Epilepsy News and Research

Latest Epilepsy News and Research

Chikungunya may cause severe brain infection

The mosquito-borne virus chikungunya may lead to severe brain infection and even death in infants and people over 65, according to a new study that reviewed a chikungunya outbreak on Reunion Island off the coast of Madagascar in 2005-2006.

26 Nov 2015

Research reveals MECP2 Duplication Syndrome can be reversed

The methyl CpG binding protein 2 gene (MECP2) produces a protein of the same name, the level of which is critical for normal brain function. Mutations leading to protein under-expression cause Rett Syndrome while gene duplication causing over-expression lead to MECP2 Duplication Syndrome. Both disorders are severely debilitating childhood neurological diseases.

26 Nov 2015

For people with epilepsy, the mental health treatments are not clearly understood

Mental health issues such as depression or anxiety are often neglected or misunderstood in people who also have co-morbidity with epilepsy.

18 Nov 2015

Brain scans may predict possibility of recovering from coma

Brain scans of people in a coma may help predict who will regain consciousness, according to a study published in the November 11, 2015, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The study looked at connections between areas of the brain that play a role in regulating consciousness.

12 Nov 2015

UCSF research on mood disorders aims to advance understanding and treatment of depression

A gift of $20 million from the Ray and Dagmar Dolby Family Fund to the Department of Psychiatry at UC San Francisco will support research on mood disorders, aiming to rapidly advance the understanding and treatment of depression, bipolar disorder and related illnesses.

5 Nov 2015

Estrogen-like drug may not be beneficial to women with Alzheimer's dementia

An estrogen-like drug, raloxifene, has no demonstrated benefit on memory and thinking skills for women with dementia due to Alzheimer's disease, according to a study published in the November 4, 2015, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

5 Nov 2015

Perisylvian polymicrogyria gene found

Researchers have identified the genetic basis for bilateral perisylvian polymicrogyria, the most common form of regional polymicrogyria.

4 Nov 2015

Brain's hippocampus essential for recognizing previously encountered events

The hippocampus, a brain structure known to play a role in memory and spatial navigation, is essential to one's ability to recognize previously encountered events, objects, or people - a phenomenon known as recognition memory - according to new research from the departments of Neurosurgery and Psychology in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

4 Nov 2015

Penn Medicine's Gordon Baltuch performs 1,000th deep brain stimulation procedure

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) improves many of the motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD) and is a life-alerting surgery for many patients. Penn Medicine's Gordon Baltuch, MD, a professor of Neurosurgery and director of the Penn Center for Functional and Restorative Neurosurgery, is one of the most prolific DBS surgeons in the world, having recently performed his 1,000th procedure, marking an important milestone for Baltuch and Penn Medicine.

31 Oct 2015

Underlying processes of working memory more complex than previously thought, say researchers

In order to retain a piece of information for a short time, working memory is required. The underlying processes are considerably more complex than hitherto assumed, as researchers from the Ruhr-Universität Bochum and Bonn University report in the journal "Cell Reports". Two brain states must alternate rhythmically in order for a piece of information to be successfully maintained.

31 Oct 2015

Alexza plans to reacquire U.S. rights for ADASUVE (loxapine) inhalation powder from Teva

Alexza Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that it plans to reacquire the U.S. rights for ADASUVE (loxapine) inhalation powder from Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc., a subsidiary of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., with an estimated target completion date of January 1, 2016.

31 Oct 2015

Very long-term outcomes of childhood onset epilepsy reported

A study in Epilepsia presents seizure remission outcomes as well as detailed clinical and neurological findings from a minimum 45-year follow-up of a Finnish cohort of individuals with childhood-onset epilepsy.

30 Oct 2015

Study sheds light on mechanism of neuronal activity

Neurons communicate by passing electrical messages, known as action potentials, between each other. Each neuron has a highly specialized structural region, the axon initial segment (AIS), whose primary role is in the generation and sending of these messages.

30 Oct 2015

Older women who complain of memory problems may experience thinking impairment decades later

New research suggests that older women who complain of memory problems may be at higher risk for experiencing diagnosed memory and thinking impairment decades later. The study is published in the October 28, 2015, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

29 Oct 2015

Scientists decode central signal switch associated with epileptic seizures

Scientists at the University of Bonn and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Israel) have decoded a central signal cascade associated with epileptic seizures. If the researchers blocked a central switch in epileptic mice, the frequency and severity of the seizures decreased. Using a novel technology, it was possible to observe the processes prior to the occurrence of epileptic seizures in living animals.

27 Oct 2015

Study: Blackouts, near drownings linked to sudden death risk

The annual congress of the South African Heart Association is being held in Rustenburg from Oct. 25-28, 2015. Experts from the European Society of Cardiology will present a special programme.

26 Oct 2015

Study shows promise for developing targeted treatments for multiple sclerosis

Modern scientific understanding has considered multiple sclerosis (MS) to be a disease controlled by the T cell, a type of white blood cell. Research has shown that in MS, T cells inappropriately attack myelin, the protective layer of fat covering nerves in the central nervous system, exposing them to damage.

23 Oct 2015

Study shows how synapses organization is controlled

Our ability to learn, move, and sense our world comes from the neurons in our brain. This information moves through our brain between neurons that are linked together by tens of trillions of tiny structures called synapses.

20 Oct 2015

Doctors use MR-guided focused ultrasound to treat essential tremor

The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center is one of six locations nationally - and the only one in the Midwest - studying the safety and effectiveness of a promising new technology using MR-guided focused ultrasound to treat patients suffering from essential tremor as part of a multi-center FDA trial.

18 Oct 2015

Glutamate imaging may guide surgery in ‘nonlesional’ epilepsy

Glutamate imaging may be capable of identifying the focus of epileptic seizures in patients who appear to have nonlesional epilepsy on standard imaging techniques, researchers report in Science Translational Medicine.

16 Oct 2015