Epilepsy

Patients who suffer their first seizure are expected to have several questions. In some instances, one question may be why their doctor is waiting until a second seizure to begin treatment. A new guideline from the American Academy of Neurology looked to answer that question for doctors and patients alike.

As one of the first signs of multiple sclerosis acute optic neuritis can be a worrying symptom for patients. Finding the proper treatment can be important in the early stages of diagnosis.

For many patients medication and surgery can be enough to help them maintain their health and control epileptic seizures. Work is also being done in the field to find alternative therapies including medical marijuana and seizure predicting devices.

When medication is not enough to treat epilepsy sometimes surgery can be a good choice for treatment. While the more common methods are also invasive in many ways there are newer procedures being developed that require less recovery time.

Diagnosing patients with epilepsy can often be an involved process as doctors will likely not see the seizures their patients report suffering. Once a diagnosis is made finding the right treatment can also be a challenge as different patient groups will require different types and doses of a variety of medications.

In the treatment of epilepsy there are constantly new drugs being developed to help patients manage their seizures. In the recent past there have been four new medications, each with their own benefits but also with their own risks as well.

Fred Grossman, DO, FAPA, who serves as the head of Global Clinical Development and Medical Affairs at Sunovion Pharmaceuticals, discusses recent study results that indicated Aptiom (eslicarbazepine acetate), already approved as adjunct therapy for partial-onset seizures, may be effective as a monotherapy for patients with epilepsy.

The American Academy of Neurology's 67th annual meeting starts April 18 in Washington, D.C. and neurologists attending are expecting to hear more about marijuana and seizures, a cheaper MS drug, and whether sleep apnea leads to dementia. A team from MD Magazine will be at the conference with daily news reports and video interviews.

The medical marijuana program in Connecticut will expand to cover several additional conditions, including psoriatic arthritis.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Banzel (rufinamide) as an adjunctive treatment of seizures associated with Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome in children age 1-4 years.

Legal restrictions on how long patients must wait to resume driving a motor vehicle after they have had an epileptic seizure are all over the map. In the US some states have no laws, some set 3 months, others 2 years. UK researchers present post-seizure data that could be used to offer a more rational approach.

Epilepsy patients who are not responding to anti-epileptic drugs and who have antibodies binding neural antigens may benefit from immunotherapy. Reporting in the European Journal of Immunology Raffaele Iorio and colleagues at the Institute of Neurology, Catholic University in Rome, Italy detailed their findings.

Rosa Michaelis, MD, discusses her goals of cultivating more patient interaction within epilepsy research at the American Epilepsy Society 2014 Annual Meeting.

Congress's new 2015 budget bill effectively lifts the federal ban on medical marijuana. A little-noticed section of the bill bars the federal government from using federal funds to prevent the "distribution, possession, or cultivation of medical marijuana" in states where medical marijuana is legal.

Franck Kalume, PhD, shared the potential possibility for treatment options for both geriatric and pediatric epilepsy patients at the American Epilepsy Society 2014 Annual Meeting.

Franck Kalume, PhD, discusses his lab's primary research focus at the American Epilepsy Society 2014 Annual Meeting.

Helen Scharfman, PhD, discusses the next steps of her research study at the American Epilepsy Society 2014 Annual Meeting.

Helen Scharfman, PhD, shares her physiological approach to epilepsy management at the American Epilepsy Society 2014 Annual Meeting.

Kimford J. Meador, MD speaks about the neurodevelopment effects of combination drug exposure in women with epilepsy at the American Epilepsy Association 2014 Annual Meeting.

Laura Jansen, MD, PhD, speaks about her experiences with management and treatment of pediatric epilepsy at the American Epilepsy Society 2014 Annual Meeting.

The potential uses of cannabis in treating epilepsy have gotten a lot of press but so far little scientific research. Three studies presented today at the American Epilepsy Society's meeting in Seattle represent an attempt to fill that gap. Their authors report on the use of marijuana and its derivative cannabidiol (CBD) in treating some forms of epilepsy.

Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) is a growing concern for patients and physicians. The National Institutes of Health's National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke today announced it will fund a $5.9 million research project on SUDEP. The Center for SUDEP Research, a virtual "center without walls" will enable 9 groups of scientists to shared findings and data with a goal of fostering collaborations, the NIH said in announcing the program. The news was released in conjunction with several SUDEP studies presented today at the American Epilepsy Society's annual meeting in Seattle, WA.

The medical problems faced by children with epilepsy are much studied, but in 3 studies presented at the American Epilepsy Society's annual meeting in Seattle, researchers report on these kids' behavioral and intellectual development problems.

Changing kids' diets has been shown to help control epileptic seizures. But until recently there was little data on whether strict dietary regimens are beneficial for adults with epilepsy. Reporting at the American Epilepsy Society's annual meeting in Seattle, WA today, two research teams said they have had some success with diet modification as a way to reduce seizures in adults with drug-resistant epilepsy.

W. Curt LaFrance, Jr., MD, MPH shares his views on combining neurological and psychological approaches to epilepsy management and treatment at the American Epilepsy Society 2014 Annual Meeting.

Kathleen Millen, PhD, one of the presenters at the American Epilepsy Society Annual Meeting provided an overview of the diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy in patients with malformations of cortical development.

Researchers assessed the effect of seizure status and severity, medication use, mental health indicators, parental support, and other factors on self-reported quality of life in children with epilepsy.

Research has shown that comorbid epilepsy and autism spectrum disorder is fairly common, with several factors appearing to influence risk.

Physicians are often tasked with explaining vaccination safety to concerned parents. Parental fears that routine vaccines can trigger neurological diseases have led to decreasing vaccination rates in some countries and subsequent outbreaks of preventable illnesses. A team of Dutch researchers has debunked the idea that vaccination can cause severe epilepsy

The US Food and Drug Administration considers medical marijuana use an untested alternative therapy. But with marijuana sales now legal in Colorado, a Denver research team led by Edward Maa, MD is recruiting patients for a scientific study involving the plant. Maa and colleagues will conduct an observational study to evaluate a marijuana compound's efficacy in treating Dravet Syndrome.