http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. A low dose of the sedative clonazepam alleviated autistic-like behavior in mice with a mutation that causes Dravet syndrome in humans, University of Washington researchers have shown. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-low-dose-sedative-alleviates-autistic-like-behavior.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 22 Aug 2012 13:20:51 EST news264860438 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. Quite the opposite is the case, as the team of Prof. Dr. Carola Haas from the Bernstein Center and Dr. Matthias Kirsch from the Institute of Anatomy and Cell Biology at the University of Freiburg shows for the first time. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-astrocytes.html Neuroscience Tue, 07 Aug 2012 15:28:41 EST news263572108 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. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-childhood-virus-infection-linked-prolonged.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 14 Jun 2012 00:00:08 EST news258816114 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. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-brain-cell-imbalance-account-seizure.html Neuroscience Wed, 06 Jun 2012 16:10:01 EST news258215785 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. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-seizure-freedom-percent-juvenile-myoclonic-epilepsy.html Neuroscience Wed, 06 Jun 2012 00:00:01 EST news258114976 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 A new type of anti-epilepsy medication that selectively targets proteins in the brain that control excitability may significantly reduce seizure frequency in people whose recurrent seizures have been resistant to even the latest medications, new Johns Hopkins-led research suggests. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-medication-patients-frequent-uncontrollable-seizures.html Neuroscience Wed, 18 Apr 2012 16:00:06 EST news253973295 Based on their clinical experience and observations, a team of Johns Hopkins physicians and psychologists say that more than one-third of the patients admitted to The Johns Hopkins Hospital's inpatient epilepsy monitoring unit for treatment of intractable seizures have been discovered to have stress-triggered symptoms rather than a true seizure disorder. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-symptoms-mimic-epilepsy-linked-stress.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 10 Apr 2012 14:45:57 EST news253287922 Treatment for epilepsy typically focuses on medication, with some patients spending 20 years or more on a variety of drugs in search of effective management of the condition. But a UC Health neurologist says that for many epilepsy patients, surgery can result in a seizure-free lifestyle. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-surgery-safe-effective-option-epilepsy.html Surgery Fri, 23 Mar 2012 07:12:30 EST news251705534 An article by researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM), New York Medical College (NYMC), and the Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons (CCPS) reviews evidence that yoga may be effective in treating patients with stress-related psychological and medical conditions such as depression, anxiety, high blood pressure and cardiac disease. Their theory, which currently appears online in Medical Hypotheses, could be used to develop specific mind-body practices for the prevention and treatment of these conditions in conjunction with standard treatments. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-yoga-ease-stress-medical-psychological.html Health Tue, 06 Mar 2012 11:55:43 EST news250257323 (HealthDay) -- Children who receive a combination vaccine known as DTaP-IPV-Hib have no significant increased risk of febrile seizure, a convulsion triggered by a fever, during the week after vaccination, researchers in Denmark report. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-significant-seizure-common-kids-vaccine.html Medications Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:31:55 EST news249150697 When a person is experiencing a prolonged convulsive seizure, quick medical intervention is critical. With every passing minute, the seizure becomes harder to stop, and can place the patient at risk of brain damage and death. This is why paramedics are trained to administer anticonvulsive medications as soon as possible -- traditionally giving them intravenously before arriving at the hospital. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-emergency-treatment-prolonged-seizures.html Medical research Wed, 15 Feb 2012 17:00:18 EST news248543575 While epilepsy surgery is a safe and effective intervention for seizure control, medical therapy remains the more prominent treatment option for those with epilepsy. However, a new 26-year study reveals that following epilepsy surgery, nearly half of participants were free of disabling seizures and 80% reported better quality of life than before surgery. Findings from this study—the largest long-term study to date—are now available in Epilepsia, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-long-term-epilepsy-surgery-seizure-quality.html Surgery Tue, 07 Feb 2012 04:10:44 EST news247810230 New guidelines from the American Academy of Neurology will help physicians better choose seizure drugs for people on HIV/AIDS medication, avoiding deadly drug interactions and preventing critical anti-HIV drugs from becoming less effective, possibly leading to a more virulent strain of the disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-guidelines-stress-caution-combining-anti-epileptic.html Neuroscience Wed, 04 Jan 2012 16:02:27 EST news244915279 Treatment remains controversial for patients diagnosed with a low-risk, low-grade glioma (LGG) brain tumor. These patients have significantly better prognosis than patients diagnosed with more aggressive high-grade glioma, and their clinical care often involves ongoing observation for tumor changes with imaging studies. Because low-risk LGG are slow growing tumors, concerns about the potential adverse effects of early treatment on patients' neurocognitive function (NCF) and quality of life (QOL) may outweigh treatment benefits in patients who are frequently young and highly functional. