Epilepsy

Today marks the beginning of National Epilepsy Week and your friends at Bel Marra have taken the time to round up much of the information you need to get you up to speed on this neurological condition. Seizures can be scary and confusing, so it’s best to stay informed. We also have information on cataracts, ...click here to read more

March 26 is Purple Day for Epilepsy, a day where people come together to raise awareness. To help increase awareness of this important condition, we have compiled a list of relevant topics dealing with issues such as diabetes, cataracts, and their relation to epilepsy. Over the past eight years, purple day has become a global ...click here to read more

A ketogenic diet based on high-fat and low-carbohydrate consumption has been found to help patients who suffer from super-refractory status epilepticus (SRSE)—a severe and often fatal form of epilepsy—in a new study from Johns Hopkins and their colleagues. SRSE is characterized by prolonged and severe seizures that require medically-induced comas in order to prevent additional ...click here to read more

February 13 is International Epilepsy Day, and in honor of this event, Bel Marra Health has gathered a collection of articles related to epilepsy, including information on diabetes, cataracts, heart rate, and asthma. Diabetes, epilepsy, and asthma may increase risk of suicide and self-harm Diabetes, epilepsy, and asthma may increase the risk of suicide and self-harm. ...click here to read more

Epileptic seizures severity and frequency can be lowered with cannabidiol (CBD) oil, based on findings from University of Alabama. The researchers presented their key finding that CBD oil significantly reduced frequency of seizures in most of the patients and two-thirds of patients saw a significant reduction in their seizure severity. Researcher Jerzy P. Szaflarski explained, ...click here to read more

Cataracts, epilepsy, and antidepressant use linked to glutamate receptor proteins in the eyes. Corresponding author Peter Frederikse said, “Recent studies identified associations between increased cataracts and epilepsy, and showed increased cataract prevalence with use of antiepileptic drugs as well as some common antidepressants. One common theme linking these observations is that our research showed the ...click here to read more

Diabetes, epilepsy, and asthma may increase the risk of suicide and self-harm. For the study, the researchers compared different psychiatric and physical disorders in England. Along with diabetes, epilepsy, and asthma, other physical illnesses associated with a higher risk of suicide and self-harm included migraine, psoriasis, eczema, and inflammatory polyarthropathies. Authors Dr. Arvind Singhal and ...click here to read more

Epilepsy-related seizures can be predicted by measuring heart rate variability. The findings come from researchers in Japan who found that epileptic seizures may be better predicted using electrocardiogram to measure fluctuations in the heart rate than by measuring brain activity. This is also effective because wearing a heart monitor is much easier. Epilepsy is a ...click here to read more

Epilepsy patients who sleep on stomach face sudden death risk similar to SIDS (sudden infant death risk), according to research. Study author Dr. James Tao said, “Sudden unexpected death is the main cause of death in uncontrolled epilepsy and usually occurs unwitnessed during sleep.” Among epileptics, the risk of death while asleep is highest among ...click here to read more

A new study found that epilepsy patients may benefit from a one-a-day medication instead of the traditional two-a-day drug, which is currently used. The findings are still in their early phase, and the researchers compared the effectiveness of eslicarbazepine acetate (Aptiom), which is a one-a-day drug, to carbamazepine (Tegretol, Carbatrol), a two-a-day drug, in over ...click here to read more

The risk of epilepsy has been found to be linked to type 1 diabetes. The findings suggest that individuals with type 1 diabetes have triple the risk of developing epilepsy – a condition characterized by seizures – compared to individuals without type 1 diabetes. Additionally, the researchers found that type 1 diabetics under the age ...click here to read more

Epilepsy, even controlled, can still cause problems in children, such as learning and behavioral issues. Lead author Anne Berg said, “Frequency and intensity of seizures remain important predictors of how well a child does into adulthood. But, somewhat to our surprise, we also found seizures are by no means the sole influencers of social and ...click here to read more

Epilepsy affects nearly 30 percent of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) patients. On the other hand, many patients with epilepsy display ASD-like behavior. Studies have shown that epileptic seizures impair the neural pathways required for socialization, but the details of this process are unknown. Four studies have investigated the in-depth relationship between epilepsy and ASD, revealing ...click here to read more

Migraine with aura and epilepsy have been found to share a genetic link. The findings, published in Epilepsia, found that a strong family history of seizures was associated with higher incidences of migraines with aura. There is much evidence that supports a coexistence of migraine and epilepsy, and previous findings revealed that epilepsy patients are ...click here to read more