http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. (HealthDay)—Pregnant women who struggle with migraine headaches should never use medicines containing the ingredient valproate because they can lower the IQ scores of their children, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Monday. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-fda-pregnant-women-migraine-drugs.html Medications Mon, 06 May 2013 18:24:19 EST news287083452 A new study by a Rhode Island Hospital researcher has found that traumatic brain injury (TBI) can significantly increase the odds of having major depression, personality impulsivity and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in patients with psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES). The paper, by W. Curt LaFrance Jr., M.D., M.P.H., director of neuropsychiatry and behavioral neurology, is published online in advance of print in the journal Epilepsia. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-traumatic-brain-injury-worsens-outcomes.html Neuroscience Mon, 08 Apr 2013 16:03:48 EST news284655821 (Medical Xpress)—The effects of antiepileptic drugs during pregnancy have long been a concern of clinicians and women of childbearing age whose seizures can only be controlled by medications. In 1999, a study called the Neurodevelopmental Effects of Antiepileptic Drugs (NEAD) began following the children of women who were taking a single antiepileptic agent during pregnancy. The drugs included carbamazepine, lamotrigine, phenytoin or valproate. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-fetal-exposure-antiepileptic-drug-valproate.html Neuroscience Wed, 20 Mar 2013 07:18:02 EST news282982655 Children whose mothers take the antiepileptic drug sodium valproate while pregnant are at significantly increased risk of autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders, suggests a small study published online in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-exposure-antiepileptic-drug-womb-linked.html Autism spectrum disorders Wed, 30 Jan 2013 18:30:01 EST news278789774 Research published today in the Lancet Neurology shows that taking the antiepileptic drug valproate during pregnancy affects the IQ of children up to the age of six. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-reveals-long-term-effects-child-iq.html Medications Tue, 22 Jan 2013 18:30:02 EST news278098291 Generic medications currently account for over 70 percent of prescriptions dispensed. However, while generic drugs are clinically bioequivalent to the brand-name version, they often differ in their physical characteristics, such as color and shape. Researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) have found that some patients who receive generic drugs that vary in their color are over 50 percent more likely to stop taking the drug, leading to potentially important and potentially adverse clinical effects. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-differences-pill-characteristics-essential-medication.html Medications Mon, 31 Dec 2012 16:00:01 EST news276174392 (Medical Xpress)—Mild cooling of the brain after a head injury prevents the later development of epileptic seizures, according to an animal study reported this month in the  Annals of Neurology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-mild-brain-cooling-injury-epileptic.html Neuroscience Fri, 21 Dec 2012 07:50:02 EST news275298594 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. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-long-terms-benefits-brain-surgery-epilepsy.html Neuroscience Tue, 18 Dec 2012 13:15:18 EST news275058854 Around one in every hundred people worldwide is affected by epilepsy, with 40 per cent of them developing the condition before the age of 15. If patients with epileptic fits do not respond to antiepileptic drugs, epilepsy surgery can be used to remove the part of the brain that is responsible for the fits so that the patient can be free of them. Afterwards, the prompt discontinuation of medication is of significant therapeutic interest. Until now, it was not known when the most favourable time was for this without running an increased risk of further fits. Now, an international team of researchers, with collaboration from the MedUni Vienna, has discovered that discontinuing medication even immediately after the operation represents a promising approach. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-epilepsy-children-surgery-medication.html Neuroscience Mon, 19 Nov 2012 08:10:03 EST news272533028 Epileptic and psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) may look similar, but actually have different causes and treatments. Up to 20 percent of patients diagnosed with epilepsy actually have PNES, which are not treated by antiepileptic drugs (AEDs). According to a new study by Rhode Island Hospital researcher W. Curt LaFrance Jr., M.D., M.P.H., director of neuropsychiatry and behavioral neurology, increasing access to video electroencephalography (video-EEG) may aid in distinguishing between epilepsy and PNES. The study is published online in advance of print in the journal Epilepsy & Behavior. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-differences-diagnosis-treatment-nonepileptic-seizures.html Neuroscience Tue, 02 Oct 2012 12:02:34 EST news268398143 (Medical Xpress) -- New research has shed light on the high risk of fractures, falls, and osteoporosis among epilepsy patients using antiepileptic drugs with most patients unaware of the risks associated with taking the drugs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-epilepsy-drugs-fractures-falls.html Neuroscience Thu, 28 Jun 2012 05:51:37 EST news260081477 Michigan State University researchers, with the help of a groundbreaking medical device, are starting a clinical trial in Africa they hope will provide relief for the hundreds of thousands of children who survive cerebral malaria but are left stricken with epilepsy or other neurologic disorders. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-drug-reverse-scourge-cerebral-malaria.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 01 May 2012 14:40:01 EST news255101500 Early-initiated immunotherapy appears to be associated with improved seizure outcomes among patients with autoimmune epilepsy, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Neurology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-immunotherapy-seizure-outcomes-patients-autoimmune.html Immunology Mon, 26 Mar 2012 16:00:20 EST news251986386 Patients with epilepsy who underwent brain surgery soon after failing to respond to drug treatment, but who also continued to receive drug therapy, had a lower risk of seizures during the 2nd year of follow-up compared to patients who received drug treatment alone, according to a study in the March 7 issue of JAMA. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-surgery-failure-drug-treatment-epilepsy.html Neuroscience Tue, 06 Mar 2012 16:00:03 EST news250269056 The substitution of brand-name antiepileptic drugs with cheaper generic equivalents has been an ongoing point of contention among doctors, federal officials and people with epilepsy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-antiepileptic-drugs-seizures.html Medications Fri, 17 Feb 2012 16:34:30 EST news248718850 New research published Online First in The Lancet Neurology, has found that epilepsy patients who receive additional treatment with antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) have about a seven times lower risk of dying from a sudden unexpected death—the most common cause of death in epilepsy patients. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-adjunctive-antiepileptic-drug-treatment-dying.html Neuroscience Sun, 18 Sep 2011 18:40:01 EST news235570519 Researchers at the University of California, Riverside have made a discovery in the lab that could help drug manufacturers develop new antiepileptic drugs and explore novel strategies for treating seizures associated with epilepsy – a disease affecting about two million Americans. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-neuroscientists-discovery-relief-epilepsy.html Medical research Tue, 21 Jun 2011 12:57:45 EST news227879848 Use of newer-generation antiepileptic drugs, which are also prescribed for bipolar mood disorders and migraine headaches, during the first trimester of pregnancy was not associated with an increased risk of major birth defects in the first year of life among infants in Denmark, according to a study in the May 18 issue of JAMA. Older-generation antiepileptic drugs are associated with an increased risk of birth defects. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-prenatal-antiepileptic-drugs-major-birth.html Health Tue, 17 May 2011 16:58:24 EST news224870293