Seizure News and Research

Latest Seizure News and Research

Psychotherapeutic drug spending surges

Spending on prescription drugs to treat depression, anxiety, pain, schizophrenia and other conditions climbed from $7.9 billion in 1997 to $20 billion in 2004 - over a 150 percent increase, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

25 Apr 2007

Did drug reps encourage doctors to prescribe gabapentin for nonapproved uses?

A new study published in PLoS Medicine suggests that so-called "detail" visits to doctors made by drug company representatives can involve promotion of drugs for non-approved, "off-label" uses.

25 Apr 2007

Discovery of new genes associated with fever-related seizures that occur in infancy and childhood

Researchers have localized two new genes that are associated with fever-related seizures that occur in infancy and childhood, according to a study published in the April 24, 2007, issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

24 Apr 2007

Scientists find genes involved in memory and learning

Researchers have long recognized that for learning and memory to take place, certain genes must be activated to alter neuron activity inside the brain.

19 Apr 2007

Epilepsy drug retigabine safe and effective

A drug for epilepsy with a new mechanism of action is safe and effective, according to a study published in the April 10, 2007, issue of Neurology", the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

10 Apr 2007

Stress affects levels of serum cytokines across pregnancy

A new study shows that women who report high levels of stress and low social support during pregnancy are more likely to have increased immune system activity, which can trigger inflammatory responses and put them at risk for premature labor and preeclampsia.

7 Apr 2007

Eslicarbazepine shows promise for treating epileptic seizures

A new study appearing in the latest issue of Epilepsia shows that a new drug called Eslicarbazepine (ESL) shows promise as a treatment for epilepsy patients whose symptoms remain uncontrolled with existing medications.

7 Apr 2007

Scientists invent way to reversibly silence brain cells using pulses of yellow light

Scientists at the MIT Media Lab have invented a way to reversibly silence brain cells using pulses of yellow light, offering the prospect of controlling the haywire neuron activity that occurs in diseases such as epilepsy and Parkinson's disease.

2 Apr 2007

FDA clears Xpert EV test for meningitis

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared for marketing a test that uses molecular biology to quickly detect the presence of viral meningitis.

19 Mar 2007

Sunny days pose risk of 'flicker illness' for a few airlifted patients

"This shouldn't preclude transporting a patient from point A to point B in an aircraft, but this concern does need to register as a legitimate risk for a small number of patients. Personnel ought to know how to guard against it."

8 Mar 2007

Scientists answer brain mystery

The taste of champagne, the sound of a train, the flash of a pop fly into left field - indeed all of human perception ' begins in the brain's center. That's where sensory information passes from the thalamus to the neocortex for processing.

5 Mar 2007

Vaccines for measles-mumps-rubella and varicella are effective in extremely preterm infants

The study, which included 16 term and 16 extremely preterm (born before about 6 months of pregnancy) infants born between May 2002 and May 2005, is the first of its kind to examine the antibody levels of measles, mumps, rubella and varicella in this population before and after vaccination. It was published in this month's Pediatrics.

5 Mar 2007

Warning about the indiscriminate use of diet drugs

The United Nations (UN) has issued a warning about the rise in a number of countries of the use of diet drugs to lose weight.

1 Mar 2007

One billion battling with neurological disorders

According to a new report by the World Health Organization (WHO), neurological disorders ranging from migraines to epilepsy and dementia, affect up to 1 billion people worldwide and that number is destined to rise as populations age.

1 Mar 2007

Old drug pentylenetetrazole may improve learning and memory in Down syndrome victims

Researchers in the United States have discovered that an old drug once used to study epilepsy substantially improved learning and memory in mice with Down syndrome symptoms.

26 Feb 2007

Pharmaceutical companies overcharging federal health care programs

Pharmaceutical companies have been systematically overcharging federal health care programs, costing taxpayers billions of dollars, according to federal officials, members of Congress and an advocacy group, the Newhouse News/Richmond Times-Dispatch reports.

25 Feb 2007

Gardasil reaction report released

The National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) today released a new analysis of the federal Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) reports of serious health problems following HPV vaccination (Merck's Gardasil) during the last six months of 2006.

21 Feb 2007