Epilepsy in Biological News

Reading the brain without poking it

... designed and tested microECoGs in two severe epilepsy patients who already were undergoing craniotomies. The epilepsy patients were having conventional ECoG electrodes ... the brain that control arm movements. The two epilepsy patients sat up in their hospital beds and used ...

Rutgers research tackles childhood epilepsy

... discovered a potential new way to treat childhood epilepsy using a widely available therapeutic drug. ... suppressed epileptic seizures in the mice. epilepsy is the third most common neurological disorder in ... According to the International League Against epilepsy (ILAE), approximately 45 percent of the ...

Drug prevents seizure progression in model of epilepsy

... works by inhibiting ion channels whose role in epilepsy was only recently discovered. Understanding how ... ability to understand and treat epilepsy." epilepsy is a neurological disorder marked by abnormal ... seizure grows. A person is often diagnosed with epilepsy after having two or more seizures that have no ...

Researchers discover that gene switches on during development of epilepsy

... some people without a genetic predisposition to epilepsy can develop the disorder. In a study published ... so the finding may reveal a mechanism by which epilepsy develops in those with no apparent genetic ... Godwin said. "There are many different forms of epilepsy with different symptoms. We don't know why some ...

International team discovers gene associated with epilepsy

... results could help lead to new ideas for overall epilepsy treatment. The findings, which involved nearly ... do not cause brain damage but some types of epilepsy lead to physical disabilities and cognitive ... the PRICKLE1 gene had never been associated with epilepsy but also because the gene was not associated with ...

Drops in blood oxygen levels may be key to sudden death in some epilepsy patients

... that the sudden unexplained deaths of some epilepsy patients may be a result of their brains not ... Center and director of the UC Davis Comprehensive epilepsy Program. The study, published online in the ... most important cause of increased mortality in epilepsy patients. What we haven't known is what causes ...

Brain study may lead to improved epilepsy treatments

... why approximately 30 percent of patients with epilepsy do not respond to antiepileptic medications. The ... nervous system disorders. It is altered in epilepsy so that it no longer permits free passage of ... one mechanism that underlies drug resistance in epilepsy and possibly other central nervous system ...

Early treatment stops epilepsy in its tracks

... it is possible to suppress the development of epilepsy in genetically predisposed animalswhich could open the door to treating epilepsy as a preventable disease. According to the ... treatment stopped. Current treatments for epilepsy may control seizures, but they do nothing to ...

Epilepsy drug shows potential for Alzheimer's treatment

... A drug commonly used to treat epilepsy could help clear the plaques in the brain associated with Alzheimer's ... for many years to suppress epileptic seizures and the many sufferers of epilepsy have been taking the drug for decades with few side effects. The ...

A spoonful of sugar?

... of school children with asthma, diabetes, congenital heart disease and epilepsy to learn about the barriers that prevent them from taking medicines ... other stakeholder groups including patient groups such as Asthma UK and epilepsy Action and healthcare-related organisations such as the Royal College of ...

NIH stimulus funding supports Emory biomedical scientists

... in response to low oxygen. Finding ways to block such growth signals could generate new tools to fight cancer. New treatments for epilepsy: Some epilepsy patients cannot control their seizures with drugs. Animal research shows that shutting off a gene called SCN8A can lower susceptibility to seizures. ...

Neuropathic pain: The sea provides a new hope of relief

... Amitriptyline, an anti depressant now used for urinary incontinence, has given relief in neuropathic pain; similarly, two drugs designed for treating epilepsy - gabapentin and pentagabalin have also proved effective for some sufferers. However, many patients do not respond to these currently available ....

New light on bipolar treatment drugs

... of bipolar disorder and develop more potent and selective drugs. "Further, altered PIP3 signalling is linked to other disorders, including epilepsy and autism, so this well established drug could be used to treat other conditions. Research into Lithium could become very important over the next ...

