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Epilepsy
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Definition of Epilepsy
Epilepsy is any of various neurological disorders characterized by sudden recurring attacks of motor, sensory, or psychic malfunction with or without loss of consciousness or convulsive seizures.
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http://www.epilepsy.com/articles/ar_1101143126
With the staggering number of patients with epilepsy utilizing emergency department care,William Tatum, M.D.,Clinical Associate Professor at the University of South Florida, and Thomas L. Orth, Executive Director, Epilepsy Services of West Central Florida are exploring another alternative- case management. “Case management, according to the results of our pilot study, is a cost effective way of improving the quality of services rendered for patients with epilepsy,” said Dr. Tatum, today at the 58th annual AES conference in New Orleans
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Study Shows Remission in Refractory Adult Epilepsy Population is Possible
“We found a 5% per year terminal remission rate in our study. One of the take home messages from our findings is that continuing to attempt to improve seizure control by changing medications is important because little by little patients can achieve remission,” said Jacqueline French, M.D., Professor of Neurology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and co-director of the epilepsy center, today at the 58th annual American Epilepsy Society (AES) conference in New Orleans.
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New Antiepileptic Device May Control Seizures
“Thirty percent of patients with epilepsy continue to have seizures despite taking medications and other therapies. We are hoping, based on the results of this pilot study, that the Intercept Epilepsy Control System may eventually be shown to be of potential help to some of these patients,” said Nina Graves, Sr. Therapy Development Manager, today at the 58th annual American Epilepsy Society (AES) conference.
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Perception is Half the Battle
While antiepileptic drugs may be useful in treating epilepsy they are only part of the treatment equation. What is missing in the treatment plans of most patients with epilepsy is acknowledgement of their emotional life and close examination of their perceptions of their seizure disorders and how their seizures impact their quality of life. These psychosocial issues, while largely overlooked within the confines of the traditional medical approach to treatment, are in fact being emphasized in programs such as the Seizures & Epilepsy Education (S.E.E.) Program and the Andrews-Reiter Epilepsy Research Program.
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Acute Repetitive Seizures and Seizure Emergencies: Weighing Your Treatment Options
Rectal Diastat (dye-ah-stat) is the best known treatment for acute repetitive seizures (bout or cluster of seizures with retention of consciousness in between seizures). Yet, there are other “off-label” medications under discussion and being researched for the treatment of acute repetitive seizures. One of those off-label medications is intranasal midazolam.
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Patients with Epilepsy Beware : FDA Releases New Medication Error Report
Mistakes are common in any profession, and often expected in varying degrees. However, medication errors made by healthcare professionals are usually unexpected and may be associated with serious, potentially life-threatening health-related consequences.
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Exploring the Relationship between Insomnia and AEDs
A good night’s sleep eludes many people with epilepsy, thus significantly impacting their quality of life. And while there has been speculation regarding the role specific antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) may have on sleep quality in people with epilepsy, there have been few studies examining the relationship with insomnia—until now. Today, Carl Bazil, M.D., Associate Professor of Clinical Neurology, Columbia University, and colleagues presented their latest research exploring the link between AEDs and insomnia at the American Epilepsy Society 59th Annual Meeting in Washington DC.
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Does Treatment Aggressiveness Affect the Prognosis of Refractory Status Epilepticus?
Status epilepticus (SE) is a medical emergency that requires rapid and aggressive treatment to prevent neuronal damage, systemic complications and death. When the seizures associated with SE do not respond to initial drug therapy; thus becoming what is known as refractory status epilepticus (RSE), clinicians are encouraged to take very aggressive treatment measures, including: coma induction and EEG suppression. But how does treatment aggressiveness affect the prognosis of RSE? This is the question Edward Bromfield, M.D, Brigham & Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Andrea Rossetti, M.D., Swiss National Science Foundation, and Giancarlo Logroscino, M.D., PhD, Harvard School of Public Health, addressed in their latest research study. They presented their findings at the American Epilepsy Society 59th Annual meeting in Washington, DC.
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Which are Better: Older or Newer Antiepileptic Medications?
We are fortunate in 2006 that physicians have a great deal more choice when deciding the best drug treatment options for their patients than they did even a short while ago. In the last 10 to 15 years, eight new antiepileptic drugs have been approved for use in people with epilepsy, with four approvals in the last five years alone. Yet, it is still equally as common for physicians to prescribe the older drugs, some of which have been around for decades. The average person is bombarded with pharmaceutical messages touting the benefits of new drugs versus old. Therefore, it is very reasonable to ask the question whether the new drugs offer a substantial benefit, and whether patients should be asking their physicians specifically for these drugs.
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Translating Research into Cures
Washington, DC-How does one translate the results of a laboratory experiment into a medication that helps patients with epilepsy? To answer this question, Orrin Devinsky, MD, New York University Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, New York, NY, and Warren Lammert, Co-Founder and Director of The Epilepsy Project and Epilepsy.com, coordinated the Special Interest Group on Translational Research.
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Researchers Discuss Use of Botanicals as Treatment for Epilepsy
Washington, DC-The room overflowed with physicians and others interested in the possibility of finding new epilepsy treatments from plants at the first special interest group meeting on herbs and botanicals. Steven Schachter, MD?, Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School Osher Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, explained that herbal medicines are used for a variety of medical illnesses around the world. It is possible that some herbs might have active ingredients that could be used to control seizures. Most of these plants have not received much scientific study, but that is now changing as researchers at Harvard University and other academic centers conduct experiments to find out how, and if, these herbs and botanicals can stop epileptic activity in the brain.
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This is Your Brain on Drugs: The Effects, Reactions and Risks of Taking Antiepileptic Medication
Among the 200,000 Americans diagnosed with epilepsy each year, more than two-thirds control their seizures with medication. A century ago, that wasn’t an option. Before 1912, when phenobarbital became the first drug to suppress seizures without severe side effects, epilepsy was a problem without a solution.
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Cognitive Improvement Makes the List as Common Treatment Goal for Parents of Children with Intractable Epilepsy
Much to their surprise, researchers at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center recently found that cognitive improvement is one of the most common goals of parents with children with intractable epilepsy prior to starting the ketogenic diet.
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Read and React: Implantable Devices Could Stop Seizures in Their Tracks
Antiepileptic drugs have provided tremendous relief for many people with epilepsy. But around one-third of patients with epilepsy continue to have seizures despite medication, according to Brian Litt, M.D., an associate professor of neurology and bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania, and a member of the Epilepsy Foundation’s professional advisory board.
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