News

A study which focused on patients with intellectual disabilities who reside in care homes found that seizures marked with convulsions that occur at night are more likely to be associated with sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP).

A group of scientists based in the Netherlands have developed a new watch like bracelet that will possibly be saving lives in the future.

This new bracelet, called the Nightwatch was first unveiled in the Neurology journal. It is reported that it has the capability to detect 85% of seizures at night. This is a much higher detection rate than other similar technology.

GPs and pharmacists in the UK are being warned to review all female patient cases that are taking the epilepsy medication sodium valproate. This comes from data showing that there is a wide variation in prescription practices in the UK.

FutureNeuro researcher, Dr. Gary Brennan (pictured) has received funding as part of a Government investment of €10.8 million in research funding announced today.

A research team based in Japan are currently developing a device which will allow a person with epilepsy’s smartphone to notify them if they are about to have a seizure. The device is a sensor that identifies seizure warning signs through heart beat fluctuations.

Engineers out of UC Berkeley have developed a new type of neurostimulator which has the ability to stimulate and observe electric current in the brain concurrently. This has the potential to offer fine-tuned treatments to patients living with epilepsy.

The device, named the WAND, has been described as a “pacemaker for the brain,” it monitors the brain’s electrical activity and delivers electrical stimulation if it identifies something wrong.

Women living with frontal lobe epilepsy are more at risk to seizures during pregnancy than pregnant women living with focal or generalised epilepsy, a new study has reported.

Dr. Paula Voinescu, a neurologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston stated; "Physicians need to monitor women with focal epilepsy - especially frontal lobe epilepsy - more closely during pregnancy because maintaining seizure control is particularly challenging for them".

A recent study from the University of Illinois has found that people with epilepsy living in areas with high crime rates in Chicago have triple the amount of seizures compared to those living in areas with lower crime rates.

The largest study of its kind, led by international researchers including scientists at RCSI (Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland), has discovered 11 new genes associated with epilepsy.

The research is published in today’s issue of Nature Communications. It greatly advances knowledge of the underlying biological causes of epilepsy and may inform the development of new treatments for the condition.

A recent study from the Netherlands has tested the effectiveness of Nightwatch, a new seizure detection device. This device is a bracelet which uses factors like heart rate and movement to recognise “major seizures”.

The researchers defined “major seizures” as seizures that were medically urgent. This included tonic-clonic, long generalised tonic and intense motor seizures. The “major seizure” definition also included clusters of myoclonic or tonic seizures.