Epilepsy News and Research

Latest Epilepsy News and Research

New insight into how epilepsy may develop

An increased number of neuron "hubs" in the epileptic brain may be the root cause for the seizures that characterize the disorder, according to a UC Irvine study.

26 Mar 2008

The NHS is failing people with learning disabilities

The NHS is failing people with learning difficulties, according to an editorial published in the BMJ today.

17 Mar 2008

Pain receptor in brain may be linked to learning and memory

Scientists have long known that the nervous system receptor known as TRPV1 can affect sensations of pain in the body.

14 Mar 2008

TRPV1 receptor blockers may interfere with brain functions

A new class of painkillers that block a receptor called TRPV1 may interfere with brain functions such as learning and memory, a new study suggests.

13 Mar 2008

Snakes vault past toxic newts in evolutionary arms race

Snakes don't eat fugu, the seafood delicacy prepared from blowfish meat and famed for its poisonous potential.

11 Mar 2008

$Girls and women with Rett syndrome have higher fracture risk$

Girls and women with Rett syndrome have higher fracture risk

Researchers at Perth's Telethon Institute for Child Health Research have found that girls and young women with Rett syndrome are nearly four times more likely to suffer a fracture.

10 Mar 2008

New malaria drug also treats toxoplasmosis

A new drug that will soon enter clinical trials for treatment of malaria also appears to be 10 times more effective than the key medicine in the current gold-standard treatment for toxoplasmosis, a disease caused by a related parasite that infects nearly one-third of all humans—more than two billion people worldwide.

6 Mar 2008

Marijuana causes emotional and memory problems in multiple sclerosis patients

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who smoke marijuana are more likely to have emotional and memory problems, according to research published February 13, 2008, in the online edition of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

18 Feb 2008

Oxcarbazepine doesn't prevent migraine

Contrary to some reports, the epilepsy drug oxcarbazepine does not appear to prevent migraine, according to research published in the February 12, 2008, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

12 Feb 2008

Funding boost for research into epilepsy and hearing loss

Two research projects at the University of Bristol have been awarded over £600,000 in total, to help provide greater understanding of epilepsy, the most common serious primary brain disorder in the UK

11 Feb 2008

RNA-associated introns guide nerve-cell channel production

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have discovered that introns, or junk DNA to some, associated with RNA are an important molecular guide to making nerve-cell electrical channels.

7 Feb 2008

Antiepileptic drug warning from FDA

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today issued new information to health care professionals to alert them about an increased risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviors (suicidality) in patients who take drugs called antiepileptics to treat epilepsy, bipolar disorder, migraine headaches, and other conditions.

5 Feb 2008