Epilepsy News and Research

Latest Epilepsy News and Research

How diet shapes gut microbiota and affects brain function

Researchers discuss the diet-microbiota-gut-brain axis, which describes the role of both diet and gut microbiota composition on cognitive and emotional health.

26 Aug 2024

EEG technology marks 100 years with promising future innovations

One hundred years after the human brain's electrical activity was first recorded, experts are celebrating the legacy of its discovery and sharing their predictions and priorities for its future.

23 Aug 2024

FDA-approved drug could revolutionize organ transplantation

Researchers at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University report that they were able to successfully put tadpoles of Xenopus laevis frogs into a hibernation-like torpor state using donepezil (DNP), a drug approved by the FDA to treat Alzheimer's. The team had previously used another drug, SNC80, to achieve similar results in tadpoles and enhance the survival of whole mammalian hearts for transplants, but SNC80 is not approved for clinical use in humans because it can cause seizures. By contrast, DNP is already being used in the clinic, meaning it potentially could be rapidly repurposed for use in emergency situations to prevent irreversible organ injury while a person is being transported to a hospital.

23 Aug 2024

Study challenges migraine-Parkinson's connection

Contrary to previous research, a new study of female participants finds no link between migraine and the risk of developing Parkinson's disease. The study was published on August 21st, 2024, in the online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

22 Aug 2024

Untreated high blood pressure linked to higher Alzheimer's risk in older adults

People 60 and older with untreated high blood pressure may have an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease compared to both people who have been or are being treated for high blood pressure as well as people without the chronic condition.

14 Aug 2024

New findings reveal how serotonin shapes behavior in negative situations

Researchers increased synaptic serotonin through a selective serotonin-releasing agent, fenfluramine, to investigate its impact on human behavior.

14 Aug 2024

Study sheds light on neuronal synchronization and conscious experience

For decades, scientists have focused on how the brain processes information in a hierarchical manner, with different brain areas specialized for different tasks.

12 Aug 2024

Rare but real: The neurological risks associated with vaccines

Review highlights the rare neurological risks associated with vaccination, emphasizing the importance of accurate detection and management strategies, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

9 Aug 2024

NIH awards $3.5M grant to study link between traumatic brain injury and Alzheimer's

A traumatic brain injury, or TBI, is caused by a contusion to the head that may result in injury to the brain.

8 Aug 2024

Study suggests lower dementia risk for people with Parkinson's

There's some good news for people with Parkinson's disease: The risk of developing dementia may be lower than previously thought, or dementia may occur later in the course of the disease than previously reported, according to a study published in the August 7, 2024, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

7 Aug 2024

Study advances understanding of complex neurological disorder

To effectively treat a disease or disorder, doctors must first know the root cause. Such is the case for developmental and epileptic encephalopathies (DEEs), whose root causes can be hugely complex and heterogeneous. Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital demonstrated the value of DNA methylation patterns for identifying the root cause of DEEs, showing specific gene methylation and genome-wide methylation "episignatures" can help identify the genes that cause DEE. The findings were published today in Nature Communications.

7 Aug 2024

Epilepsy and pregnancy: Evaluating increased risks and outcomes in a large Nordic dataset

But exactly how big the risks have been less clear. Randomized clinical trials are ruled out for ethical reasons and observational studies need a very large population base to quantify the relatively rare events.

6 Aug 2024

Understanding brain coupling in conversations through linguistic context

When two people interact, their brain activity becomes synchronized, but it was unclear until now to what extent this "brain-to-brain coupling" is due to linguistic information or other factors, such as body language or tone of voice.

2 Aug 2024

How states pioneered the medical marijuana movement in America

From the war on drugs to the current wave of legalization efforts, public opinion in the United States has shifted on few issues like it has with marijuana.

1 Aug 2024

High diastolic blood pressure linked to increased migraine risk in women

Having high blood pressure, specifically high diastolic blood pressure, was linked to a slightly higher odds of ever having migraine in female participants, according to a new study published in the July 31, 2024, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

31 Jul 2024

Advanced technology and AI used to diagnose rare diseases and birth abnormalities

Researchers at London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) and Lawson Health Research Institute are using advanced technology and artificial intelligence (AI) to diagnose rare diseases and prenatal exposure-related birth abnormalities in two studies published today in American Journal of Human Genetics and Genetics in Medicine.

31 Jul 2024

Commonly used anesthetic drug can restore the function of ion channel linked to epilepsy

Mutated variants of a particular ion channel cause difficult-to-treat epilepsy. A study published in the journal Nature now shows that a commonly used anesthetic drug, propofol, can restore the function of this ion channel.

31 Jul 2024

AI-enhanced EEG analysis paves way for early dementia detection

Mayo Clinic scientists are using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to analyze electroencephalogram (EEG) tests more quickly and precisely, enabling neurologists to find early signs of dementia among data that typically go unexamined.

31 Jul 2024

Propofol shows potential for treating epilepsy and neurological disorders

The general anesthetic propofol may hold the keys to developing new treatment strategies for epilepsy and other neurological disorders, according to a study led by researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine and Linköping University in Sweden.

31 Jul 2024

High belly and arm fat linked to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's risk

People with high levels of body fat stored in their belly or arms may be more likely to develop diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's than people with low levels of fat in these areas, according to a study published in the July 24, 2024, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

24 Jul 2024