With the launch of a new report, the Global Campaign Against Epilepsy (GCAE) is urging governments to improve treatment, services and prevention of epilepsy in the Western Pacific Region.
Pregnant women suffering from epilepsy need to better informed about the risks of birth defects from treatments used to control their seizures.
Epilepsy is an intermittent disorder of the nervous system due presumably to a sudden, excessive, disorderly discharge of cerebral neurons. This discharge results in an almost instantaneous disturbance of sensation, loss of consciousness, convulsive movements, or some combination thereof. A study conducted by Canadian researchers has revealed that dogs can sense when a child is about to have an epileptic fit.
A leading British brain specialist is calling for a ban on computer games as a way to help prevent epileptic fits. Graham Harding spoke out after finding certain popular games contained light patterns which cause seizures in one in 4,000 people, the London Sun said.
The Atkins diet – not always seen as a healthy way to shed weight – may help to prevent fits in children with epilepsy, a team of US scientists says.
The Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers not to drink teas brewed from the herb star anise, as it investigates reports of people, including 15 infants, suffering seizures after ingesting them.
For years, doctors have reassured epilepsy patients that seizures are relatively benign. While a fall during a seizure may cause injury, the surge of electricity in the brain does no actual damage, patients were told.