Bromazolam, a street drug that has been detected with increasing frequency in the United States, has reportedly caused protracted seizures, myocardial injury, comas, and multiday intensive care stays in three individuals, new data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed. The substance is one of at least a dozen designer benzodiazepines,...
Tag: <span>seizures</span>
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New gene therapy could significantly reduce seizures in severe childhood epilepsy
by University College London CAMK2A-EKC therapy reduces seizure frequency. A. Timeline. B. Heatmap displaying seizure occurrence in each animal injected with either CAMK2A-GFP (gray) or CAMK2A-EKC virus (purple) before and after the treatment (virus injection on day 0). Crosses correspond to days where data acquisition was incomplete. C. Graph displaying the change in number of seizures...
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Brain implant successfully controls both seizures and OCD
by Erik Robinson, Oregon Health & Science University OHSU neurosurgeon Ahmed Raslan, M.D., and patient Amber Pearson. Credit: OHSU/Christine Torres HicksA patient at Oregon Health & Science University is the first in the world to benefit from a single stimulator implanted in the brain to effectively control two life-altering conditions: seizures caused by epilepsy and compulsive...
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For epilepsy sufferers, cutting-edge technology offers early alerts of seizures
by Anthony King, Horizon: The EU Research & Innovation Magazine Around 6 million people in Europe suffer from epilepsy. Credit: © Madrolly, Shutterstock.com People with epilepsy could soon get a one-minute warning of an impending seizure with the help of a new medical device. An epileptic seizure can put a person at risk of injury in everyday situations that most...
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How epilepsy surgery is curing more seizures
by Kathy Katella, Yale University Lawrence Hirsch, MD, listens as Eyiyemisi Damisah, MD, reviews the plans for an upcoming epilepsy surgery. Credit: Anthony DeCarlo/Yale University More than ever before, people with epilepsy are living normal lives. The key is to get treatment, typically a medication, for seizures—the unpredictable disruptions in the brain’s electrical system that are...
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Seizures can be predicted more than 30 minutes before onset in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy
by University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (Panel A) Patients with medically refractory temporal lobe epilepsy undergoing stereo-electroencephalography (SEEG) for presurgical workup of epilepsy were included in this study (N=15). (Panel B) Each participant provided informed consent for electrode implantation into the thalamus for research purposes. EEG data from the seizure onset zone...
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Statistical models show rhythmicity of seizures likely changes with age and common triggers
by Mike Williams, Rice University An illustration shows how an electronic diary by patients with epilepsy correlates “attractors” like new medications or illnesses with seizures over time. A study by statisticians at Rice University and the University of California, San Francisco formalizes a process by which patient and doctors might better recognize the signs of...
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Adult epilepsy treatment reduces seizures in children
RUTGERS UNIVERSITY A surgical treatment commonly used to reduce epileptic seizures in adults also is effective and safe for children, according to a Rutgers study. The study, published in the journal Neurosurgery, is one of the first to investigate responsive neurostimulation system (RNS)—a device similar to a pacemaker that sends electric charges to the heart, which delivers...
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How a top-ranking risk gene for autism spectrum disorders causes seizures
by Ellen Goldbaum, University at Buffalo Fig. 1: ASH1L expression and H3K4me3 level are significantly decreased in PFC of postmortem ASD patients, which is replicated by knockdown of Ash1L in PFC of young mice. a Quantitative PCR data showing ASH1L mRNA levels in postmortem PFC tissues from control humans vs. idiopathic ASD patients. n = 12 humans (10 M,2 F)/group,...
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Epilepsy research reveals previously unknown trigger for seizures
by Josh Barney, University of Virginia Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have uncovered how problems in cortical microcircuits in the brain can trigger epileptic seizures. The researchers say that targeting the problem could lead to new treatments for a devastating form of the disease. UVA epilepsy researchers Eric...