Epilepsy News and Research

Latest Epilepsy News and Research

Dravet Syndrome Foundation awards OPKO Health grant to develop potential therapeutic agents

OPKO Health, Inc. announced today that it has been awarded a grant from the Dravet Syndrome Foundation to support the Company's efforts to develop potential therapeutic agents to treat a rare genetic disorder, Dravet Syndrome, also called severe myoclonic epilepsy of infancy, a severe form of epilepsy that usually appears during the first year of life.

9 May 2011

Ideal psychotropic drug may cause physical dependence

A report in the current issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics by a group of European investigators headed by Fabrizio Schifano has explored the potential for dependence of pregabalin using patients' online reports.

9 May 2011

Scientists use new technologies to identify genetic cause of Kufs disease

Scientists from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute and the University of Melbourne have used innovative new technologies to identify the gene responsible for a rare but fatal hereditary brain disorder. The discovery will make it possible to diagnose the disease through a blood test rather than a brain biopsy.

6 May 2011

Obesity during middle age may increase risk of developing dementia

According to a new study, being overweight or obese during middle age may increase the risk of certain dementias.

3 May 2011

Cyberonics initiates first implant of AspireSR product in epilepsy patients

Cyberonics, Inc., a global leader in epilepsy management, today announced the first implant of its AspireSR™ seizure response product on April 27, 2011.

3 May 2011

ETP makes investment to support development of ICVrx's targeted epilepsy drug technology

Epilepsy Therapy Project, a non-profit organization whose mission is to accelerate new therapies for people living with epilepsy and seizures, and ICVrx, LLC, a pharmacy product research and development company focused on novel therapies for central nervous system disorders, announced today that ETP has made an investment in ICVrx to support the development of ICVrx's targeted epilepsy drug technology for patients whose seizures are not controlled by current therapies.

30 Apr 2011

Antiviral Drugs Advisory Committee recommends FDA to approve telaprevir for hepatitis C

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated announced that the Antiviral Drugs Advisory Committee to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration voted unanimously to recommend FDA approval of telaprevir for people with genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C.

29 Apr 2011

ViroPharma reports net sales of $127 million for first quarter 2011

ViroPharma Incorporated reported today its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2011.

28 Apr 2011

New study sheds light on how sleep-deprived lifestyles might impair brain function

A new study in rats is shedding light on how sleep-deprived lifestyles might impair functioning without people realizing it.

28 Apr 2011

Socioeconomic status linked to medication non-adherence in children with epilepsy

An examination of medication adherence among children with newly diagnosed epilepsy found that nearly 60 percent showed persistent nonadherence during the first 6 months of therapy, and that lower socioeconomic status was associated with higher non-adherence, according to a study in the April 27 issue of JAMA.

27 Apr 2011

AAN honors BIDMC neurologist with Epilepsy Award

Bernard Chang, MD, a member of the Department of Neurology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Assistant Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School, received the Dreifuss-Penry Epilepsy Award at the 63rd Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, held recently in Honolulu, HI.

27 Apr 2011

New findings can lead to better understanding of neurological development, cancer metastasis

By shedding new light on how cells migrate in the developing brain, researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center also may have found a new mechanism by which other types of cells, including cancer cells, travel within the body.

25 Apr 2011

Canadians join hands in fight against meningitis on April 24th

Canadians can join hands in a virtual community with the Meningitis Research Foundation of Canada and become a member of the global family by visiting www.comoonline.org and "joining hands" in the fight against meningitis, and to show support for meningitis awareness and prevention.

25 Apr 2011

Marinus initiates ganaxolone Phase 2 trial in posttraumatic stress disorder

Marinus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the leader in the development of neurosteroids for central nervous system disorders, today announced commencement of a proof-of-concept clinical trial of its lead candidate ganaxolone for the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder.

22 Apr 2011

Ketogenic diet may reverse impaired kidney function in diabetics

Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine have for the first time determined that the ketogenic diet, a specialized high-fat, low carbohydrate diet, may reverse impaired kidney function in people with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. They also identified a previously unreported panel of genes associated with diabetes-related kidney failure, whose expression was reversed by the diet. The findings were published in the current issue of PLoS ONE.

21 Apr 2011

Neurelis completes dosing in intranasal diazepam formulation study

Neurelis, Inc. today announced the completion of subject dosing in a randomized crossover study assessing diazepam pharmacokinetics and bioavailability after administration of two proprietary formulations of intranasal diazepam and intravenous injection.

21 Apr 2011

RCSI conducts study to examine psychiatric disorders in people with epilepsy

Researchers from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) and Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, have conducted the first study of its kind to examine in detail, the basis of psychiatric disorders which occur in people with epilepsy.

20 Apr 2011

Swinburne University of Technology acquires Elekta's Neuromag TRIUX MEG system

Certain brain processes happen in the blink of an eye – and even faster – which has made pinpointing these events virtually impossible. The advent of magnetoencephalography (MEG) changed all that, enabling researchers to capture brain electrical activity measured in milliseconds, and offering the potential to reveal the nature of innumerable brain disorders and diseases.

From Elekta 20 Apr 2011

People with infectious mononucleosis, low UVB exposure may face high risk of MS

New research suggests that people who are exposed to low levels of sunlight coupled with a history of having a common virus known as mononucleosis may be at greater odds of developing multiple sclerosis than those without the virus.

19 Apr 2011

New study finds treatment-resistant epilepsy common in idiopathic autism

A new study found that treatment-resistant epilepsy (TRE) is common in idiopathic autism. Early age at the onset of seizures and delayed global development were associated with a higher frequency of resistance to antiepileptic drugs (AEDs). Full findings appear online in Epilepsia, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE).

19 Apr 2011