Behind closed eyes

... Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, the researchers found a unique source of direct measurement of electrical activity in the brain: data collected from epilepsy patients who underwent extensive testing, including measurement of neuronal pulses in various parts of their brain, in the course of diagnosis and ...

Weizmann Institute scientists show extra copies of a gene carry extra risk

... copies of the gene, was mentally retarded and suffered from bone deformation as well. Reiner: 'Several brain diseases, including schizophrenia, epilepsy and autism, have been linked to faulty neuron migration, and recent research has hinted that some of these may involve variations in gene number. Our ...

Motor nerve targeting to limb muscles is controlled by ephrin proteins

... as those required for learning, memory and coordinated movement. Miswiring of the nervous system is thought to be a factor in disorders such as epilepsy and mental retardation. By studying the process of limb nerve development, this team of scientists contributes further to the development of new ...

'Fly guy' makes memory breakthrough

... delays in humans, affecting 1 in 4,000 males and 1 in 8,000 females. Children with Fragile X syndrome may have learning and memory problems, epilepsy and autism. "We know that 87 per cent of the genes found in human mental retardation have homologs in fruit flies, so we're confident that we're ...

Rice University study finds possible clues to epilepsy, autism

... in biology at the University of Houston-Clear Lake. Howlett said mGluRs had already been targeted in possible treatments for schizophrenia, epilepsy and other "excitability" diseases, so it's not a stretch to think his research could lead to even more strategies in treating neurological ailments. ...

Salk researcher Terry Sejnowski elected to Institute of Medicine

... underlying attention in the awake brain and brain rhythms in the sleeping brain and the links between them. These models also help explain how epilepsy arises from imbalances in brain circuits. Sejnowski's laboratory has developed new ways of analyzing the sources of electrical and magnetic ...

Coating improves electrical stimulation therapy used for Parkinson's, depression, chronic pain

... critical step for advancing electrical nerve stimulation therapy. This type of therapy increasingly shows promise for diseases ranging from epilepsy to depression to chronic leg and back pain. By implanting electronic nerve stimulators, doctors elsewhere have provided a quadriplegic patient ...

How to stop a new type of heart attack

... but Tamara Denning, a computer scientist at the University of Washington in Seattle, points out that in 2007 hackers posted flashing images to the epilepsy Foundation's website, apparently with the aim of triggering attacks in people with photosensitive epilepsy. Pacemaker users could be similarly ...

Antimicrobial sutures reduce infections in brain shunt surgery, study finds

... of neurosurgery in UB's School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and first author on the paper. He also is surgical director of the Comprehensive epilepsy Program at Women & Children's Hospital. "Some studies, but not all, found that antibiotic-impregnated shunt systems in particular appear to reduce ...

Salk researchers reprogram adult stem cells in their natural environment

... versatility of neural stem cells but also opens up new directions for the treatment of neurological diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, stroke and epilepsy that not only affect neuronal cells but also disrupt the functioning of glial support cells. "We have known that the birth and death of adult ...

Newly identified role for 'power plants' in human cells could lead to targeted therapies

... with energy transport in cells. Alfonzo and colleagues demonstrated ATP's role in the process using cells from a patient with a specific type of epilepsy called MERRF. This disease is characterized by a mitochondrial tRNA mutation leading to a drastic reduction in the mitochondria's ability to generate ...

Treating chronic pain, migraine & muscle spasticity through inhibition of neurotransmitter glutamate

... the development and management of clinical care and medical education policy for 29 affiliated hospitals. In addition, he was President of the epilepsy Society of Southern New York. Dr. Tuchman is a frequent speaker about neuroscience topics at academic meetings. "There's a growing body of ...

Domoic acid from toxic algal blooms may cause seizures in California sea lions

... acid, during fetal brain development. The results, analyzed across multiple animal species, point to the toxin as a cause for behavioral changes and epilepsy that does not become evident until later in life. Domoic acid is produced by harmful algal blooms. The algae is consumed by fish such as ...

