Seizure News and Research

Latest Seizure News and Research

New candidate gene for human benign childhood epilepsies

A new epilepsy gene, LGI2, has been found in the Lagotto Romagnolo dogs, known from their gift for truffle hunting. The gene discovery made by Professor Hannes Lohi and his research group at the University of Helsinki and the Folkhälsan Rsearch Center offers a new candidate gene for human benign childhood epilepsies characterized by seizure remission.

28 Jul 2011

Biogen Idec's FAMPYRA receives EU conditional approval for treating functional impairment in MS

Biogen Idec announced today it has received conditional approval from the European Commission for FAMPYRA® (prolonged-release fampridine tablets) to improve walking in adult patients with multiple sclerosis who have walking disability.

25 Jul 2011

UCSF neurosurgery shows promise against severe epilepsy

Two-thirds of people with severe and otherwise untreatable epilepsy were completely cured of their frequent seizures after undergoing neurosurgery at the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center, according to a new study that examined 143 of these patients two years after their operations.

22 Jul 2011

Excess brain activity in aMCI patients contributes to brain dysfunction underlying memory loss

An existing anti-seizure drug improves memory and brain function in adults with a form of cognitive impairment that often leads to full-blown Alzheimer's disease, a Johns Hopkins University study has found.

21 Jul 2011

Texas Children's Hospital uses new surgical approach for treating epilepsy

Texas Children's Hospital is the first hospital in the world to use real-time MRI-guided thermal imaging and laser technology to destroy lesions in the brain that cause epilepsy and uncontrollable seizures.

19 Jul 2011

First neurobiological evidence for theory of episodic memory

Almost everyone has experienced one memory triggering another, but explanations for that phenomenon have proved elusive. Now, University of Pennsylvania researchers have provided the first neurobiological evidence that memories formed in the same context become linked, the foundation of the theory of episodic memory.

19 Jul 2011

Peak of Australian flu season is imminent so take the necessary precautions now: Experts

The Influenza Specialist Group (ISG) is today warning that high rates of influenza outbreaks have been confirmed in QLD, SA and NSW, but there is still time for most Australians, especially those in at-risk groups, to protect themselves and those around them.

18 Jul 2011

Upsher-Smith initiates USL261 ARTEMIS1 Phase III study for seizure clusters in epilepsy patients

Upsher-Smith Laboratories, Inc. announced today the initiation of a Phase III clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of USL261, an investigational intranasal midazolam, for the rescue treatment of seizures in patients on stable anti-epileptic drug (AED) regimens who require control of intermittent bouts of increased seizure activity, frequently referred to as seizure clusters. USL261 has been granted orphan drug designation for this use by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

18 Jul 2011

UW scientists determine atomic architecture of sodium channel

Scientists at the University of Washington (UW) in Seattle have determined the atomic architecture of a sodium channel. The achievement opens new possibilities for molecular medicine researchers around the world in designing better drugs for pain, epilepsy, and heart rhythm disturbances.

14 Jul 2011

Reproductive steroids may play a role in occurrence of generalized tonic-clonic seizures in women

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.

14 Jul 2011

Novartis Afinitor Phase III trial on tuberous sclerosis meets primary endpoint

Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation announced today Phase III trial results that showed more than one-third of patients taking Afinitor tablets experienced a 50% or greater reduction in the size of their subependymal giant cell astrocytomas, non-cancerous brain tumors associated with tuberous sclerosis complex.

8 Jul 2011

FDA's ODAC recommends withdrawal of Avastin approval for metastatic breast cancer

Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, announced today that, during a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) hearing, the FDA's Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) recommended that the FDA withdraw its approval of Avastin in combination with paclitaxel chemotherapy for previously untreated HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer.

30 Jun 2011

Epilepsy may arise from complex mixture of altered ion channels

Imagine two flat screen televisions tuned to the same channel and sitting side-by-side. From a distance, their pictures are virtually the same, however up close, you can see subtle variations in the pixels - one blurred here, another dropped out there.

24 Jun 2011

ViroPharma receives positive European CHMP opinion for Buccolam to treat acute seizures

ViroPharma Incorporated today announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has adopted a positive opinion recommending approval of a Pediatric Use Marketing Authorization (PUMA) for Buccolam, for treatment of prolonged, acute, convulsive seizures in infants, toddlers, children and adolescents, from 3 months to less than 18 years.

24 Jun 2011

UC Riverside research could lead to novel therapeutics for epileptic seizures

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.

22 Jun 2011

MA launches national campaign to raise awareness on meningitis

This Father's Day is a special day for Angels Dads on Meningitis (ADOM). Angel dads from across the country came together in Denver, Colorado to launch a national campaign on meningitis awareness.

20 Jun 2011

Positive results from Neurelis NRL-01 Phase 1 trial against epilepsy

Neurelis, Inc. today announced the results of a randomized crossover study in healthy volunteers assessing diazepam pharmacokinetics and bioavailability after administration of their proprietary intranasal diazepam formulations and intravenous injection.

15 Jun 2011

CerebralRx launches FitNeS vagus nerve stimulation system for treating epilepsy

CerebralRx, a newly formed spin-off of implantable neuromodulation systems developer BioControl Medical, has announced market entry with the launch of its FitNeS vagus nerve stimulation system.

14 Jun 2011

FDA approves Valeant's Potiga Tablets for treatment of partial-onset seizures

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. and GlaxoSmithKline announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Potiga Tablets, a potassium channel opener, as adjunctive treatment of partial-onset seizures in patients aged 18 years and older.

13 Jun 2011

AMPYRA ER Tablets improve walking ability in patients with multiple sclerosis

Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. today announced an analysis of pooled clinical trial results showed patients who were responders to AMPYRA (dalfampridine) Extended Release Tablets, 10 mg demonstrated clinically relevant improvements in walking ability as measured by patient self-report on the 12-Item Multiple Sclerosis Walking Scale (MSWS-12), regardless of either their baseline Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score or baseline walking speed.

7 Jun 2011