Epilepsy

The drug safety warning stems from a review of case reports and clinical studies that showed use of gabapentinoids with or without opioids is associated with serious breathing difficulties.

The professor and chief of pediatric neurology, and director of the comprehensive epilepsy program and neuroscience institute at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, detailed his experience with patients treated with perampanel.

The director of epilepsy surgery and associate professor of neurosurgery at UC Irvine spoke to the advances that have been made in epilepsy surgery and in noninvasive or minimally invasive techniques, as well as the impact they’ve had on outcomes.

The CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors at INSIGHTEC offered his perspective on how technologies such as focused ultrasound can help shape the future of neurologic care.

The medical director of the Comprehensive Epilepsy Clinic at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital discusses his early stage gene therapy trial for Dravet syndrome.

The CEO of INSIGHTEC offered insight into what challenges in the neurologic space the company plans to tackle in the coming years, and why 2020 marks the start of the “Century of the Brain.”

The assistant professor of psychology at East Carolina discussed how to improve adherence in young adults and children with epilepsy, and how physicians can go about checking quality of life in patients.

A new trial will aim to confirm the findings of a previous study that showed novel combinations of peripherally circulating proteins coupled with risk factors can provide a diagnostic tool with significant clinical unity.

Neurology News Network for the week ending December 14, 2019.

The assistant professor of psychology at East Carolina University spoke to the challenges of overcoming adherence issues in patients with epilepsy, for whom it is so vital.

Electroencephalography-functional magnetic resonance imaging can better identify the epileptogenic focus, resulting in a direct impact on patient management and surgery decision-making.

The professor of neurology and pediatrics and director of the Pediatric Epilepsy Center at the University of California, San Francisco, discussed his personal experience with fenfluramine and the advantages that the drug may present when treating patients with Dravet syndrome.

Full results from the single-dose crossover study requested by the FDA were reported at AES 2019, along with multi-dose safety and efficacy data.

Patients were more affected by seizure cluster control and need for additional midazolam dosing than post-dose somnolence.

Patients treated with NeuroPace’s Responsive Neurostimulation system within 20 years of epilepsy onset were observed to have significantly better outcomes related to several aspects of quality of life and mood compared to those treated later.

The director of pediatric epilepsy and the Herscot Center for Tuberous Sclerosis Complex at Massachusetts General Hospital, and professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School spoke to the safety outcomes from GWPCARE6 and CBD’s low-dose efficacy.

Study findings suggest that the presence of hypsarrhythmia—abnormal, chaotic brainwave patterns—may play a role in the risk of autism spectrum disorder in patients with a history of infantile spasms.

The medical director of the Comprehensive Epilepsy Clinic at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital discussed the advantages of intranasal diazepam over traditional midazolam and rectal diazepam.

Data suggests that treatment with cannabidiol is associated with other benefits besides a decrease in seizure frequency.

The assistant professor of psychology at East Carolina University offered insight about the resources are available to physicians and providers and what techniques can be useful to help patients have a better quality of life in light of refractory and uncontrolled seizures.

Adjunctive cenobamate demonstrated a good tolerability and safety profile, as well as sustained efficacy, in patients with uncontrolled focal seizures.

In a PROVE study subgroup of adolescent patients exposed to perampanel over a 2-year period, the Eisai product proved to be well-tolerated and efficacious, with good retention rates.

The director of epilepsy surgery and associate professor of neurosurgery at UC Irvine spoke about the consequences of patients choosing to forgo beneficial surgery and the importance of communication between surgeon and epileptologist.

Interim analysis of a 5-year, post-approval study of the NeuroPace Responsive Neurostimulation system support prior findings that the device is safe and effective in reducing medically intractable focal seizures in adults.

Fenfluramine oral solution is currently being evaluated by the FDA for the treatment of seizures associated with Dravet syndrome.