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News
Below are the most recent news stories about epilepsy from Epilepsy Research UK and from around the world.
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Patients need a better understanding of medication they are taking, a new study has concluded.
People with epilepsy could soon benefit from a greater degree of personalised care thanks to a collaboration between biopharmaceutical company UCB and IBM. Together, the companies are attempting to deliver an interactive system that will take large amounts of patient data and scientific literature and translate it into useful information to inform treatment decisions at the point of care. The read more
Scientists claim to have discovered a previously unrecognised link between epileptic seizures and signs of autism in adults. Researchers at the University of Bath carried out a series of studies involving people with epilepsy. They found that all of the adults with epilepsy showed traits of autism, such as impairments in social interaction and communication or restricted and repetitive interests. read more
Patients using the anticoagulant drug warfarin should not have to alter their dosage if their doctor decides to start them on the antiepileptic drug lacosamide, new research suggests. Lacosamide is often used to treat a particular type of epilepsy known as partial seizures. Researchers at pharmaceutical company UCB Pharma recruited 16 healthy adult male volunteers in order to study lacosamide’s read more
A belt being designed by engineering students could help to detect and alert parents to seizures during the night.
The anti-epileptic drug perampanel (brand name Fycompa) has been shown to be effective as an adjunctive treatment for hard-to-treat partial seizures in a pooled analysis of three large clinical trials. Involving nearly 1,500 patients, the analysis comes just days after researchers reported on early clinical experiences of perampanel at a meeting in Germany and is published in the journal Epilepsia. read more
Two analyses of real-life clinical experiences of perampanel have shown the therapy’s potential to benefit difficult-to-treat patients with partial epilepsy.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an alert about medications containing valproate sodium, which is often used to treat epilepsy. Medicines containing valproate have already been linked to an increased risk of birth defects when used during pregnancy and a recent study has found further evidence of links with lower IQ scores in children. The FDA has read more
Scientists have identified several genetic mutations that may be responsible for severe epilepsies.
Martindale Pharma, a specialty pharmaceutical company based in the UK, has launched a new product designed to be used as an adjunctive therapy for epilepsy. Tapclob is the first licensed oral liquid suspension of clobazam and is now available on prescription in 5mg/5ml and 10mg/5ml formats. The product will be distributed by Alliance Healthcare Distribution Ltd and is expected to read more
Preclinical research suggests that transplants of cells into the brain could help to treat severe epilepsy.
A US research team has manipulated human embryonic stem cells so that they turn into brain cells called cortical interneurons, providing a new way to research epilepsy and other disorders.
A research team at King’s College London’s Institute of Psychiatry will test the effectiveness of a programme aimed at helping people self-manage their epilepsy.
A small proof-of-concept trial suggests that an implanted device could help to predict the onset of seizures.
The European Commission has set aside €150 million (£127 million) to fund 20 new international brain research projects, focusing on diseases ranging from Alzheimer’s disease to epilepsy. Its announcement kicks off the ‘European Month of the Brain’ initiative and means the EU has now invested more than €1.9 billion (£1.6 billion) in brain research since 2007. Maire Geoghegan-Quinn, European research, read more
There are concerns that the drug retigabine may cause retinal abnormalities and skin discolouration.
Doctors caring for children with epilepsy should always consider whether or not a patient’s condition may be complicated by a sleep disorder, an expert has claimed. Professor Gregory Stores, from the University of Oxford’s psychiatry department, has reviewed the clinical implications of sleep disturbance in children with epilepsy, as well as the assessment and treatment of the problem. Writing in read more
A new study has identified a number of factors associated with the length of time between the onset of epilepsy in children and the decision to operate. Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles and the VA Greater Los Angeles Health Care System studied a group of 430 under-18s who underwent neurosurgery to treat epilepsy at the university between read more
Researchers have claimed that early surgery could improve outcomes for patients with frontal lobe epilepsy.
