Epilepsy News and Research

Latest Epilepsy News and Research

Brain maps show activity related to meaning and not mode of learning

A new brain mapping experiment shows that whether you read or listen to a book, the same parts of the brain are stimulated to help you understand and respond to the meaning of the words (or the ‘semantics’).

20 Aug 2019

New MRI technique captures image of a brain thinking

An international team of researchers with partial support from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering developed a new MRI technique that can capture an image of a brain thinking by measuring changes in tissue stiffness.

19 Aug 2019

Study could improve patients' abilities to manage symptoms of mental illness

Approximately 1 in 5 adults in the United States experience mental illness in a given year. Severe mental illnesses cause the brain to have trouble dealing with cognitively effortful states, like focusing attention over long periods of time, discriminating between two things that are difficult to tell apart, and responding quickly to information that is coming in fast.

18 Aug 2019

Advanced method to accurately detect low-level somatic mutation in intractable epilepsy

KAIST medical scientists have developed an advanced method for perfectly detecting low-level somatic mutation in patients with intractable epilepsy. Their study showed that deep sequencing replicates of major focal epilepsy genes accurately and efficiently identified low-level somatic mutations in intractable epilepsy.

16 Aug 2019

New AAN guidelines includes recommendations for treatment of migraine in children, teens

For children and teens with migraine, the pain and symptoms that accompany migraine attacks can be debilitating, resulting in missed school days, absence from social or sporting events, and affected home activities.

14 Aug 2019

Study investigates association between migraine diagnoses and dementia

Several studies have recently focused on the association between migraine headaches and other headaches and dementia and found a positive migraine-dementia relationship.

14 Aug 2019

Combining electrical stimulation with repetitive musical tones helps improve hearing

Combining seizure-preventing electrical stimulation with repetitive musical tones improves processing of sounds in the brain, according to new research.

14 Aug 2019

Fatty foods increase CBD absorption, finds new research

With both marijuana and alcohol being legal in the US, researchers have found that an increasing proportion of people are using both drugs in combination. However, this is a risky thing to do, says a new study. The increased risk is largely due to the overlap of effects between the two separate drugs.

14 Aug 2019

Neuronal gene mutations may be linked to seizures associated with Long QT Syndrome

Researchers identified a gene in fruit flies that helps prevent the hyperexcitability of specific neurons that trigger seizures. In humans, mutations in the gene may be linked to seizures associated with Long QT Syndrome.

From PLOS ONE 13 Aug 2019

Researchers find new target for disease of the heart's smallest blood vessels

When we race walk, for example, part of our healthy heart muscle may want a little more blood and oxygen, so our tiniest blood vessels send a message upstream to the larger vessels to send more.

12 Aug 2019

Cells and organisms evolved complex biochemical circuits that follow control theory

In the last 150 years, engineers have developed and mastered ways to stabilize dynamic systems, without lag or overshoot, using what's known as control theory.

12 Aug 2019

New genomic module facilitates more personalized forms of medicine

Researchers from the HSE Epilepsy Lighthouse Project and FutureNeuro, the SFI Research Centre for Chronic and Rare Neurological Diseases hosted by RCSI, have developed a new genomics module in the Irish National Epilepsy Electronic Patient Record system.

9 Aug 2019

Adults with cerebral palsy at greater risk for mental health disorders

A new study, published in Annals of Internal Medicine, highlights the need for increased awareness of mental health disorders among adults with cerebral palsy.

7 Aug 2019

Researchers investigate impact of low-salt diets and ketogenic diet

Researchers have developed a novel test that identifies individuals who are the most likely to experience negative health effects if they eat a high salt diet.

5 Aug 2019

Scientists discover rare genetic variants associated with epilepsy in large-scale study

For the first time, scientists have mapped out the genes associated with epilepsy.

2 Aug 2019

Largest ever study looks at genetic sequences of people with epilepsy

Researchers and patients from Austin Health and the University of Melbourne have been involved in the largest ever study looking at the genetic sequences of people with epilepsy.

1 Aug 2019

Low or high levels of hemoglobin may increase risk of dementia

Having either low or high levels of hemoglobin in your blood may be linked to an increased risk of developing dementia years later, according to a study published in the July 31, 2019, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

1 Aug 2019

Deep brain stimulation impairs memory recall

Deep brain stimulation of the cingulate cortex worsens memory recall, according to research in epilepsy patients published in JNeurosci. The technique could be a way to target specific brain areas in the treatment of memory disorders.

From Society for Neuroscience 30 Jul 2019

NemaMetrix raises $5 million USD funding to expand its Precisome platform

NemaMetrix, an Oregon-based company that provides phenotyping and functional analysis using C. elegans nematodes, today announced it has closed a $5 million USD funding round to expand its Precisome platform: a tool for in vivo testing for early drug discovery, agribio, and precision medicine.

From InVivo Biosystems 30 Jul 2019

'Tickle' therapy may slow down an important effect associated with aging

'Tickling' the ear with a small electrical current appears to rebalance the autonomic nervous system for over-55s, potentially slowing down one of the effects of ageing, according to new research.

30 Jul 2019