An international team of researchers has identified which brain proteins might be most influential in controlling neural activity associated with epilepsy and anxiety, paving the way for better prevention and treatments someday.
In the past three decades, more than 15 new drugs have been approved to treat seizures. Yet data from a longitudinal, single-center study show that people with epilepsy are no more likely to find success with new drugs as they did with older ones.
It’s been used for medicinal purposes for more than 4,000 years and was the basis for one of the newest epilepsy drugs on the market. Does medical marijuana have a place in epilepsy treatment?
Women who take epilepsy drugs while they are pregnant may have a lower risk of having a child with delays in language skills if they take folic acid supplements before and early in pregnancy, according to a study published in the August 1, 2018, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
After 10 years of research, a Rutgers-led team of scientists has identified two molecules that protect nerve cells after a traumatic brain injury and could lead to new drug treatments. The molecules promote full recovery after traumatic brain injury (TBI) in mice, according to the study published online in Neurobiology of Disease.
Mayfield Brain & Spine joins over 100 existing QOD participating centers.
Richard Pollitt was at the end of his rope after years of suffering regular seizures, with some lasting five minutes and preventing him from working and enjoying his favorite pastimes. Desperate for relief after medications did not work, Pollitt had a small battery-powered device implanted in his skull to control seizures. Now he rarely has them.
Written by: Haley Herfurth Media contact: Adam Pope, [email protected] Wolfgang Muhlhofer, M.D.Status epilepticus, a dangerous condition in which epileptic seizures follow one another for a duration of five or more minutes without the victim’s regaining consciousness between them, is the second most common neurological emergency in the United States, with a recorded maximum of around 150,000-plus cases per year.
UT Southwestern researchers today published the first atomic structure of a brain receptor bound to a drug used to reverse anesthesia and to treat sedative overdoses.
To increase access to advanced neurological care, Christiana Care Health System has opened the first Epilepsy Monitoring Unit (EMU) in the First State.
After more than a decade of suffering from epileptic seizures – sometimes more than 100 a day – a woman finds improved quality of life thanks to neurosurgeon Lawrence Daniels, M.D. and the team at the Neuroscience Institute at Jersey Shore University Medical Center.
Early-life seizures prematurely switch on key synapses in the brain that may contribute to further neurodevelopmental delay in children with autism and other intellectual disabilities, suggests a new study from researchers at Penn Medicine.
Lafora disease is an ultra-rare, congenital form of epilepsy; every patient diagnosed with it dies before they are 30. Research into the mechanisms of glycogen metabolism at the University of Kentucky show promise for treatments for this and perhaps other forms of epilepsy.
This is the first example of a novel mode of neurotransmitter-based communication and challenges current dogma about mechanisms of signaling in the brain. The findings uncover new pathways for developing therapies for disorders like epilepsy, anxiety and chronic pain.
The seemingly unrelated conditions of hypertension, epilepsy and overactive bladder may be linked by electrical activity in a protein long studied by a biomedical engineer at Washington University in St. Louis. After new technology recently revealed the structure of the protein, his lab will collaborate with two others to take an unprecedented look into its molecular mechanisms, potentially leading to the development of new drugs for these and other conditions.
Epilepsy patients who have not responded to standard drug treatments may benefit from a new therapy that delivers high frequency bursts of electrical stimulation, called microbursts, to the brain. Rush University Medical Center in Chicago is the first health care provider in the world to provide this treatment, known as microburst vagus nerve stimulation.
New findings from the University of Kentucky published in the Journal of Neuroscience demonstrate that there may be ways to address blood-brain barrier dysfunction in epilepsy.
Hackensack Meridian Health Hackensack University Medical Center is pleased to announce that it has received a two-year National Association of Epilepsy Centers (NAEC) accreditation at Level 4, the top level of accreditation presented by the NAEC.
The Latest News On Marijuana Research
Rush has launched the first comprehensive epilepsy clinic in Chicago dedicated to treating epilepsy in older adults, serving a population that is often not optimally treated.
Survival of childhood cancers dramatically improved through national cooperative group research and care protocols; specialists call for the same model to improve outcomes of early life epilepsies.
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Neurology researchers investigating a rare but devastating neurological regression in infants have discovered the cause: gene mutations that severely disrupt crucial functions in mitochondria, the energy-producing structures within cells. The specific disease mechanism has not previously been implicated in a human disease.
Researchers have discovered a “missing mutation” in severe infant epilepsy—long-suspected genetic changes that might trigger overactive, brain-damaging electrical signaling leading to seizures. They also found early indications that specific anti-seizure medications might prevent disabling brain injury.
In a new approach to precision medicine research, scientists used bioinformatics tools to identify common features of genes associated with infantile spasms compared to other forms of early life epilepsy. Their analysis, published in PLOS ONE, reveals that infantile spasms are not only unique clinically, but also biologically. Focus on specific biological mechanisms underlying the genes that cause infantile spasms could help find new targets for treatment.
A variety of neurosurgical procedures are performed with the aid of smartphone-endoscope integration. The smartphone takes the place of a camera and video monitor. It is easy to use, more cost effective, and provides the surgeon with a more intuitive and fluid method of performing neuroendoscopy.
