epileptic seizures
CHICAGO -- Epileptic seizures are the most dramatic and prominent aspect of the "alcohol withdrawal syndrome" that occurs when a person abruptly stops a long-term or chronic drinking habit.
STANFORD, Calif. -- Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have identified a key molecular player in guiding the formation of synapses -- the all-important connections between nerve cells -- in the brain.
What do abrupt changes in ocean circulation and Earth's climate, shifts in wildlife populations and ecosystems, the global finance market and its system-wide crashes, and asthma attacks and epileptic seizures have in common?
Barcelona, Spain, 31 August: A new definition of syncope -- most commonly perceived as an episode of fainting -- makes its diagnosis more precise and now dependent on a specific cause.
Children on the high-fat ketogenic diet to control epileptic seizures can prevent the excruciatingly painful kidney stones that the diet can sometimes cause if they take a daily supplement of potassium citrate the day they start the diet, according to research from Johns Hopkins Children's Center.
A report on the work is published in the August issue of Pediatrics.
Drugs that block a growth factor receptor on brain cells may prevent epilepsy after brain damage, according to a new study appearing in the July 15 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.
BEER-SHEVA, ISRAEL JULY, 15 2009 -- Dr. Alon Friedman, a neurosurgeon, professor and researcher at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, working with researchers from UC Berkeley, California have identified a TGF Beta Blocker that when given to rats prevents epilepsy after brain damage, according to a new study appearing in the July 15 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.
SALT LAKE CITY, June 29, 2009 -- Experimental devices that read brain signals have helped paralyzed people use computers and may let amputees control bionic limbs. But existing devices use tiny electrodes that poke into the brain.
Montreal, June 10, 2009 - Clinicians from the Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM) have perfected an operation, which was previously considered too dangerous, to control refractory insular epilepsy, using an innovative microsurgery technique.
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. -- Rutgers researchers have discovered a potential new way to treat childhood epilepsy using a widely available therapeutic drug.
Rutgers neuroscientist Gabriella D'Arcangelo and her colleagues have published their research findings in the journal Disease Models and Mechanisms (in press) and the paper has just appeared online.
University of Minnesota McKnight professor and Director of Center for Neuroengineering Bin He has developed a new technique that has led to preliminary successes in noninvasive imaging of seizure foci. He's technique promises to play an important role in the treatment of epileptic seizures.
MADISON ? The instruction manual for maintaining an efficient brain may
soon include a section on synaptotagmin-IV (Syt-IV), a protein known to influence learning and memory, thanks to a study by University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers.
Werewolves notwithstanding, the full moon does not influence the frequency of epileptic seizures, reports a University of South Florida study. ''Contrary to the myth, epileptic seizures are not more common during a full moon,'' said Selim Benbadis, MD, associate professor of neurology and neurosurgery at the USF College of Medicine. ''In fact, we found the number of epileptic seizures was lowest during the full moon and highest in the moon's last quarter.''
Two commonly prescribed epilepsy drugs have varied cognitive side effects on patients, report doctors from Georgetown University Medical Center. Their findings are published in the May 13 issue of the journal Neurology. In a double-blind, randomized study, researchers looked at 2 drugs, valproate--released in 1978 for the treatment of epileptic seizures, and topiramate, approved by the FDA in late 1996. Each drug was added to carbamazepine, a standard epilepsy treatment, and then given to patients with epilepsy. The cognitive effects on those patients taking topiramate were slightly, although noticeably, worse than those taking the older valproate for a subset of patients.
