Purdue University researchers have developed new miniature devices designed to be implanted in the brain to predict and prevent epileptic seizures and a nanotech sensor for implantation in the eye to treat glaucoma.
The discovery of a novel molecular switch that powerfully modulates nerve cell activity offers the potential for new mood disorder and epilepsy treatments, University of California, Irvine researchers report.
Playing the popular Chinese tile game mahjong can lead to seizures, Hong Kong researchers say, calling the phenomenon “Mahjong induced seizures” or ‘Mah-jong epilepsy’.
In an effort to find a better therapy and improve the lives of people with epilepsy, the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Epilepsy Service is participating in the RNS? System Pivotal Clinical Investigation, a study to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of a responsive brain stimulation device in reducing the frequency of uncontrolled seizures. MGH is one of only 28 centers across the country participating in this study.
An implanted stimulator being studied at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital may be able to predict and prevent seizures before they start in people with uncontrolled epilepsy.
Bright light that flickers frequently or rapidly, like a strobe light, can trigger seizures in some people ? a phenomenon documented in nearly 700 children who were hospitalized in Japan 10 years ago after watching a Pokemon cartoon.
Epilepsy surgery can eliminate seizures for 60 to 85 percent of people with temporal lobe epilepsy who do not respond well to medications. But surgery leads to memory problems in 25 to 40 percent of people. New research helps doctors and patients weigh the risks and benefits of surgery.
Epilepsy and seizures affect 2.5 million Americans, 181,000 new cases of epilepsy are diagnosed every year, and the disorder incurs an estimated $12.5 billion in annual direct and indirect costs.
There is strong evidence that one particular type of epilepsy is associated with a viral infection, report researchers in PLoS Medicine this week.
The scenario unfolds almost every day in the United States. A crowd gathers at a playground, or perhaps on a soccer field. A child has fallen to the ground, gripped by a seizure.