http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. New research from Rhode Island Hospital found that reduced levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a protein in the brain that encourages growth of neurons, may be a trait marker for individuals with psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) (seizures that are psychological in origin). The findings are published in the October 4, 2010, issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. http://phys.org/news205430390.html Medicine & Health Mon, 04 Oct 2010 17:00:08 EST news205430390 A group of researchers at the University of Bristol have sequestered the potentially fatal breath holding episodes associated with the autistic-spectrum disorder Rett syndrome. http://phys.org/news205425548.html Medicine & Health Mon, 04 Oct 2010 15:39:24 EST news205425548 Researchers from the Arkansas Epilepsy Program found treatment with rufinamide results in a significant reduction in seizure frequency compared with placebo, for patients with uncontrolled partial-onset seizures (POS). Details of this study are now available online in Epilepsia, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the International League Against Epilepsy. http://phys.org/news205131053.html Medicine & Health Fri, 01 Oct 2010 05:51:06 EST news205131053 A University of Alberta research team has discovered a potential new trigger for epileptic seizures that strike during deep sleep. http://phys.org/news204970983.html Medicine & Health Wed, 29 Sep 2010 09:23:23 EST news204970983 (PhysOrg.com) -- A type of neuron that, when malfunctioning, has been tied to epilepsy, autism and schizophrenia is much more complex than previously thought, researchers at MIT's Picower Institute for Learning and Memory report in the Sept. 9 issue of Neuron. http://phys.org/news203169419.html Medicine & Health Wed, 08 Sep 2010 12:57:12 EST news203169419 In an early step toward letting severely paralyzed people speak with their thoughts, University of Utah researchers translated brain signals into words using two grids of 16 microelectrodes implanted beneath the skull but atop the brain. http://phys.org/news203052531.html Medicine & Health Tue, 07 Sep 2010 04:29:50 EST news203052531 A small preliminary study has found that valproic acid - a drug already used to treat epileptic seizures, migraines and bipolar disorder - may halt or even reverse the loss of vision produced by retinitis pigmentosa, researchers said Thursday. A team from the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worchester is now organizing a clinical trial to confirm its observations. http://phys.org/news200850683.html Medicine & Health Thu, 12 Aug 2010 17:20:03 EST news200850683 Scientists are reporting a possible explanation for the bone loss that may occur following long-term use of a medicine widely used to treat epilepsy, bipolar disorder, and other conditions. The drug, valproate, appears to reduce the formation of two key proteins important for bone strength, they said. Their study, which offers a solution to a long-standing mystery, appears in ACS' monthly Journal of Proteome Research. http://phys.org/news200144785.html Medicine & Health Wed, 04 Aug 2010 12:46:37 EST news200144785 A chemical compound that boosts the action of a molecule normally produced in the brain may provide the starting point for a new line of therapies for the treatment of epileptic seizures, according to a new study by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute. http://phys.org/news199615872.html Medicine & Health Thu, 29 Jul 2010 09:52:06 EST news199615872 (PhysOrg.com) -- Most scientists have viewed electrical fields within the brain as the simple byproducts of neuronal activity. However, Yale scientists report in the July 15 issue of the journal Neuron that electrical fields can also influence the activity of brain cells. http://phys.org/news198350025.html Medicine & Health Wed, 14 Jul 2010 18:50:13 EST news198350025 (PhysOrg.com) -- A UConn neuroscientist is studying a signaling pathway in the brain that is the target of many anxiolytic medications. http://phys.org/news198245320.html Medicine & Health Tue, 13 Jul 2010 13:40:02 EST news198245320 The combination vaccine for measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox (MMRV) is associated with double the risk of febrile seizures for 1- to 2-year-old children compared with same-day administration of the separate vaccine for MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) and the varicella (V) vaccine for chicken pox, according to a Kaiser Permanente Division of Research study appearing online in the journal Pediatrics. A febrile seizure is a brief, fever-related convulsion but it does not lead to epilepsy or seizure disorders, researchers explained. http://phys.org/news196857169.html Medicine & Health Mon, 28 Jun 2010 00:20:02 EST news196857169 (PhysOrg.com) -- When seizures strike, the most immediate goal for caregivers is to get appropriate medication to the patient as quickly as possible to stop the seizing activity. http://phys.org/news194876017.html Medicine & Health Fri, 04 Jun 2010 13:13:54 EST news194876017 Patients with drug-resistant epilepsy run the risk of gradual deterioration in their cognitive abilities. Surgical treatment generally puts an end to seizures but can have a negative effect on memory. However, there is no further deterioration in memory, and some patients may even recover some of their memory capacity, reveals a thesis from the University of Gothenburg. http://phys.org/news194612556.html Medicine & Health Tue, 01 Jun 2010 12:02:53 EST news194612556 By the age of 5, Rachel, who lives on a farm near a small town in Iowa, had been struggling with seizures brought on by intractable epilepsy for nearly three years. http://phys.org/news193406771.html Medicine & Health Tue, 18 May 2010 13:30:04 EST news193406771 The high-fat ketogenic diet can dramatically reduce or completely eliminate debilitating seizures in most children with infantile spasms, whose seizures persist despite medication, according to a Johns Hopkins Children's Center study published