Driving Restrictions for People With Epilepsy Still Debatable
Patients with epilepsy who drive have the best chance of avoiding a seizure-related car crash if they have not had a seizure in at least 6-12 months, according to a report in the medical journal Neurology.
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Seizure Drug May Be Effective When Others Fail
With advances in seizure medication over the last few years, more and more victims of epilepsy are able to live life to the fullest despite their illness. But there are still many patients whose seizures remain uncontrolled, even after a great deal of trial and error with various drug combinations.
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Many Women Know Little About Their Epilepsy
Living with epilepsy is hard enough. When you throw women's issues into the mix, it gets even more complicated. And now a new study shows that many women don't know enough about having epilepsy. Researchers at Ohio State University in Columbus looked at 48 women who had been living with epilepsy for an average of 15 years. Lead author Lucretia Long and colleagues tested the women's knowledge of epilepsy and various women's issues, from pregnancy and osteoporosis.
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Is There a Neurologist on Board?
In-flight seizures and symptoms of other nerve problems are second only to heart problems as the leading cause of emergency landings of commercial airlines. A new study suggests that means anti-epileptic drugs to treat a seizure deserve a place alongside the now-standard automated emergency defibrillators (AEDs) in today's onboard medical kits.
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Epilepsy Gene Discovered
A large Canadian family carries a clue that may lead to new treatments for epilepsy. Of the family's 14 members, eight have a common form of epilepsy: juvenile myoclonic epilepsy. All of the family members let a team from Montreal's McGill University study their DNA. Now the team, led by Guy A. Rouleau, MD, PhD, has found a mutant gene linked to the disease. They report their findings in the current issue of the journal Nature Genetics.
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Epileptic Women Can Have Normal Babies
Contrary to popular belief, women with epilepsy are not at increased risk of having offspring with major birth defects, provided they do not take antiseizure drugs during pregnancy. "The association of fetal malformations with untreated maternal epilepsy is controversial. From this research, we found no evidence of increased risk for major malformations in offspring of women who did not take anti-epileptic medications during gestation," says researcher Irena Nulman, MD, from Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children, in a news release.
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New Epilepsy Drug Helps Toughest Cases
A new drug may help prevent seizures and reduce other symptoms in children with epilepsy even after other treatments have become ineffective. New research shows adding the drug Keppra to conventional anti-epileptic medications can reduce frequency of seizures by more than 80%.
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Guidance Change for First Seizure in Kids
New guidelines recommend that doctors not immediately turn to anti-epileptic drugs following a child's first seizure. The guidelines apply to seizures that are "unprovoked" by trauma such as a head injury or some other known cause. The guidelines from the American Academy of Neurology and the Child Neurology Society reverse the current standard practice, in which doctors generally medicate a child despite the fact that only one-third to one-half will have another seizure, according to Deborah Hirtz, MD, pediatric neurologist at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
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Good Seizure Control Now May Turn Bad
Unfortunately, how well epileptic seizures are controlled today doesn't predict how well they will be controlled in the future, a new study shows. It's generally believed that getting seizures under control with medication is a good indicator of long-term success. In fact, current guidelines advise stopping seizure drugs once a patient has been seizure-free for two years.
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Epilepsy Treatments' Failure: Gene Link?
Epilepsy treatments fail for one in three patients. Now there's a genetic clue to what's going on -- and what might help. There are several good epilepsy treatments that control epileptic seizures. Yet for many patients, none of them work. It's frustrating to the patients. It's frustrating to their doctors. Researchers are frustrated, too. Why? Different epilepsy drugs work in different ways. If one doesn't work, another should. But that isn't the case.
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Epilepsy Drug Linked to Memory Problems
Memory and other cognitive problems are more common among epilepsy patients taking the popular anti-seizure drug Topamax than in those taking an older mediation, new research suggests. The findings may have broad implications because Topamax also shows promise in the treatment of obesity, migraines, and even alcoholism. In a study released Friday, researchers in Texas reported that alcoholics taking the drug had dramatic reductions in episodes of binge drinking. Another study, reported in February, found the drug to be highly effective in reducing binge eating.
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Driving With Epilepsy Safe for Many
More lenient driving rules for people with epilepsy don't result in more crashes, Arizona data suggests. Some 2.5 million Americans have epilepsy. Thanks to modern medicine, most are able to keep their seizures under control. State laws refuse driver's licenses to people with epilepsy unless they have been free of seizures for a period of time. This seizure-free period ranges from three to 18 months. Which is best?
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Epilepsy Surgery Works For Many
Most epilepsy patients who are seizure-free one year after treatment with epilepsy surgery are likely to be free from seizures for up to eight years or more, a new study shows. Researchers found 68% of patients with the type of epilepsy that is not relieved by medication (known as intractable epilepsy) who were seizure-free for a year after epilepsy surgery were also free of seizures for an average of more than eight years after the treatment.
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Epilepsy Stereotypes Abound in Movies
The dramatic potential of epileptic seizures has been a favorite source of inspiration for filmmakers. But new research suggests that the film industry hasn't caught up with medicine and continues to depict ancient beliefs and stereotypes associated with epilepsy. A survey of 62 international films that deal with epilepsy found the condition is still commonly linked with demonic or divine possession, genius, lunacy, and delinquency.
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