As Testing Costs Rise, Neurology Patients May Skip Screening

• December 24, 2020
• Full Page

Rising out-of-pocket costs for neurological tests could lead many Americans to forgo them, researchers warn.

Their study, published online Dec. 23 in the journal Neurology, analyzed neurology care costs for more than 3.7 million people in a large private insuran...

A Better, Safer Way to Rid Some Kids of Seizures?

• Cara Murez
• December 8, 2020
• Full Page

Children with tough-to-treat epilepsy now have another choice to help them live a life free of seizures, a new study suggests.

MRI-guided laser interstitial thermal therapy, a minimally invasive procedure for kids who have drug-resistant epilepsy, is successful in more ...

Sudden Death More Common Than Thought in Very Young With Epilepsy

• Robert Preidt
• December 4, 2020
• Full Page

Sudden, epilepsy-related death is more common than thought in infants and children, a new study suggests.

It also found that Black and multiracial youngsters are at higher risk for what's known as sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP).

It occurs in otherwise ...

Young Epilepsy Patients May Benefit From Mental Health Screening

• Robert Preidt
• December 4, 2020
• Full Page

Depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts are more common in children and teens with epilepsy than previously known, and they should be screened for such problems, researchers report.

They assessed 119 children and teens, aged 9 to18, with epilepsy. None had been diagnos...

Fewer ER Visits for Asthma Crises After Obamacare: Study

• Cara Murez
• November 16, 2020
• Full Page

Ambulances made fewer trips transporting patients with asthma emergencies in New York City after the Affordable Care Act went into effect, new research shows.

The likely reason for the decline: Patients had greater access to outpatient management of their condition, the ...

Epilepsy Meds During Pregnancy May Raise Autism Risk in Child

• Serena Gordon
• October 30, 2020
• Full Page

Women who take the epilepsy medication valproic acid during pregnancy have more than twice the risk of having a child with autism, new research suggests.

The study also found that taking the drug during pregnancy almost doubled the odds that a child would have attention-...

Hard-to-Detect Form of Epilepsy Can Lead to Car Crashes

• Cara Roberts Murez
• October 26, 2020
• Full Page

The most common form of epilepsy is a risk factor for car crashes, yet it can have such subtle symptoms that it often goes undiagnosed for an extended period of time, even years.

Researchers said the failure to recognize symptoms of subtle seizures is the main reason...

Bogus 'Cure' Claims Have U.S. Consumers Snapping Up CBD Products

• Dennis Thompson
• October 15, 2020
• Full Page

CBD has been widely marketed as a cure-all for whatever ails you, and a new study finds many Americans are buying the sales pitch.

Researchers tracking a Reddit forum on CBD found many folks discussing use of cannabidiol to treat conditions for which there are proven, ...

Medical Pot May Help Many Battle Insomnia, Pain and Stress: Study

• Amy Norton
• June 26, 2020
• Full Page

More and more U.S. states are allowing marijuana to be taken as medicine, and a new study suggests that users do indeed feel better.

In a survey of nearly 1,300 people with chronic health conditions, researchers found that those using "medicinal cannabis" reported le...

Aftermath of Seizures Troubling for Those With Epilepsy

• Robert Preidt
• April 17, 2020
• Full Page

The main focus of epilepsy treatment is seizure control, but the aftereffects of seizures are also a major concern for many patients, experts say.

More than 70% of people with epilepsy say they have complications after a seizure -- including confusion, fear, exha...

CBD Medicine May Help Ease Another Form of Seizure

• Amy Norton
• December 9, 2019
• Full Page

Prescription-grade CBD may help control hard-to-treat seizures caused by a rare genetic disorder, a preliminary study suggests.

The study involved 224 patients with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) -- a genetic condition that affects about...

Virtual Doc Visits Suffice for Many With Neurological Disorders

• Robert Preidt
• December 6, 2019
• Full Page

If you have a neurological disorder, a video chat with your doctor might be as good as an office visit for checking on your condition.

That's the conclusion of researchers who analyzed 101 studies on telemedicine use for concussion, traumatic brain injury, dementia, ...

3 Drugs for Severe Epileptic Seizures Are Equally Effective: Study

• Robert Preidt
• December 5, 2019
• Full Page

Three drugs used to treat severe seizures in epilepsy patients are equally effective, a new study finds.

The three medications -- levetiracetam (Keppra and Roweepra), fosphenytoin (Cerebyx) and valproate -- are commonly used to treat patients with "refractory status ...

She Lives With Seizures, and Public Stigma, Every Day

• Serena Gordon
• November 21, 2019
• Full Page

Most of the time, Eva Wadzinski is a typical college student. Then suddenly, she isn't.

Wadzinski has epilepsy and has disruptive seizure clusters as often as 40 times a day.