online April 30 in the journal Epilepsia. http://phys.org/news193333511.html Medicine & Health Mon, 17 May 2010 17:00:03 EST news193333511 (PhysOrg.com) -- Dozens of potential applications await a new neurological probing platform developed by European scientists. The new system offers the promise of new cures for neurological disease and a better understanding of how our brain works. http://phys.org/news192804260.html Medicine & Health Tue, 11 May 2010 13:44:39 EST news192804260 (PhysOrg.com) -- A new behavioral data analysis system under development at UT Dallas focuses on identifying potential Internet threats, but it comes with a nice bonus. http://phys.org/news192461958.html Technology Fri, 07 May 2010 15:00:01 EST news192461958 After birth the brain looses many nerve cells and this continues throughout life - most neurons are formed before birth, after which many excess neurons degenerate. However, there are some cells that are still capable of division in old age - in the brains of mice, at least. http://phys.org/news192370239.html Biology Thu, 06 May 2010 13:11:05 EST news192370239 Neuroscience researchers have zeroed in on a novel mechanism that helps control the firing of electrical signals among neurons. By isolating the molecular and electrical events that occur when this control is disrupted, the new research sheds light on epileptic seizures and potentially on other prominent diseases involving poorly regulated brain activity. http://phys.org/news191416200.html Medicine & Health Sun, 25 Apr 2010 13:00:10 EST news191416200 (PhysOrg.com) -- Nerve cells communicate with each other by means of electrical impulses. To create such an impulse, the cells exchange charged ions with their environment. However, the role played by the ever-present chloride channels remained obscure, although some theories predicted a relation between the chloride channel ClC-2 and epilepsy. http://phys.org/news190998426.html Medicine & Health Tue, 20 Apr 2010 16:20:01 EST news190998426 Researchers have found that polytherapy with multiple anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) did not result in greater adverse effects than monotherapy for patients with refractory epilepsy. This observational study also found AED load was not a factor in causing adverse effects, but suggests that individual susceptibility, type of AEDs used, and physicians' skills determine which patients suffer adverse effects. Results of this study are available today in Epilepsia, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the International League Against Epilepsy. http://phys.org/news190961377.html Medicine & Health Tue, 20 Apr 2010 05:51:29 EST news190961377 Epileptic activity in the brain can affect language development in children, and EEG registrations should therefore be carried out more frequently on children with severe language impairment to identify more readily those who may need medical treatment, reveals a thesis from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. http://phys.org/news190896569.html Medicine & Health Mon, 19 Apr 2010 12:40:07 EST news190896569 Tapeworm infections of the brain, which can cause epileptic seizures, appear to be increasing in Mexico and bordering southwestern states, Loyola University Health System researchers report. http://phys.org/news190459642.html Medicine & Health Wed, 14 Apr 2010 10:27:39 EST news190459642 A mutation in a brain protein gene may trigger irregular heart beat and sudden death in people with epilepsy, according to new research in the April 14 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience. People with epilepsy who are otherwise healthy are more than 10 times more likely to die suddenly and unexpectedly than the general population. http://phys.org/news190397868.html Medicine & Health Tue, 13 Apr 2010 17:40:01 EST news190397868 In focal epilepsy, seizures are generated by a localized, synchronous neuronal electrical discharge that may spread to large portions of the brain. In spite of intense research in the field of epilepsy, a key question remains unanswered: what are the earliest cellular events leading to the initiation of a focal seizure? http://phys.org/news190398651.html Medicine & Health Tue, 13 Apr 2010 17:31:06 EST news190398651 A recent multi-center study has confirmed earlier study results that 400 mg/day of lacosamide provides a good balance of efficacy and tolerability for patients with uncontrolled partial-onset seizures (POS), and doses of 600mg/day may provide additional benefit for some patients. Researchers from the Barrow Neurological Institute, St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center, Thomas Jefferson University Medical School, Arkansas Epilepsy Program, Schwarz Biosciences and Johns Hopkins University Hospital conducted this study which is available early online in Epilepsia, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the International League Against Epilepsy. http://phys.org/news186329360.html Medicine & Health Thu, 25 Feb 2010 14:10:16 EST news186329360 A study by researchers at the University of Cincinnati Neuroscience Institute (UCNI) at University Hospital supports the use of an alternative medication to prevent seizures in patients who have suffered a life-threatening traumatic brain injury or bleeding stroke. http://phys.org/news185633249.html Medicine & Health Wed, 17 Feb 2010 12:47:50 EST news185633249 Restrictions should be placed on the use of Ginkgo biloba (G. biloba) -- a top-selling herbal remedy -- because of growing scientific evidence that Ginkgo may increase the risk of seizures in people with epilepsy and could reduce the effectiveness of anti-seizure drugs, a new report concludes. The article appears in ACS' Journal of Natural Products. http://phys.org/news183816819.html Medicine & Health Wed, 27 Jan 2010 13:20:01 EST news183816819 Just a few months ago, 2-year-old Jesse Eaton was having up to 20 epileptic seizures a day. His thin arms flung out while his knees pulled up and his body bent forward like a jackknife. http://phys.org/news183631639.html Medicine & Health Mon, 25 Jan 2010 08:48:41 EST news183631639