FDA Approves New Drug To Treat Severe Form Of EpilepsyThe U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a new drug, Banzel (rufinamide), for use as an adjunctive (add-on) treatment for seizures associated with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. "This approval offers another treatment option for patients who suffer from these debilitating, severe seizures," said Russell Katz, M.D., director of the Division of Neurology Products in the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.
International Team Finds Gene Associated With EpilepsyA University of Iowa-led international research team has found a new gene associated with the brain disorder epilepsy. While the PRICKLE1 gene mutation was specific to a rare form of epilepsy, the study results could help lead to new ideas for overall epilepsy treatment. The findings, which involved nearly two dozen institutions from six different countries, appear in the Nov. 7 issue of the American Journal of Human Genetics.
Falls In Blood Oxygen Levels May Be Key To Sudden Death In Some Epilepsy PatientsA new study by researchers at UC Davis Medical Center suggests that the sudden unexplained deaths of some epilepsy patients may be a result of their brains not telling their bodies to breathe during seizures. "Significant drops in blood oxygen levels are more common than we thought in patients with partial seizures," said study senior author Masud Seyal, a professor of neurology at UC Davis Medical Center and director of the UC Davis Comprehensive Epilepsy Program.
Lutheran General Hospital Neurologist Treats Epilepsy With Vagal Nerve Stimulation (VNS) TherapyDaniel Brewer of Palatine has gone from having four to five epileptic seizures a day to a few minor ones in the six months since his surgery for vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) therapy to help control electric signals from his brain. "This has completely changed my life," said the 29-year-old who has had 'every drug known to man' to treat his epilepsy, which he has struggled to control for the past 16 years.
Machinery That Helps Make Memories Identified A major puzzle for neurobiologists is how the brain can modify one microscopic connection, or synapse, at a time in a brain cell and not affect the thousands of other connections nearby. Plasticity, the ability of the brain to precisely rearrange the connections between its nerve cells, is the framework for learning and forming memories.
Common Sedative Linked To Deaths In Patients With Prolonged SeizuresPatients treated for their prolonged seizures with the sedative propofol may be at high risk for complications and even death. New research presented at CHEST 2008, the 74th annual international scientific assembly of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP), shows that the use of propofol as an antiepileptic agent in patients with refractory status epilepticus (RSE), prolonged seizures that do not respond to initial treatment, was associated with significant mortality and morbidity.
UCB's Vimpat® Approved By U.S. FDA As Adjunctive Therapy For Partial Onset Seizures In AdultsUCB announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Vimpat® (lacosamide), a new antiepileptic drug (AED). Vimpat® is for use as an add-on therapy for the treatment of partial-onset seizures in people with epilepsy who are 17 years and older. "Having a new antiepileptic drug option may offer adults with partial onset seizures the chance to obtain seizure control.
Alzheimer's Disease Could Be Prevented And Treated By Common Epilepsy DrugThe team led by UBC Psychiatry Prof. Weihong Song, who is also the Jack Brown and Family Professor and Chair in Alzheimer's Disease at UBC, found that if Valproic Acid (VPA) is used as a treatment in early stages of AD memory deficit is reversed. The study, published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, reveals that VPA works by inhibiting the activity of an enzyme that produces a neurotoxic protein called beta Amyloid. In doing so, plaque formation is discontinued.
Epilepsy Foundation Seeking SignaturesIn 2009 in the USA, a new President, 535 members of Congress and nearly 10,000 state legislators will take office. By signing our petition, you can help us persuade them to support policies that improve the lives of the three million American families affected by epilepsy. More than 3 million Americans have epilepsy (seizures) and 200,000 new cases are diagnosed yearly. For most, there is no cure and many with epilepsy face discrimination and difficulty accessing care.
NICE Launches New And Updated Guides To Support Effective Commissioning Of Services, UKThe National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has published three new commissioning guides to help the NHS in England effectively commission evidence-based care for patients. The guides cover services for: accurate diagnosis of the epilepsies in adults antenatal and postnatal mental health peer support for women who breastfeed.
Immunotherapy And Quick Action Key To Fighting Anti-NMDA-receptor Encephalitis Tumor An article published early online and in the December edition of The Lancet Neurology describes the clinical features of 100 patients who were diagnosed with the newly discovered anti-NMDA-receptor encephalitis (ANRE). Dr Josep Dalmau (Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA) and colleagues also note that patient recovery is improved by early tumor removal in combination with immunotherapy.
VIMPAT (lacosamide), A New Epilepsy Treatment For Adults With Partial Onset Seizures, Launched In The UKVimpat (lacosamide), a new adjunctive therapy in the treatment of partial-onset seizures with or without secondary generalisation in patients with epilepsy aged 16 years and older, has been launched in the UK. The efficacy of VIMPAT® as adjunctive therapy at recommended doses (200 mg/day, 400 mg/day) was established in 3 multicentre, randomised, placebo-controlled clinical trials with a 12-week maintenance period.
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