They are not typical "Hollywood" seizures where people convulse (tonic-clonic se...

They Had Half Their Brains Removed. Here's What Happened After

• Alan Mozes
• November 19, 2019
• Full Page

Many people think of their brain as an overstuffed attic. Every square-inch is either crammed with information or working overtime to help the body function properly. So is it even conceivable that a person be normal with just half a brain?

Yes, apparently it ...

Interest in CBD Products Keeps Soaring, but Health Experts Wary

• Robert Preidt
• October 23, 2019
• Full Page

CBD oil, CBD cookies, even CBD-infused massages: CBD (cannabidiol) seems to be everywhere nowadays, and a new study confirms it's one the hottest health trends for Americans.

The research found that each month, as many as 6.4 million Americans head to Google to learn...

Clues to Why Epileptic Seizures Can Halt Breathing

• Robert Preidt
• September 4, 2019
• Full Page

Higher levels of the brain chemical serotonin are linked to a lower risk of potentially deadly seizure-related breathing pauses in people with epilepsy, researchers say.

The findings suggest serotonin may help protect people with epilepsy from this threat, according ...

A Fatty Meal Might Affect How You Absorb CBD

• Robert Preidt
• August 16, 2019
• Full Page

Having a cheeseburger with that CBD-infused product? A new study suggests that fatty foods might boost the body's absorption of cannabidiol (CBD).

In 2018, CBD capsules received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for use in patients with seizures, but how fo...

Sudden Death Can Occur Even in Well-Controlled Epilepsy

• Serena Gordon
• June 19, 2019
• Full Page

Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy is rare and thought to mainly affect people with hard-to-treat seizures, but a new study suggests that even people with well-controlled epilepsy may be at risk.

That was especially true if someone had missed their last dose of med...

Epilepsy DrugTied to Higher Risk of Suicidal Behavior in Young Users

• Steven Reinberg
• June 13, 2019
• Full Page

A new study supports the notion that a drug used to control epilepsy and other disorders could make some young people more prone to suicide.

The medicine, pregabalin (Lyrica), comes from a class of drugs called gabapentinoids. Besides their use against epilepsy, thes...

Strobes at Concerts May Cause Epileptic Seizures

• Steven Reinberg
• June 12, 2019
• Full Page

A 20-year-old collapsed at a music festival with a first-time epileptic seizure. While terrifying, his case wasn't unique, according to researchers who found that flashing strobe lights triple seizure risk in susceptible concertgoers.

"Regardless of whether strobosco...

FDA Takes Hard Look at CBD

• Dennis Thompson
• May 31, 2019
• Full Page

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration took a good look at the safety and effectiveness of CBD products on Friday, as it weighs how to best regulate the hemp-derived compound going forward.

During a public hearing that stretched for hours, the agency heard testimony ...

CBD -- It's Everywhere, But Does It Work?

• Dennis Thompson
• May 13, 2019
• Full Page

You would have to be living in a cave to have missed the CBD craze that is sweeping across America: New products are cramming store shelves as the market explodes for what many Americans believe to be a miracle cure-all.

Everything from oils to gummies to pills, crea...

MS Patients Now Pay 20 Times More for Drugs Than a Decade Ago

• Serena Gordon
• May 1, 2019
• Full Page

Multiple sclerosis, epilepsy and Parkinson's can be physically taxing conditions, but new research shows they exact a huge financial toll as well.

Over a 12-year period, out-of-pocket costs for Americans with these illnesses jumped, with the biggest increase seen am...

More Evidence CBD Can Help Ease a Form of Epilepsy in Kids

• Robert Preidt
• April 30, 2019
• Full Page

There's new data supporting the use of Epidiolex -- the first cannabidiol (CBD) medicine approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration -- to help curb a form of epilepsy.

The research found that the drug reduced seizures by nearly half in children with Dravet syn...

ADHD Meds Safe With Epilepsy, Study Finds

• Robert Preidt
• March 12, 2019
• Full Page

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often occurs in people with epilepsy. Now, new research provides reassurance that taking ADHD medications won't raise their risk of seizures.

For the study, researchers analyzed data from thousands of epilepsy patients ...

Joking Through Brain Surgery? Seriously?

• Robert Preidt
• February 4, 2019
• Full Page

Brain surgery's pretty serious, but someday patients may laugh their way through it.

A young woman with epilepsy who was undergoing surgery at Emory University in Atlanta did just that, even cracking jokes during her procedure, according to a new study.

N...

Use of Common Epilepsy Drug in Pregnancy Tied to ADHD in Kids

• E.J. Mundell
• January 4, 2019
• Full Page

When a woman with epilepsy uses the anti-seizure drug valproate during a pregnancy, the odds that her baby will go on to develop ADHD rise, a new study suggests.

The Danish report can't prove that valproate causes attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in t...