Epilepsy News

Enrolment concludes in Biohaven’s RISE3 trial for epilepsy - Biohaven has concluded enrolment in the pivotal RISE3 Phase II/III trial assessing the selective Kv7.2/7.3 channel activator, opakalim (BHV-7000), for refractory focal epilepsy. T ...

Modifiable Factors Responsible for Most Epilepsy Relapses - In patients with newly diagnosed epilepsy, nearly 70% of seizure relapses are linked to potentially modifiable factors, including poor adherence and inadequate ASM dosing, rather than drug resistance.

Seizure action plans: Management and educational tools in epilepsy care - Historically, seizure action plans have focused on certain high-risk groups—such as people with drug-resistant epilepsy and people with a history of status epilepticus or seizure clusters. Neurology ...

People with focal epilepsy often have seizures while driving before a diagnosis - Prior to being diagnosed with epilepsy, 5% of people with a type of epilepsy called focal epilepsy had a seizure while driving, according to a new study published in the June 7, 2023, online issue of ...

Seizure Burden in Resistant Epilepsy May Ease With the Tincture of Time - Nearly 70% of patients with focal treatment-resistant epilepsy (FTRE) experience fewer seizures over time, new results of a multicenter study showed. However, the improvements occurred independent of ...

Next-generation chemogenetic inhibition using a brain-permeant non-prescription agent - Chemogenetics allows the controllable manipulation of brain circuits upon delivery of a selective activating ligand, and has been invaluable in dissecting brain circuits underlying many behaviours. The Gαi/o-coupled designer muscarinic receptor hM4Di is an especially versatile tool for on-demand inhibition, and has proven effective not only in fundamental neuroscience but also as a therapeutic ...

Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation as add-on therapy versus pharmacotherapy alone (TRAVAST): study protocol for a prospective, randomised, triple-blind, controlled, multicentre trial - INTRODUCTION: Despite optimised antiseizure medication, pharmacoresistant epilepsy still affects a substantial proportion of adult patients, especially when epilepsy surgery is not possible or is rejected. Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (t-VNS) is a non-invasive neuromodulatory approach for which the evidence from randomised studies to date does not allow for a reliable assessment of it...

Proposed Rodent Models for Onchocerciasis-Associated Epilepsy: Integrating Infection, Microfilarial Load, and Parasite Secretome Biology - Onchocerciasis-associated epilepsy (OAE) clusters where transmission of Onchocerca volvulus is intense, yet the causal steps to epileptogenesis remain unresolved. Rodent models can close this gap by enabling standardized, brain-anchored readouts that are impossible in humans. Here we synthesize current platforms and outline a pragmatic path to high construct validity. Implantation models using ...

Fast oscillations as useful biomarkers of the degree of epileptogenicity in each generalized epilepsy syndrome - CONCLUSIONS: Scalp FOs could be biomarkers for syndrome classification and for seizure control across patients.

Ketogenic diet therapies for the treatment of drug-resistant epilepsy in children and adults: A systematic review - Epilepsy is a common treatable neurological condition characterized by recurrent involuntary brain activity manifested in seizures. It is estimated that around 30% of patients with this disease do not respond to initial pharmacological treatments, developing drug-resistant epilepsy. Among the non-pharmacological treatment options are ketogenic diet therapies (KDT) in its various forms. The obje...

N-Homocysteinylation of Cofilin-1 Aggravates Epileptic Pathophysiology via Disruption of Actin Dynamics - Elevated homocysteine (Hcy) levels contribute to the onset and progression of childhood epilepsy. However, Hcy-lowering therapies provide limited benefits, suggesting additional pathogenic mechanisms. Here, we identified N-homocysteinylated Cofilin-1 (N-Hcy-CFL1) as a molecular link between elevated Hcy levels and childhood epilepsy. We detected N-Hcy-CFL1 in patients with epilepsy and in a mou...

Brain signal irregularity may provide clues to understanding epileptic process - Researchers propose a new method to differentiate signals from the epileptic focus from those recorded in other parts of the brain without the presence of an epileptic seizure. This technique may help detect epilepsy-induced features from these signals much quicker than conventional analysis techniques.

Breakthrough tech enables seizure localization in minutes - New research introduces a novel network analysis technology that uses minimally invasive resting state electrophysiological recordings to localize seizure onset brain regions and predict seizure outcomes in just 10 minutes.

Antidepressant use during pregnancy not linked to epilepsy in children - A new study suggests that antidepressant use by mothers during the first trimester of pregnancy does not increase the chances of epilepsy and seizures in babies.