Seizure News and Research

Latest Seizure News and Research

Early treatment stops epilepsy in its tracks

Yale School of Medicine researchers have shown for the first time that it is possible to suppress the development of epilepsy in genetically predisposed animals - which could open the door to treating epilepsy as a preventable disease.

14 Dec 2007

New ray of hope for children with Batten disease

Investigators at the University of Rochester Medical Center have uncovered a promising drug therapy that offers a ray of hope for children with Batten disease

13 Dec 2007

Children with sickle cell disease, silent strokes show some relief with blood transfusions

A group of children who have sickle cell disease and who experience silent strokes showed some relief from the silent strokes with blood transfusion therapy, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found.

10 Dec 2007

Genetic animal model of autism

By introducing a gene mutation in mice, investigators have created what they believe to be the first accurate model of autism not associated with a broader neuropsychiatric syndrome, according to research presented at the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology annual meeting.

10 Dec 2007

Honey a cheaper and more effective treatment for children's coughs than cough medicine

Experts in the United States say when it comes to children's coughs, natural honey offers a cheaper and more effective alternative to expensive over-the-counter cough medicines.

5 Dec 2007

Positive results from trial of investigational anti-epilepsy drug Brivaracetam

UCB has announced data demonstrating that anti-epileptic drug (AED) brivaracetam, with the proposed trade name Rikelta, administered as an adjunctive treatment in adults with refractory epilepsy with partial onset seizures, significantly reduced seizure frequency and had a side-effect profile comparable to placebo.

4 Dec 2007

Brain abnormalities discovered in people who have trouble reading fast

Some people who have problems reading quickly appear to have abnormalities in the white matter of their brains, according to research published in the December 4, 2007, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

4 Dec 2007

Monitoring of a common epilepsy drug during pregnancy reduces seizure risk

Research at Emory University shows that monitoring the level of an epilepsy drug, called lamotrigine, in the blood helps reduce increased seizure activity and improve the overall health of pregnant women and their fetuses.

29 Nov 2007

Drug monitoring reduces seizures in pregnant women with epilepsy

A popular epilepsy drug taken by pregnant women with epilepsy because of its mild risk of birth defects has been linked to increased seizure activity in up to 75 percent of pregnancies.

29 Nov 2007

BioMarin files investigational NDA for PEG-PAL for the treatment of phenylketonuria

BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. has announced that it has filed an investigational new drug application (IND) with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for PEG-PAL (Poly Ethylene Glycol-Phenylalanine Ammonia Lyase), formerly known as Phenylase, for the treatment of phenylketonuria (PKU).

27 Nov 2007

New guideline for how to treat a person's first unprovoked seizure

A guideline developed by the American Academy of Neurology recommends a routine electroencephalogram (EEG) and brain scans be considered when diagnosing and treating adults who experience their first unprovoked seizure.

19 Nov 2007

Age Intervention Eyelash products seized by U.S. Marshals

At the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Marshals seized today 12,682 applicator tubes of Age Intervention Eyelash, a product that may, in some users, lead to decreased vision.

19 Nov 2007

Optical non-invasive tool to test for decompression sickness

It may not rank among the top 10 causes of death, but decompression sickness can be fatal. Instead of waiting for symptoms to appear, a University of Houston professor is developing a laser-based system that can diagnose the sickness in a matter of seconds.

13 Nov 2007

Toxic 'Bindeez' toys put three children in hospital

A toy which won the Australian Toy of the Year award earlier this year at the Melbourne Toy and Hobby fair has sent the nation, parents and retailers into a panic.

6 Nov 2007

Having two particular epilepsy genes protects against the disease

New research from the Baylor College of Medicine has found that inheriting two of the genes which both cause epilepsy might actually provide protection from the serious condition.

6 Nov 2007

Inheriting two genetic mutations that can individually cause epilepsy may cancel each other

Inheriting two genetic mutations that can individually cause epilepsy might actually be "seizure-protective," said Baylor College of Medicine researchers in a report that appears online in the journal Nature Neuroscience.

5 Nov 2007

Sleeping pill rouses woman from six year coma

Following a heroin overdose 23 year old Amy Pickard has been in a coma for the last 6 years, unable to eat or breathe for herself since falling unconscious in 2001.

4 Nov 2007

New brain cells listen before they talk

Newly created neurons in adults rely on signals from distant brain regions to regulate their maturation and survival before they can communicate with existing neighboring cells - a finding that has important implications for the use of adult neural stem cells to replace brain cells lost by trauma or neurodegeneration, Yale School of Medicine researchers report in The Journal of Neuroscience.

31 Oct 2007

Study examines burden of epilepsy on quality of life

A new study published in Epilepsia is the first to assess the prevalence of self-reported active epilepsy and health-related quality of life among adults with epilepsy in California.

29 Oct 2007

New guideline recommends when to use CT scans in ER for seizures

A guideline developed by the American Academy of Neurology recommends immediate brain CT scans to screen certain emergency room patients with seizures.

29 Oct 2007