Epilepsy News and Research

Latest Epilepsy News and Research

Frequent exposure to diesel exhaust increases risk of ALS

People who are frequently exposed to diesel exhaust while on the job may have a higher risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and that risk may increase with greater exposure, according to a preliminary study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 70th Annual Meeting in Los Angeles, April 21 to 27, 2018.

28 Feb 2018

UC receives $1.75 million grant for epilepsy research

Research scientist Jianxiong Jiang, PhD, doesn't just want to treat acquired epilepsy...he hopes to prevent it.

27 Feb 2018

ANU research explores way to reduce unwanted side-effects of common drugs

New research from The Australian National University has drilled down to the molecular level to find similarities across six pharmaceutical drugs used in pain relief, dentist anesthetic, and treatment of epilepsy, in a bid to find a way to reduce unwanted side-effects.

27 Feb 2018

People with central hearing loss more likely to have mild cognitive impairment

Some people with a certain type of hearing loss may be more likely to also have the memory loss and thinking problems called mild cognitive impairment, according to a preliminary study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 70th Annual Meeting in Los Angeles, April 21 to 27, 2018. Hearing loss is one of the most common disabilities in elderly people, affecting about one-third of people over age 65.

27 Feb 2018

DASH diet may lower rates of depression over time

People who eat vegetables, fruit and whole grains may have lower rates of depression over time, according to a preliminary study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 70th Annual Meeting in Los Angeles, April 21 to 27, 2018.

26 Feb 2018

Tears may be reliable, noninvasive biological marker of Parkinson's disease

Tears may hold clues to whether someone has Parkinson's disease, according to a preliminary study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 70th Annual Meeting in Los Angeles, April 21 to 27, 2018.

24 Feb 2018

Study sheds light on biological mechanisms that drive rare pediatric neurogenetic disorders

Researchers studying a rare genetic disorder that causes severe, progressive neurological problems in childhood have discovered insights into biological mechanisms that drive the disease, along with early clues that an amino acid supplement might offer a targeted therapy.

22 Feb 2018

Scientists reveal development of improved medicine to fight addiction

Drug addiction continues to plague vast numbers of people across the world, destroying and ending lives, while attempts to develop more effective pharmaceutical addiction treatments continue.

21 Feb 2018

$UC San Diego Health now offers new treatment option for people with refractory epilepsy$

UC San Diego Health now offers new treatment option for people with refractory epilepsy

UC San Diego Health now offers patients with epilepsy another non-pharmacological way to treat seizures.

21 Feb 2018

Tiny 'brains on chips' reveal mechanisms underlying brain's wrinkling process

Being born with a "tabula rasa" - a clean slate - in the case of the brain is something of a curse. Our brains are already wrinkled like walnuts by the time we are born. Babies born without these wrinkles - smooth brain syndrome - suffer from severe developmental deficiencies and their life expectancy is markedly reduced.

20 Feb 2018

Study reveals functional dynamics of ion channels

Most ion channels are very selective about the ions, which may or may not pass through them. They may be conductive for potassium ions and non-conductive for sodium ions or vice versa.

19 Feb 2018

Lab-grown cerebellar cells may help explain how ASD develops at molecular level

Increasing evidence has linked autism spectrum disorder with dysfunction of the brain's cerebellum, but the details have been unclear. In a new study, researchers at Boston Children's Hospital used stem cell technology to create cerebellar cells known as Purkinje cells from patients with tuberous sclerosis complex, a genetic syndrome that often includes ASD-like features.

19 Feb 2018

Learning stress-reducing techniques may benefit people with epilepsy

Learning techniques to help manage stress may help people with epilepsy reduce how often they have seizures, according to a study published in the February 14, 2018, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

15 Feb 2018

Potential new principle for treatment of multiple forms of cancer

A study published in Science Translational Medicine shows that small molecules that specifically inhibit an important selenium-containing enzyme may be useful in combating cancer. When researchers at Karolinska Institutet treated cancer in mice using these molecules, they observed rapid tumoricidal effects.

15 Feb 2018

Researchers detail molecular atlas of cells that form brain's blood vessels

Even though diseases of the brain vasculature are some of the most common causes of death in the West, knowledge of these blood vessels is limited.

15 Feb 2018

Ground-breaking partnership aims to deliver faster, more accurate diagnoses for genetic epilepsy

New software to deliver faster and more accurate diagnoses in genetic epilepsies is the ambition of a ground-breaking partnership between Congenica, a global provider of clinical genomics interpretation software, and FutureNeuro, the SFI Research Centre for Chronic and Rare Neurological Diseases, supported by Science Foundation Ireland.

13 Feb 2018

People who survive childhood heart defects may be at elevated risk of developing dementia

People born with heart defects who survive into adulthood may be at higher risk of developing dementia, particularly dementia that starts before 65 years of age, according to new research in the American Heart Association's journal Circulation.

12 Feb 2018

UA scientist develops database to alert physicians about carbohydrate count in medications

A physician-scientist at the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix has developed a new database to ensure that individuals on ketogenic diets to help treat a certain kind of epilepsy are not prescribed potentially life-threatening medications that contain carbohydrates.

11 Feb 2018

Infant's scores on Apgar scale can predict risk of cerebral palsy or epilepsy

An infant's scores on the so-called Apgar scale can predict the risk of a later diagnosis of cerebral palsy or epilepsy. The risk rises with decreasing Apgar score, but even slightly lowered scores can be linked to a higher risk of these diagnoses, according to an extensive observational study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden published in the esteemed journal The BMJ.

8 Feb 2018

Many epilepsy patients receive interacting drug combinations

In an Epilepsia analysis of 2008-2010 Medicare claims data, one in four older Americans with new-onset epilepsy and more than one-third with prevalent epilepsy received a combination of antiepileptic drugs and non-epilepsy drugs that could interact to alter the effectiveness of the non-epilepsy drugs.

7 Feb 2018