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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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Job Experience Important Before Epilepsy Surgery
A recent study revealed that most patients succeed in getting a job after temporal lobe surgery. But the most important predictor wasn’t seizure freedom, it was whether they were employed before the operation. Andres Kanner, M.D., Professor of Neurological Sciences, Rush Medical College, Chicago, Illinois, and his colleagues Marlis Frey, R.N., a certified nurse practitioner, and Richard Byrne, M.D., a neurosurgeon, presented the results of their study at the 58th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology in San Diego, CA, this past April.
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Gene, Express Thyself: The Use of DNA Microarrays in Epilepsy Research
Genes are the segments of our DNA, or "genetic code," that are used to make proteins, one of the principal components of cells. "Gene expression" is the flow of genetic information from a gene to a protein. It is one of the fundamental biological processes that enable our cells to grow, survive, and function. The ability of this process to proceed properly is therefore critical to our own development, longevity, and health in general. Inappropriate gene expression, which may happen in response to an injury or as the result of a genetic mutation, is responsible for countless diseases, including many types of epilepsy.
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Clinical Drug Study Participation Reduces Seizure Frequency
“Seizure frequency improves in patients with epilepsy participating in clinical drug studies even when they do not continue to receive the experimental drug,” said Nathan Fountain, M.D., Associate Professor of Neurology at the University of Virginia, School of Medicine and Director of the FE Dreifuss Comprehensive Epilepsy Program, today at the 58th annual AES conference in New Orleans.
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Research Studies: Should you participate?
You will probably be asked at some time to participate in a research project, especially if you are treated in an academic medical center. Your initial reaction might be, "Hey, I don't want to be a guinea pig." You also might think of press coverage of improprieties in research at some distinguished institutions. On the other hand, many other people respond with the sense that participating in research is a civic duty that also will help to ensure that they are receiving "the latest" in high-quality care from the nation's top doctors. In this article we will try to clarify many of the issues surrounding research participation and perhaps relieve some concerns, particularly with regard to behavioral research.
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What will YOU do for Epilepsy Month?
November is Epilepsy Month. As I sit here reflecting on what that really might mean to you, I think about past Epilepsy Months. Patients and their families attended conferences to get information. Posters and articles on epilepsy were distributed to increase the awareness of epilepsy in the community. Patients at doctors' offices were given candy as a treat! Now, as I write this column for Epilepsy Month, I hope to contribute by providing some thoughts and inspirations on epilepsy for this month.
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Working with Epilepsy
Her name is Lily Silver. She is a woman, a person with epilepsy, and a successful lawyer. Yet despite her success, she shares the same fear all people with epilepsy encounter at one time or another – the fear of disclosing her epilepsy to her employer.
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Changes in sexual desire
As many as two-thirds of people with epilepsy face some change in sexual desire, behavior, or activity as a result of their seizures. Even if this kind of problem has affected you, you may not have discussed it with your doctor or someone else who might provide real support and help. Doctors often are reluctant to bring up such intimate topics up in the course of a visit, and many patients do not feel comfortable talking about sex. According to one study, only 13% of epilepsy patients have had a conversation about sex with their doctor. Whatever the reasons behind the silence, there is no need to suffer.
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Stress and the Holidays
The holiday season is a busy time of the year! You spend time shopping for presents, decorating your home, attending holiday parties, and socializing with friends and family. Stress is generally part of the season. You may feel stress from trying to complete all the tasks involved in the season—even if they are enjoyable! You also may feel emotional about the past death of a loved family member or about a troubled relationship. You may even worry about whether the season will affect your seizures.
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Of Cycles and Volcanoes: Seizure Clusters
For many individuals, seizures are not randomly distributed in time. They cluster. A woman may go 4 weeks with no seizures and then have three in a 30-hour period. A child may awaken and have dozens of atonic seizures with head drops over 45 minutes and then not have another seizure for the rest of the day. A cluster is usually defined by the number of seizures over a period when compared to a baseline. For some patients, however, the number of seizures may be about the same as usual, but the seizures in that period are of a different severity or type.
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Female Hormone Replacement Therapy May Increase Seizure Frequency
"Until recently, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) was widely used in menopausal women with epilepsy to alleviate their menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes and vaginal dryness. Now, due to the Women's Health Initiative findings published in July 2002, showing an increased risk of breast cancer due to HRT, the use of HRT has been drastically curtailed. However, our study shows that even short-term use of HRT, which doctors still prescribe, poses a risk to women with epilepsy", said Cynthia Harden,M.D., Department of Neurology, Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City, today at the 58th AES conference in New Orleans.
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Women with Epilepsy: We Know More, but Misinformation Persists
Neurologists now clearly recognize that changes in seizure frequency parallel the menstrual cycle in many women, and new approaches are emerging to help women deal with these changes. Neurologists are also learning that birth control pills often do not work well for women who take certain seizure medicines (including some of the newer ones, which generally offer fewer unwanted side effects). And they are learning the steps that improve the likelihood that a woman with epilepsy will have a safe pregnancy and a healthy child:
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Sleep and Epilepsy: FAQ
We all know that we think more clearly, react more quickly, and generally perform better after a good night's sleep. Sleep is especially important if you have epilepsy. Most types of seizures are affected by sleep, although the degree varies widely from type to type and patient to patient. The effects of seizures and seizure medicines on the quality of your sleep can make the relationship even more complicated. Let's look at all the different sides of the sleep-epilepsy connection.
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Progression in Temporal Lobe Epilepsy: An Interview with Dr. Bruce Hermann
In a prospective study, Bruce Hermann, M.D., Professor and Director, Charles Matthews Neuropsychology Section, Department of Neurology, University of Wisconsin, and colleagues are investigating changes in brain structure, cognitive function and psychiatric status that take place over a 4-year period in patients with chronic temporal lobe epilepsy compared to healthy patients. Below is an interview with Dr. Hermann regarding his findings from this study as presented at the 58th annual American Epilepsy Society (AES) conference in New Orleans.
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New Data Suggests Abnormal Activation of Language Cortex in Patients with Chronic Epilepsy
Today, at the 58th annual AES conference in New Orleans Joshua Breier, (neuropsychologist with the Comprehensive Epilepsy Program at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston) presented his most recent findings from a retrospective study he and several colleagues conducted exploring abnormal activation of language cortex in patients with chronic seizures and academic achievement deficit.
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