A microscopic capture of nerve cells.

New Insights About Epilepsy Mechanism Suggest a Potential Treatment Target

Researchers studying a common form of epilepsy have made an important discovery about a process within the brain’s hippocampus that appears to modulate seizure activity and suggests a possible new target for future therapies. In epilepsy, according to the NIH’s National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), the normal pattern of neuronal activity in the brain…

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Doctor studies brain scans in medical office.

Brain plasticity promotes worsening of epileptic seizures, study finds

Epileptic seizures worsen via the same mechanism by which practice makes perfect, a new study from the Stanford University School of Medicine has found. The research, conducted on rodents with epilepsy, provides a major new insight into the mechanics of how seizures worsen: Seizures drive better insulation of the nerve fibers involved in seizing, allowing the brain…

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HOBSCOTCH Brochure

A Home-Based Self-Management Program Improved Cognition and Quality of Life in Persons with Epilepsy

A program called Home-Based Self-Management and Cognitive Training Changes Lives, or HOBSCOTCH, improved cognition and quality of life in persons with epilepsy, according to a study published in Neurology on April 6. “Nearly 50 percent of persons with epilepsy (PWE) have cognitive impairment affecting health, productivity, and quality of life,” wrote lead study author Nicholas Alexius Streltzov,…

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Utah and Florida Seizure Safe Schools Bills Signed into Law

Epilepsy Foundation announced that Utah Governor Spencer Cox signed House Bill 241 into law on March 23, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 173 into law on March 25, thereby protecting children and teens living with the epilepsies in both states. With the passage of these bills, the Foundation, along with key partners, state legislators, and…

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Hemp leaves

Clinical experts offer advice on prescribing cannabis medicines to patients with epilepsy

There’s considerable interest in using cannabis-based medications to help treat drug resistant epilepsy, but clinicians have little guidance on how or when to prescribe these products. A working group comprised of pediatric and adult epilepsy specialists, clinical pharmacists, pharmacologists, and cannabis researchers from across Australia recently developed an interim “consensus advise” for prescribers and published…

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