This work lays the foundation to continue studying inhibitory transmission in Infantile Spasms. Future studies will reveal if stopping this excess PV+ IN death may be a therapeutic target or a cure for Infantile Spasms.
Researchers from Lund University in Sweden have discovered higher levels of immune proteins in the blood before and after an epileptic seizure. The possible biomarkers can be identified using a simple blood test. Diagnosing epilepsy is currently resource-intensive and distinguishing it from other conditions can be challenging. Better diagnostic methods as soon as the patient seeks medical care after a suspected seizure is therefore an urgent necessity.
New research by the Human Brain Project has found that in the brains of patients with epilepsy, changes in large scale neuronal activations can be detected in the brain’s resting state activity, even when no seizure is ongoing. The non-invasive approach could lead to a new method to aid epilepsy diagnostics.
Perampanel was shown to be well tolerated and effective in the treatment of children and adolescents with epilepsy, according to study findings published in Brain and Development.
Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP) affected several aspects of the day-to-day lives of bereaved relatives. Though methods of coping were similar to the usual strategies adopted by all bereaved relatives, advocacy work related to raising awareness about epilepsy and SUDEP was unique to this group.
A decision tool using a small number of historical clinical features accurately predicts the probability of epilepsy. In indeterminate cases, AI-assisted EEG helps resolve uncertainty. This tool holds promise for use by healthcare workers without specialty epilepsy training if validated in an independent cohort.
Differences in sense of control, cognitive inhibition, and selective attention in pediatric functional seizures (FS) versus matched controls implicate these as potential novel treatment targets. Retraining and Control Therapy (ReACT), which targets these factors, has been shown in a randomized controlled trial to be effective in improving pediatric FS with 82% of patients having complete symptom remission at 60 days following treatment.