Epilepsy
hideEpilepsy (from the Greek επιληψία /epili΄psia/ ) is a common chronic neurological disorder characterized by recurrent unprovoked seizures. These seizures are transient signs and/or symptoms of abnormal, excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain. About 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, with almost 90% of these people being in developing countries. Epilepsy is more likely to occur in young children, or people over the age of 65 years, however it can occur at any time. Epilepsy is usually controlled, but not cured, with medication, although surgery may be considered in difficult cases. However, over 30% of people with epilepsy do not have seizure control even with the best available medications. Not all epilepsy syndromes are lifelong – some forms are confined to particular stages of childhood. Epilepsy should not be understood as a single disorder, but rather as a group of syndromes with vastly divergent symptoms but all involving episodic abnormal electrical activity in the brain.
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News tagged with epilepsy
Current cigarette smokers at increased risk of seizures
Nov 18, 2009 |
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A recent study determined there is a significant risk of seizure for individuals who currently smoke cigarettes. Boston-based researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School also found that long-term, ...
Theory about long and short-term memory questioned
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Nov 09, 2009 |
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The long-held theory that our brains use different mechanisms for forming long-term and short-term memories has been challenged by new research from UCL, published today in PNAS.
You can control your Marilyn Monroe neuron
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Oct 22, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- In a scientific first, researchers have been able to demonstrate the ability of humans to control the activity of individual brain cells.
Scientists find 'molecular trigger' for sudden death in epilepsy
Oct 14, 2009 |
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The most common gene for a syndrome associated with abnormal heart rhythms and sudden death triggers epileptic seizures and could explain sudden unexplained death in epilepsy, said researchers from Baylor College of Medicine ...
Packages of care for epilepsy in low- and middle-income countries
Oct 13, 2009 |
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In the second in a six part series on treating mental health problems in resource-poor settings, Caroline Mbuba and Charles Newton (Centre for Geographic Medicine Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute, Kilifi, Kenya) ...
Study May Explain How A Well-Known Epilepsy and Pain Drug Works
Oct 12, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A Duke University Medical Center researcher who spent years looking for the signals that prompt the brain to form new connections between neurons has found one that may explain precisely how a well-known ...
New links between epilepsy and brain lipids
Sep 17, 2009 |
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In mice that are missing a protein found only in the brain, neural signals "go crazy," leaving the animals with epileptic seizures from a young age, researchers have found. The report in the September 18th Cell, a Cell P ...
Severe Epilepsy Linked to Gene Mutation
Sep 14, 2009 |
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University of Utah medical researchers have identified a gene with mutations that cause febrile seizures and contribute to a severe form of epilepsy known as Dravet syndrome in some of the most vulnerable patients - infants ...
Star-shaped cells in the brain aid with learning
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Sep 07, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Every movement and every thought requires the passing of specific information between networks of nerve cells. To improve a skill or to learn something new entails more efficient or a greater ...
Fragile period of childhood brain development could underlie epilepsy
Aug 23, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A form of partial epilepsy associated with auditory and other sensory hallucinations has been linked to the disruption of brain development during early childhood, according to a study led ...
Children with newly diagnosed epilepsy at risk for cognitive problems
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Aug 12, 2009 |
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Children who have normal IQs before they experience a first seizure may also have problems with language, memory, learning and other cognitive skills, according to a study published in the August 12, 2009, online issue of ...
Seizures during pregnancy associated with risk of pre-term and small babies
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Aug 10, 2009 |
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Women with epilepsy who have seizures during pregnancy appear more likely to give birth to pre-term, small or low-birth-weight babies than women without epilepsy, according to a report in the August issue of Archives of Ne ...
Epilepsy halted in mice
Aug 03, 2009 |
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Scientists at Leeds have prevented epilepsy caused by a gene defect from being passed on to mice offspring - an achievement which may herald new therapies for people suffering from the condition.
Software tool helps Web developers identify seizure-causing content
Jul 22, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- In 1997, an episode of the popular Pokemon cartoon gained worldwide attention when more than 800 Japanese children with photosensitive seizure conditions were admitted to the hospital after viewing the cartoon ...
Scientists discover a new mechanism controlling neuronal migration
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Jul 15, 2009 |
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The molecular machinery that helps brain cells migrate to their correct place in the developing brain has been identified by scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The finding offers new insight into the forces ...
