Seizure News and Research

Latest Seizure News and Research

Cerebrolysin: a promising new treatment for dementia

Dementia patients may benefit from a promising new treatment called Cerebrolysin, according to the results of a systematic review published in The Cochrane Library. The authors brought together the most up-to-date evidence on Cerebrolysin as a treatment for vascular dementia.

31 Jan 2013

Brain areas work together at the same time to recall memories

Working with patients with electrodes implanted in their brains, researchers at the University of California, Davis, and The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) have shown for the first time that areas of the brain work together at the same time to recall memories. The unique approach promises new insights into how we remember details of time and place.

30 Jan 2013

Neuroscientists develop new way to stop epileptic seizures with fiber-optic light signals

UC Irvine neuroscientists have developed a way to stop epileptic seizures with fiber-optic light signals, heralding a novel opportunity to treat the most severe manifestations of the brain disorder.

28 Jan 2013

Look for narrative ability in children with epilepsy

Children with chronic epilepsy have significantly decreased language skill abilities, particularly narrative ability, compared with their unaffected peers, report US researchers.

25 Jan 2013

Management of hospital-onset seizures lacks standards

Seizures in patients admitted to hospital for nonseizure reasons – hospital-onset seizures – largely affect those without any history of seizures, often recur, and are linked to a high mortality, according to a study in JAMA Neurology.

21 Jan 2013

Head-scratching persists despite nodding syndrome study

Nodding syndrome is an epileptic disorder, with telltale nodding episodes caused by atonic seizures, concludes a pioneering study of the mysterious neurologic illness that has been reported in only three African countries.

17 Jan 2013

Some epileptic seizures may originate in glia: Study

Epileptic seizures occur when neurons in the brain become excessively active. However, a new study from MIT neuroscientists suggests that some seizures may originate in non-neuronal cells known as glia, which were long believed to play a mere supporting role in brain function.

17 Jan 2013

Pill color switch disrupts medication adherence

Simply changing the appearance of a prescription medication can significantly alter patients’ compliance with treatment, study findings show.

14 Jan 2013

Pannexin1 channel protein critical for memory and orientation

The channel protein Pannexin1 keeps nerve cells flexible and thus the brain receptive for new knowledge. Together with colleagues from Canada and the U.S., researchers at the Ruhr-Universit-t Bochum led by the junior professor Dr. Nora Prochnow from the Department of Molecular Brain Research describe these results in PLoS ONE.

10 Jan 2013

Epilepsy, migraine susceptibility kept in the family

Researchers report that there is a shared genetic susceptibility to epilepsy and migraine with aura.

9 Jan 2013

New research reveals a shared genetic susceptibility to epilepsy and migraine

New research reveals a shared genetic susceptibility to epilepsy and migraine. Findings published in Epilepsia, a journal of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE), indicate that having a strong family history of seizure disorders increases the chance of having migraine with aura (MA).

7 Jan 2013

Low-carbohydrate diet effective in juvenile myoclonic epilepsy

Dietary modification can be an effective adjunct to drugs in people with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy, according to a study reported in Epilepsy and Behavior.

3 Jan 2013

New insights into devastating second impact syndrome

Physicians at Indiana University School of Medicine and the Northwest Radiology Network (Indianapolis, Indiana) report the case of a 17-year-old high school football player with second impact syndrome (SIS). A rare and devastating traumatic brain injury, SIS occurs when a person, most often a teenager, sustains a second head injury before recovery from an earlier head injury is complete.

2 Jan 2013

Researchers sequence entire gene to identify mutations that cause hyperinsulinism

Congenital hyperinsulinism is a genetic condition where a baby's pancreas secretes too much insulin. It affects approximately one in 50,000 live births and in severe cases requires the surgical removal of all or part of the pancreas.

28 Dec 2012

Acorda Therapeutics acquires Neuronex

Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. today announced that the Company has completed the acquisition of Neuronex, Inc., a privately held company developing a nasal spray formulation of diazepam. Under the terms of the agreement, Acorda paid $6.8 million to Neuronex to complete the acquisition.

21 Dec 2012

Radical surgery has lasting benefits for epileptic children

Hemispherectomy in children with medically refractory epilepsy offers a high rate of long-term seizure control, report US researchers.

20 Dec 2012

AAV-based gene therapy cocktail may help extend lives of children with Canavan disease

Results of a clinical trial that began in 2001 show that a gene therapy cocktail conveyed into the brain by a molecular special delivery vehicle may help extend the lives of children with Canavan disease, a rare and fatal neurodegenerative disorder.

20 Dec 2012

Ion channel acts as powerful ‘brake’ after epileptic seizures

Given that epilepsy impacts more than 2 million Americans, there is a pressing need for new therapies to prevent this disabling neurological disorder. New findings from the neuroscience laboratory of Mark S. Shapiro, Ph.D., at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, published Dec. 20 in the high-impact scientific journal, Neuron, may provide hope.

19 Dec 2012

Patients achieve favorable seizure outcomes after resective epilepsy surgery

Brain surgery for certain difficult forms of epilepsy often reduces or eliminates seizures for more than 15 years after the procedure, according to new research by neurologists at Henry Ford Hospital.

19 Dec 2012