Epilepsy News and Research

Latest Epilepsy News and Research

FDA extends Exalgo NDA review by three months

CombinatoRx, Incorporated and Neuromed Pharmaceuticals Inc., a privately-held biopharmaceutical company, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued Neuromed a letter extending its review of the New Drug Application (NDA) for the product candidate Exalgo™ (hydromorphone HCl) extended-release tablets by three months.

20 Nov 2009

Alzheimer Research Forum reports on the highlights of the Society of Neuroscience conference

Between 17-21 October 2009, the 39th annual conference of the Society of Neuroscience drew some 30,500 people to the great city of Chicago, which was more balmy than windy for the occasion. Your Alzforum reporters have been busy roaming the halls, buttonholing scientists for their comments on the presentations, and putting together reports on the most significant advances.

20 Nov 2009

PIPC commends CER language inclusion in health care reform bill

The Partnership to Improve Patient Care (PIPC) today applauded Senator Reid’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act for including strong patient-centered comparative effectiveness research (CER) language. The CER language is based on the approach taken by Senators Baucus and Conrad in their CER bill (S. 1213), which is supported by over 100 organizations across the country, representing patients, providers, people with disabilities, and minority health organizations.

20 Nov 2009

USP releases new CRMs for carbamazepine, phenytoin, and theophylline

To help bring greater certainty to the measurement of medication levels in a patient's bloodstream for three drugs with narrow therapeutic ranges, the U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) is releasing new certified reference materials (CRMs).

19 Nov 2009

Halifax researcher wins Prix Galien Research Award

Dr. Donald Weaver, a Halifax researcher with unmatched credentials, received the Prix Galien Research Award at a ceremony in Ottawa last night. Known as the Nobel Prize of pharmaceutical research, this award is the highest distinction worldwide for biopharmaceutical work, and the most prestigious in the field of Canadian pharmaceutical research and innovation.

19 Nov 2009

Women with multiple sclerosis are less likely to have pregnancy complicaitons

There is good news for women with multiple sclerosis (MS) who are pregnant or thinking about becoming pregnant. A new study shows that pregnant women with multiple sclerosis are only slightly more likely to have cesarean deliveries and babies with a poor prenatal growth rate than women who do not have MS.

19 Nov 2009

Smokers face increase risk of seizures; caffeine or alcohol does not increase seizure activity

A recent study determined there is a significant risk of seizure for individuals who currently smoke cigarettes. Boston-based researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School also found that long-term, moderate intake of caffeine or alcohol does not increase the chance of having a seizure or developing epilepsy.

18 Nov 2009

Study to test anti-tumor effects of AEOL 10150 initiated

Aeolus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today the initiation of a study to test the anti-tumor effects of AEOL 10150 when combined with radiation and chemotherapy in nude mice bearing human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) xenografts.

18 Nov 2009

Novel device may reduce ischemic stroke damage

Stroke researchers at the Methodist Neurological Institute in Houston are the only ones in Texas to offer a novel device that might extend the acute stroke treatment window from three hours to 24.

18 Nov 2009

Global Alliance for Chronic Disease to fight against chronic non-communicable diseases

An alliance of institutions collectively managing an estimated 80 percent of all public health research funding worldwide today announced their first targets for concerted action in the fight against "chronic non-communicable diseases" (CNCDs).

17 Nov 2009

FDA provides feedback on the pending NDA for EXALGO tablets

CombinatoRx, Incorporated and Neuromed Pharmaceuticals Inc., a privately-held biopharmaceutical company, today announced that on November 13, 2009, representatives of Neuromed discussed the pending New Drug Application (NDA) for the product candidate EXALGOTM (hydromorphone HCl extended release) tablets, seeking FDA approval for the management of moderate to severe pain in opioid tolerant patients requiring continuous, around-the-clock opioid analgesia for an extended period of time, with staff from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

17 Nov 2009

Third-quarter 2009 results announced by Neurologix

Neurologix, Inc., a biotechnology company engaged in the development of innovative gene therapies for the brain and central nervous system, announced today its financial results for the third quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2009.

12 Nov 2009

Third-quarter 2009 results announced by Catalyst Pharmaceutical

Catalyst Pharmaceutical Partners, Inc. today reported financial results for the third quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2009.

12 Nov 2009

Epilepsy Therapy Project invests $100,000 in NeuroTherapeutics Pharma

NeuroTherapeutics Pharma, Inc., or NTP, a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel therapies for central nervous system (CNS) disorders, today announced that it received a $100,000 investment from the Epilepsy Therapy Project.

11 Nov 2009

New educational program for caregivers of patients with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome

Eisai Inc. introduced a new educational program today to help parents and caregivers of patients with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS), a rare form of epilepsy in which patients have frequent seizures of multiple types.

11 Nov 2009

U.S. DOD grant to study vigabatrin in combination with opiates to manage pain

Catalyst Pharmaceutical Partners, Inc. today reported that a team of neuroscientists at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research at North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System (LIJ) has received a $1.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) to conduct an animal study of the use of vigabatrin in combination with opiates to effectively manage pain while reducing the potential for opiate addiction.

10 Nov 2009

Teenage women who are obese at higher risk to develop MS as adults

Teenage women who are obese may be more than twice as likely to develop multiple sclerosis (MS) as adults compared to female teens who are not obese, according to a study published in the November 10, 2009, print issue of Neurology-, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

10 Nov 2009

Ikano Therapeutics' midazolam granted Orphan Drug designation

Ikano Therapeutics, Inc. announced today that it has received Orphan Drug designation for midazolam in the acute treatment of certain forms of epileptic seizure known as cluster seizures or alternatively, as acute repetitive seizures.

9 Nov 2009

People with MS who relapse within first five years of onset have more severe disability: Study

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who have relapses within the first five years of onset appear to have more severe disability in the short term compared to people who do not have an early relapse, according to a new study published in the November 4, 2009, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The study is one of the first to examine how MS relapses affect people during different time periods of the disease.

5 Nov 2009

EFOF's initative to raise epilepsy awareness

Each year, some 50,000 Americans die from seizures and related causes, triggering more deaths annually than breast cancer. The Epilepsy Foundation of Florida (EFOF) is working to educate the public about this condition during November, Epilepsy Awareness Month.

4 Nov 2009