UC San Diego Health now offers patients with epilepsy another non-pharmacological way to treat seizures. For the more than one million individuals who live with uncontrolled seizures despite taking medications, UC San Diego Health recently began offering the first and only FDA-approved brain-responsive neurostimulation (RNS) system designed for the treatment of refractory epilepsy.
Learning techniques to help manage stress may help people with epilepsy reduce how often they have seizures, according to a study published in the February 14, 2018, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Comparison of two of the most commonly prescribed drugs for infants with nonsyndromic epilepsy revealed that levetiracetam was more effective than phenobarbital, according a multicenter, observational study published in JAMA Pediatrics. After six months of single-drug treatment, 40 percent of infants who received levetiracetam met criteria for successful outcome – they did not require a second anti-epileptic drug to control their seizures and they became seizure-free within three months of starting treatment. Only 16 percent of infants treated with phenobarbital achieved the same outcome.
ROCHESTER, Minn. — Tickling the brain with low-intensity electrical stimulation in a specific area can improve verbal short-term memory. Mayo Clinic researchers report their findings in Brain.
Younger adults with difficult-to-treat epilepsy may have early signs of chronic traumatic encephalopathy in their brain tissue, but it appears to be uncommon, according to a small, preliminary study published in the January 10, 2018, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Rural counties continue to rank lowest among counties across the U.S., in terms of health outcomes. A group of national organizations including the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the National 4-H Council are leading the way to close the rural health gap.
Business experts estimate that the market for Cannabidiol (CBD) products will grow to more than $2 billion in consumer sales within the next three years. While interest in this area continues to grow, little has been done to ensure regulation and oversight of the sale of products containing CBD.
A new study examining 200 children with epileptic encephalopathy – epilepsy combined with intellectual or overall developmental disability –identified eight new genes involved in this type of epilepsy thanks to their use of whole-genome sequencing, which had never been done before in an epileptic study of this scope.
Inducing a biochemical alteration in brain proteins via the dietary supplement glucosamine was able to rapidly dampen that pathological hyperexcitability in rat and mouse models. These results represent a potentially novel therapeutic target for the treatment of seizure disorders
Tulane University’s Laura Schrader, a cell and molecular biology professor and Brain Institute member, received a two-year grant from the National Institute of Health to study the role of a Shox2, a protein in the brain important for development and function of the thalamus. Schrader is exploring Shox2’s potential link to epilepsy, autism and schizophrenia.
NYU Langone Hospital – Brooklyn has opened a new state-of-the-art Epilepsy Unit to address the immense community need for epilepsy care.
Nearly one out of every three humans on earth has a lifelong infection with the brain-dwelling parasite Toxoplasma gondii. In the September 13 issue of Scientific Reports, researchers from multiple institutions describe efforts to learn how infection with the parasite Toxoplasma gondii may alter, and in some cases amplify, several brain disorders, including epilepsy, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases as well as some cancers.
Balancing school and sleep; Researchers report link between cells associated with aging and bone loss; Discovery of new prostate cancer biomarkers could improve precision therapy...
The younger the epilepsy begins, the more likely doctors are to find a genetic cause that may help with treatment.
A study published in JAMA Pediatrics supports the use of genetic testing, especially with sequencing, as first-line diagnostic method for young children with seizures. Specific genetic factors were found to be the cause of epilepsy in 40 percent of patients evaluated for first presentation with seizures. Genetic testing also yielded a diagnosis in 25 percent of children who had epilepsy with an otherwise unknown cause.
Two rare diseases caused by a malfunctioning gene that triggers seizures or involuntary movements in children as early as a few days old have left scientists searching for answers and better treatment options.
In a recent feasibility study, BIDMC tested an anti-epileptic drug for its potential impact on the brain activity of patients with mild Alzheimer’s disease. The team documented changes in patients’ EEGs that suggest the drug could have a beneficial effect.
Many neurological diseases are malfunctions of synapses, or the points of contact between neurons that allow senses and other information to pass from finger to brain. In the brain, there is a careful balance between the excitatory synapses that allow messages to pass, and the inhibitory synapses that dampen the signal. When that balance is off, the brain becomes unable to process information normally, leading to conditions like epilepsy. Now researchers at Jefferson have discovered a molecule that may play a role in helping maintain the balance of excitatory and inhibitory neurons. The results were published in the journal eLife.
Scientists for the first time combine organoids with bioengineering. Using small microfilaments, they show improved tissue architecture that mimics human brain development more accurately and allows more targeted studies of brain development and its malfunctions, as reported in the current issue of Nature Biotechnology.
Researchers have developed a new device to map the brain during surgery and distinguish between healthy and diseased tissues. The device provides higher resolution neural readings than existing tools used in the clinic and could enable doctors to perform safer, more precise brain surgeries.
Increasing interest in the properties of cannabinoids as a therapy for epilepsy has prompted Epilepsy & Behavior to produce a special issue devoted entirely to studies of cannabinoids. A UAB neurologist involved in UAB’s studies of CBD oil serves a co-guest editor of the issue.
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