News on Epilepsy

Summary Box: FDA reviews Medtronic stimulator

2010-03-10T14:00:13Z

<div id="subtitle">Summary Box: FDA reviewers say Medtronic missed goal in study of epilepsy treatment</div><div><p>The Food and Drug Administration has posted its review of a Medtronic device that treats seizures by stimulating areas of the brain used for movement.</p><p>UNSTIMULATING RESULTS: The FDA said Medtron...

Child seizure study finds oldest drug works best

2010-03-03T14:32:33Z

<div><p>BOSTON (Reuters) - A large-scale comparative test of three anti-epilepsy drugs found the oldest was best for treating childhood absence epilepsy, in which youngsters often stare into space for up to 20 seconds many times a day.</p><p>Ethosuximide, available since the 1950s, offered the best protection for the condition. Lamotrigine fared the worst, the researchers reported in the Reuters Health) - Women who smoke may have a higher risk of developing seizures than non-smokers do, a new study suggests.</p><p>Researchers found that among more than 100,000 U.S. women in a long-running health study, current smokers were between two and three times more likely than non-smokers to su...

Briton to induce epileptic seizure as performance

2010-02-24T02:44:32Z

<div><p>LONDON (Reuters Life!) - An epilepsy sufferer has courted controversy in Britain by creating a public performance in which she will attempt to bring on a seizure and allow the audience to film it on their mobile phones.</p><p>Rita Marcalo, who suffers around two seizures a year even on medication, has stopped...

Faulty gene may explain sudden deaths in epilepsy

2010-02-24T18:54:52Z

<div><p>CHICAGO (Reuters) - A common gene that can cause abnormal heart rhythms can also trigger epileptic seizures in the brain and may explain the sudden, unexplained deaths that often occur in people with epilepsy, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday.</p><p>Testing epilep...

Epilepsy. The brain misfires, and sparks of electrical activity burst into storms. Seizures occur in an instant and effects range from blurred vision to fluttering eyelids to flailing limbs to convulsions.

2010-02-24T22:14:26Z

<div id="subtitle">This is Chris Stones' story. His life has been defined by epilepsy. A Las Vegas doctor has given him hope of living seizure-free.</div><div><p> Chris Stones accelerated his Mazda from a stoplight, faded to the right, bounced off a curb and...

Anti-seizure drugs risky during pregnancy

2010-02-25T03:41:03Z

<div><p>NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Treating seizures during pregnancy is a delicate balance. On the one hand, seizures are dangerous for mother and fetus. On the other, the medications used to treat seizure disorder - also known as epilepsy - may harm the fetus.</p><p>Now, new research suggests that it is largely the drugs used to treat seizures, and not the condition itself...

Anti-epileptic drugs during pregnancy risky

2010-02-25T04:17:48Z

<div><p>NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - New research suggests that it is largely the drugs used to treat epilepsy and not the condition itself that increase the risk of adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes.</p><p>"Epilepsy is the most common maternal neurologic disorder requiring medical treatment during pregnancy," Dr. Gyri Veiby

FDA approves first drug for infantile spasms

2010-02-25T17:32:12Z

<div id="subtitle">Lundbeck's Sabril first drug approved by FDA for treatment of rare seizure disorder in infants</div><div><p>The Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved the first drug to treat infantile spasms, a rare disorder that can cause ...

First seizure may fuel thinking trouble in kids

2010-02-25T21:07:37Z

<div><p>NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Children who are intellectually normal may have problems with language, memory, learning and other thinking or "cognitive" skills at or around the time they experience a first epileptic seizure, according to new research out in the medical journal Neurology.</p><p>"Our study highlights the importance of testing children with epilepsy for po...

Seizures during pregnancy up premature baby risk

2010-02-25T22:04:22Z

<div><p>NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The risk of giving birth to a premature or small infant is increased among women who have seizures while pregnant compared with the general population, researchers in Taiwan report.</p><p>Less than one percent of women have seizure disorder, known as epilepsy, note

Potassium cuts kidney stones in kids on "K" diet

2010-02-25T23:30:28Z

<div><p>NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Children on the high-fat ketogenic, or "K diet" to control epileptic seizures can prevent the painful kidney stones that the diet can sometimes cause if they take a daily supplement of potassium citrate the day they start the diet, doctors have found.</p><p>"We can confidently say this is a safe and powerful way to prevent kidney stones, an...

Tool helps avoid seizure-inducing content on Web

2010-02-26T00:03:47Z

<div id="subtitle">Software tool helps Web developers avoid content that causes seizures in susceptible viewers</div><div><p>Wisconsin researchers have released a free software tool that could help Web surfers susceptible to certain seizures.</p><p>An estimated one in 4,000 people has photosensitive epilepsy and could suffer a seizure when exposed to bright colors and rapidly flashing images. The condition gained...

Epileptic Dogs

2010-02-26T06:51:05Z

Though epilepsy is a well known seizure disorder among humans, dog owners are often surprised to find out about canine epilepsy. Epilepsy is reported to be present in up to 5 percent of dogs. By being more aware of the signs of the condition you can better protect your pet and get him, or her, the treatment needed.<br><br>What is canine epilepsy?<br><br>Canine epilepsy is a mostly genetic disorder that causes unprovoked seizures in your ...

Epilepsy - Canine Dancing Fever

2010-02-27T12:09:09Z

<p>Epilepsy - Canine Dancing Fever</p><p>By Alex De La Cruz</p><p></p><p>As you read more and more of the articles on this website regarding dog disease, you'll begin to notice that many of the ailments experienced by man can be experienced by canines. And like most sicknesses of humans, they too can be cured (not all, most). One disease shared ...

What You Need to Know About Dog Seizures

2010-02-27T13:04:44Z

<p>What You Need to Know About Dog Seizures</p><p>By Cristian Stan</p><p></p><p>Just like human beings, the pets also experience seizures. Some of the things that happen during a seizure are: drooling, teeth chomping, excessive salivation and uncontrolled urination. Sometimes, the dog paddles its paws and the eyes get dilated.</p><p></p><p>W...

FDA notes new suicide language on epilepsy drugs

2010-02-27T15:13:20Z

<div><p>The Food and Drug Administration has alerted physicians to new warnings on anti-seizure drugs about heightened risks of suicidal tendencies, following an earlier announcement that the labels would be required.</p><p>The labeling applies to more than 20 medications used to control seizures, psychiatric disorders and nerve pain. The warnings cautio...

Who Has Epilepsy?

2010-02-27T15:26:35Z

<p>Who Has Epilepsy?</p><p>By Jose Perez</p><p></p><p>Although epilepsy can start at any point during a person's life, most epilepsy is diagnosed in childhood, and most of all in the first year of life - around 140 out of every 100,000 babies under the age of one are diagnosed with epilepsy per year. This drops to 40 adults per 100,000. However,...