post-baseline vision data from Lundbeck's Sabril patient registry presented at AES meeting

Post-baseline vision data from Lundbeck's Sabril patient registry is available for the first time today as a late-breaking poster presentation at the annual meeting of the American Epilepsy Society.

5 Dec 2011

Two-thirds of women with catamenial epilepsy have diagnosis of partial epilepsy, study finds

In women of childbearing age with epilepsy, seizure exacerbation may occur either at the time of menstruation or ovulation. Investigators in a specialized epilepsy center have analyzed the data on a group of patients with seizures associated with their menstrual cycles (catamenial seizures) for type of epilepsy, seizure frequency, response to medication, neuroimaging findings, and seizures during pregnancy.

3 Dec 2011

Progesterone can benefit women with catamenial seizures: Study

Seizures in women of childbearing age commonly show patterns of exacerbation that involve hormones as a factor. Investigators today reported the favorable outcome of a multicenter randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled phase III clinical trial of progesterone therapy in reducing these perimenstrually exacerbated (catamenial) seizures.

3 Dec 2011