Study identifies brain pathway that shuts down seizures

... of vital bodily functions, like breathing. Approximately 2 to 4 percent of people will have a seizure at some point in their lives. People who have epilepsy experience repeated seizure activity. Although the vast majority of seizures are self-limiting and stop by themselves, seizures that don't stop ...

A new method to identify mutated genes in human diseases

... comparable to the ones of mutated genes in similar diseases. The study identified candidate genes for 81 diseases, including various forms of epilepsy and muscular dystrophy As in all such analyses, the results must be verified experimentally. However, the task of understanding the molecular ...

European membrane expertise to focus on new treatments for human diseases

... will target about 80 proteins, which play an important role in human diseases as varied as diabetes, heart disease, neuropsychiatric disorders like epilepsy and depression, osteoporosis, stomach ulcers and cataracts. Membrane proteins are key to every process in the human body, channelling ions or ...

Genetic breakthrough offers promise in tackling kidney tumors

... disease affecting children and adults which causes tumours to grow in many of the organs of the body. Its consequences can include autism and epilepsy through its effects on the brain. A team from the Institute of Medical Genetics at Cardiff Universitys School of Medicine was the first to identify ...

Poor Americans in the United States suffer hidden burden of parasitic and other neglected diseases

... that resembles asthma, as well as liver and brain disease. Cysticercosis, caused by the tapeworm Taenia solium, is emerging as the leading cause of epilepsy among Hispanic populations in the US, and toxoplasmosis is an important cause of congenital birth defects among Mexican Americans and African ...

DFG to establish 10 new collaborative research centers

... investigate these issues. They hope that their findings will lead to a better understanding and more effective therapy of neuronal diseases such as epilepsy and Parkinsons disease. (Host university: Albert Ludwigs University of Freiburg. Coordinator: Peter Jonas) SFB 787 Semiconductors Nanophotonics: ...

MIT: blood may help us think

... But we propose that they may also be a causative factor in the disease process, and that insight suggests entirely new treatments. For example, in epilepsy people often have abnormal blood vessels in the brain region where the seizures occur, and the hypothesis suggests this abnormal flow may induce ...

Grant supports study of abnormal ring-shaped chromosomes

... 20 Foundation. Ring chromosome 20 syndrome, so-called because it affects the 20th of the 23 human chromosomes, often causes a severe form of epilepsy that is difficult to treat. First described in 1972, it is considered relatively rare. The actual prevalence is uncertain, because it may go ...

Carnegie Mellon scientists investigate initial molecular mechanism that triggers neuronal firing

... have solved a decade-long molecular mystery that could eventually help scientists develop drug therapies to treat a variety of disorders, including epilepsy and Alzheimers disease. Using intensive theoretical and computational calculations, Carnegie Mellon researchers have modeled the initial molecular ...

Millions of children denied drug that costs less than $3 a year

... Millions of children with epilepsy in developing countries are being denied an ... for all. Of the 35 million people with epilepsy who live in developing countries, around 85% ... countries. The burden of untreated epilepsy in terms of human suffering and social costs is ...

MIT: Pulsing light silences overactive neurons

... neuron activity that occurs in diseases such as epilepsy and Parkinson's disease. Such diseases often ... are behaving erratically," he said. Many epilepsy patients have implanted electrodes that ... more about the neural circuits involved in epilepsy could help scientists develop devices that can ...

Gene therapy inhibits epilepsy in animals

... researchers have inhibited the development of epilepsy after a brain insult in animals. By using gene ... after a brain insult to reduce the risk that epilepsy will develop," said one of the lead researchers, ... temporal lobe epilepsy, the most common type of epilepsy in children and adults. GABA(A) receptors are ...

Slow brain waves play key role in coordinating complex activity

... electrical activity in the brains of pre-surgical epilepsy patients, the researchers have found the first ... to record brain activity in brain tumor and epilepsy patients scheduled for surgery to remove a portion of their brains. The epilepsy patients typically have brain activity measured ...