Seizure News and Research

Latest Seizure News and Research

Astrocytes help reduce damaging effects of epilepsy

Epileptic fits are like thunderstorms raging in the brain: Nerve cells excite each other in an uncontrolled way so that strong, rhythmic electrical discharges sweep over whole brain regions. In the wake of such a seizure, the nerve cells are severely affected, and permanent damage is possible. The glia, a class of cells that surround the neurons in the brain, was long suspected to contribute to the damaging effects of epilepsy.

7 Aug 2012

ATP1A3 gene mutations responsible for alternating hemiplegia of childhood

Alternating hemiplegia of childhood (AHC) is a rare disorder that usually begins in infancy, with intermittent episodes of paralysis and stiffness, first affecting one side of the body, then the other. Symptoms mysteriously appear and disappear, again and again, and affected children often experience dozens of episodes per week. As they get older, children fall progressively behind their peers in both intellectual abilities and motor skills, and more than half develop epilepsy.

31 Jul 2012

Scientists analyze raw sewage samples to determine illicit drug use

Surveys of drug use form an important basis for the development of effective drug policies, and also for measuring the effectiveness of existing policies. For the first time in history, scientists have now made direct comparisons of illicit drug use in 19 European cities by a cooperative analysis of raw sewage samples.

27 Jul 2012

Delaware district court upholds Pfizer's patents for LYRICA to treat pain and seizures

Pfizer Inc. announced today that the United States District Court for the District of Delaware upheld its composition of matter patent and pain and seizure use patents covering LYRICA (pregabalin) capsules CV. With this decision, Pfizer will exclusively provide pregabalin as LYRICA to patients through December 30, 2018 in the U.S., pending generic company appeal and further litigation.

20 Jul 2012

Robotic surgery shows promise for local control of OSCC

In individuals with low-risk oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma, treatment with transoral robotic surgery alone can result in an excellent rate of local disease control for up to 3 years, report researchers.

19 Jul 2012

Seizure risk should not influence AVM treatment decisions

Choosing to treat patients with arteriovenous malformations surgically rather than conservatively has no bearing on their risk for seizures, suggest findings from the Scottish Audit of Intracranial Vascular Malformations.

10 Jul 2012

FDA action affects companies that manufacture and distribute unapproved oxycodone drugs

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today issued a Federal Register notice instructing companies to stop manufacturing and distributing certain unapproved drugs that contain oxycodone. The notice is part of the FDA's Unapproved Drugs Initiative to remove unapproved new drugs from the market.

6 Jul 2012

$Epilepsy patients unaware of fracture risk$

Epilepsy patients unaware of fracture risk

Few patients with epilepsy are aware that taking anti-epileptic drugs puts them at increased risk for falls and fractures, report researchers.

29 Jun 2012

Astellas submits enzalutamide MAA with EMA for treatment of CRPC

Today, Astellas Pharma Inc. announces the submission of a European marketing authorisation application to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for enzalutamide for the treatment of men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer who have been previously treated with docetaxel-based chemotherapy.

27 Jun 2012

Study investigates EEGs as potential diagnostic tool for autism

Widely available EEG testing can distinguish children with autism from neurotypical children as early as age 2, finds a study from Boston Children's Hospital. The study is the largest, most rigorous study to date to investigate EEGs as a potential diagnostic tool for autism, and offers hope for an earlier, more definitive test.

26 Jun 2012

De novo somatic gene mutations likely to cause hemimegalencephaly

Hemimegalencephaly is a rare but dramatic condition in which the brain grows asymmetrically, with one hemisphere becoming massively enlarged. Though frequently diagnosed in children with severe epilepsy, the cause of hemimegalencephaly is unknown and current treatment is radical: surgical removal of some or all of the diseased half of the brain.

25 Jun 2012

Roseola virus behind one-third of febrile seizures in young children

Researchers have discovered that infection with two of the roseola viruses, which are responsible for a common childhood rash, appear to increase a child’s risk for prolonged seizures and fever and may increase future temporal lobe epilepsy risk.

20 Jun 2012

Research indicates novel electrical bio-marker in humans

The research led by Newcastle University's Dr Mark Cunningham and Professor Miles Whittington and supported by the Dr Hadwen Trust for Humane Research, indicates a novel electrical bio-marker in humans.

16 Jun 2012

Study strengthens link between HHV-6B and mesial temporal lobe epilepsy

A ten-year NIH-funded study has determined that a third of infants with prolonged seizures and fever suffer from either a new or reactivated roseola virus infection. Roseola viruses are the cause of the common childhood rash, but can also cause limbic encephalitis, a condition that frequently progresses to epilepsy. Investigators discovered one of the roseola viruses, human herpesvirus-6B (HHV-6B) in the blood of 32% of 169 infants with prolonged seizures, a condition known as status epilepticus.

15 Jun 2012

Roseola virus accounts for one third of febrile status epilepticus cases

New research shows that human herpesviruses (HHV)-6B and HHV-7, commonly know as roseola virus), account for one third of febrile status epilepticus (FSE) cases. Results of the FEBSTAT prospective study now available in Epilepsia, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE), suggest that HHV-6B may be involved in the development of epilepsy and further research is urgently needed.

14 Jun 2012

Acorda commences AMPYRA clinical study for post-stoke deficits

Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. today announced that the first patient has been enrolled in a proof-of-concept study exploring the use of AMPYRA(dalfampridine) Extended Release Tablets, 10 mg in treating patients who have post-stroke deficits.

13 Jun 2012

Updated AAN guideline outlines treatments for infantile spasms

The American Academy of Neurology has issued an updated guideline outlining the best treatments for infantile spasms, a rare type of seizure that can occur in infants and young children.

12 Jun 2012

FDA approves XenoPort, GSK’s Horizant ER tablets for management of PHN

GlaxoSmithKline plc (GSK) and XenoPort, Inc. announced today that the United States (US) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Horizant (gabapentin enacarbil) Extended-Release Tablets for the management of postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) in adults.

7 Jun 2012

Study describes how seizures in people with AS could be linked to brain cell activity imbalance

New research by scientists at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine may have pinpointed an underlying cause of the seizures that affect 90 percent of people with Angelman syndrome (AS), a neurodevelopmental disorder.

7 Jun 2012

Follow-up study finds seizure freedom in 68% of patients with JME

A 25-year follow-up study reveals that 68% of patients with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME) became seizure-free, with nearly 30% no longer needing antiepileptic drug (AED) treatment. Findings published today in Epilepsia, a journal of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE), report that the occurrence of generalized tonic-clonic seizures preceded by bilateral myoclonic seizures, and AED polytherapy significantly predicted poor long-term seizure outcome.

6 Jun 2012