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-rtog-treatment-strategies-patients-glioma.html Cancer Thu, 15 Dec 2011 11:38:32 EST news243171501 A combination of two common drugs, lamotrigine and valproate, is more effective in treating difficult-to control epilepsy than other anti-epileptic regimens, according to a University of Washington report to be published online this week in Neurology, the journal of the American Academy of Neurology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-superior-drug-combo-difficult-to-control-epilepsy.html Neuroscience Wed, 14 Dec 2011 16:20:12 EST news243102003 For the first time, a new research methodology recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration has been used to demonstrate that converting patients from one anti-epileptic drug to another - in this case, lamotrigine extended-release (LTG XR) - is well-tolerated, effective and safe. The work by Jacqueline French and her team, from New York University in the US, illustrates how the new methodology addresses ethical issues inherent in more traditional study designs. It is published online in Springer's journal, Neurotherapeutics. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-ethical-epilepsy-treatments.html Neuroscience Mon, 05 Dec 2011 13:19:48 EST news242313386 Around half of patients remain seizure free 10 years after undergoing surgery for epilepsy. However, there is scope for further improvement in presurgical assessment and surgical treatment of people with chronic epilepsy. The findings are reported in an Article published in this week's surgery special issue of The Lancet, written by Jane de Tisi, Dr Gail S Bel, and Professor John Duncan, National Hospital for Neurosurgery, and Imperial College London, and colleagues. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-surgery-epilepsy-patients-seizure-free-years.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 13 Oct 2011 18:30:01 EST news237733318 A team of neuroscientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) has succeeded in creating what amounts to a GPS system for locating and tracking a vital class of brain cells that until now has eluded comprehensive identification, particularly in living animals. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-team-genetic-gps-comprehensively-track.html Neuroscience Wed, 21 Sep 2011 13:30:30 EST news235830596 Psychogenic non-epileptic seizures may go undiagnosed for much longer in veterans compared to civilians, according to a new study published in the September 6, 2011, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. This type of seizure is different from seizures related to epilepsy and is thought to have a psychological origin. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-non-epileptic-seizures-misdiagnosed-longer-veterans.html Neuroscience Mon, 05 Sep 2011 16:00:01 EST news234449165 New research suggests brain tumor patients who take the seizure drug valproic acid on top of standard treatment may live longer than people who take other kinds of epilepsy medications to control seizures. The research is published in the August 31, 2011, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-choice-seizure-drug-brain-tumor.html Neuroscience Wed, 31 Aug 2011 16:49:38 EST news234028149 (AP) -- Tiny amounts of pharmaceuticals and personal care products detected in the drinking water of the nation's biggest city continue to pose no public health risks to residents, environmental officials said Friday. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-medications-nyc-health.html Health Sat, 20 Aug 2011 04:30:21 EST news233033400 New research focusing on high-frequency oscillations, termed ripples and fast ripples, recorded by intracranial electroencephalography (EEG), may provide an important marker for the localization of the brain region responsible for seizure activity. According to the study now available in Epilepsia, a journal of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE), the resection of brain regions containing fast ripples, along with the visually-identified seizure-onset zone, may achieve a good seizure outcome in pediatric epilepsy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-fast-ripples-valuable-biomarker-area.html Medical research Fri, 29 Jul 2011 03:29:32 EST news231128959 A recent multi-center study determined that women with generalized tonic-clonic seizures (GTCS) had a greater number of seizures during anovulatory cycles—menstrual cycles where an egg is not released—than in cycles where ovulation occurs. According to the study publishing today in Epilepsia, a journal of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE), reproductive steroids may play a role in GTCS occurrence. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-greater-seizure-frequency-women-epilepsy.html Medical research Thu, 14 Jul 2011 03:07:46 EST news229831647 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 The drug topiramate can help people lose weight as long as they can tolerate the side effects, according to authors of a new study that reviewed the medical literature. Brazilian researchers will present the results Saturday at The Endocrine Society's 93rd Annual Meeting in Boston. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-topiramate-benefit-weight-loss-drug.html Medications Mon, 06 Jun 2011 09:31:15 EST news226571383 Physicians will have a better guide for more effectively managing treatment of children experiencing seizures related to autism with the results of a study by researchers at Arizona State University and the University of Texas-Houston. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-reveals-effectiveness-seizure-treatments-children.html Medical research Thu, 02 Jun 2011 16:00:01 EST news226248300 A recent study has shown that cognitive impairment is evident early on in preschool children with epilepsy, consistent with results of similar studies in older children. Age of onset of first seizure is a significant predictor of cognitive impairment according to this study—the first to evaluate cognitive impairment in children age three to six. The report is available in Epilepsia, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-cognitive-impairment-preschool-children-epilepsy.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 02 Jun 2011 10:14:31 EST news226228463 (Medical Xpress) -- Medications are the mainstay of treatment for epilepsy, but for a considerable number of patients -- estimated to be as many as 1 million in the U.S. -- drugs don't work. These patients suffer from a type of epilepsy known as refractory or drug-resistant epilepsy, in which drugs can't control their seizures. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-unique-nerve-stimulation-treatment-effective-drug-resistant.html Neuroscience Wed, 25 May 2011 05:45:09 EST news225521035