Epilepsy News

The intracellular domain of the epilepsy protein PCDH19 regulates spine density in cortical neurons in vivo via Xlr genes - Mosaic mutations in the X-linked cell adhesion molecule Protocadherin 19 (PCDH19) lead to epilepsy with cognitive impairment, whereas complete absence of functional protein, although possibly linked to autistic features, does not elicit any seizures. It is believed that mosaic expression of PCDH19 leads to defective neuronal communication, but whether further roles beyond cell adhesion are crit...

Temporal patterns of neurostimulation efficacy in drug-resistant epilepsy: A systematic review and meta-analysis - OBJECTIVE: To systematically evaluate the temporal efficacy trajectories and relative performance of four neurostimulation modalities (open-loop Vagus Nerve Stimulation [ol-VNS], closed-loop VNS [cl-VNS], Deep Brain Stimulation [DBS], and Responsive Neurostimulation [RNS]) in patients with drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE).

Responsive neurostimulation (RNS) programming - Programming of RNS is an iterative process involving a logical progression of patient-specific electrocorticographic biomarker detections that inform stepwise progression of stimulation parameters. In this paper, we discuss the identification and detection of specific pro-ictal, pre-ictal, ictal onset, and seizure body biomarkers as they relate to optimal timing of neurostimulation. General pri...

Patient reported outcome measures following group and individual therapy in a multidisciplinary functional/dissociative seizure program - BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Functional/dissociative seizures (FDS) are frequently treated with one-to-one therapeutic interventions. However, data describing patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) following group-based therapy remain limited. This study evaluated changes in PROMs among a large cohort of individuals receiving virtual, group and individual therapy within a multidisciplinary FDS...

Epilepsy and Neurocognitive Profile in Dystrophinopathies: Insights from Caregiver Perspectives - CONCLUSIONS: Dystrophinopathies impose a major extramuscular burden beyond motor decline, including epilepsy, cognitive deficits, and psychosocial difficulties. Importantly, the caregiver perspective highlights underrecognized cognitive and behavioral challenges, as well as barriers to education, providing actionable insights to guide multidisciplinary follow-up. These findings emphasize the im...

Mindfulness meditation increases interictal epileptiform discharges in meditation-naive surgical epilepsy patients - OBJECTIVE: Meditation has widely recognized psychological and neuromodulatory benefits, yet its effects on epileptiform activity remain unclear. This study examined whether novice meditation modulates interictal epileptiform discharges (IEDs) in patients with drug-resistant epilepsy using intracranial electroencephalography (iEEG).

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.