Antiepileptics are linked to an increased risk of Parkinson’s disease (PD), new research suggests. Drawing on data from the UK Biobank, investigators compared over 1,400 individuals diagnosed with PD to matched control persons and found a significantly higher risk of developing PD among those who had taken antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) in comparison with those who … Read more
NASHVILLE, TENN. — Patients with dementia and active seizures experience faster cognitive and functional decline and have a greater risk of dying younger than people with dementia who don’t have seizures, according to a multicenter study presented at the 2022 annual meeting of the American Epilepsy Society. When we compared patients with seizures with those … Read more
NASHVILLE, Tennessee ― About 21% of teens are newly diagnosed with epilepsy experience suicidal ideation, and the percentage jumps to 31% within 3 years, new research reveals. Dr Hadley Greenwood “We hope these results inspire epileptologists and neurologists to both recognize and screen for suicide ideation and behaviors in their adolescent patients,” study investigator Hadley … Read more
NASHVILLE — There is no negative impact of in utero exposure to antiseizure medications on children’s creativity, new research shows. Dr. Kimford Meador The results of this study, along with other research, suggest the risk for cognitive problems “is fairly low” overall for children of women with epilepsy taking lamotrigine or levetiracetam, study investigator, Kimford … Read more
NASHVILLE, Tennessee ― Targeting relevant sleep problems for patients with refractory temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) improves cognition, results of a new, double-blind, randomized controlled trial suggested. Study findings show significant improvement in REM sleep and language scores for patients with TLE who took the cholinesterase inhibitor donepezil and better slow-wave sleep and memory scores for … Read more
A large Danish study supports a robust and long-term bidirectional relationship between epilepsy and depression, with implications for diagnosis and patient care. Eva Bolling-Ladegaard The findings “strongly support previous observations of a bidirectional association between these two brain disorders,” Eva Bolling-Ladegaard, MD, PhD student, Department of Clinical Medicine (Neurology), Aarhus University, Denmark, told Medscape Medical … Read more
Prenatal exposure to high-dose folic acid is associated with a greater than twofold increased risk for cancer in children of mothers with epilepsy, new data from a Scandinavian registry of more than 3 million pregnancies suggests. The increased risk for cancer did not change after considering other factors that could explain the risk, such as … Read more
Elevated concentrations of carbon monoxide (CO) due to air pollution increases the risk of epileptic seizures, a unique new study suggests. The link between daily outdoor CO exposure and seizure risk was particularly evident for subclinical seizures ― those in patients with abnormal electroencephalography (EEG) signals but no clinical symptoms. “Our findings suggest that people … Read more
Editor’s note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape’s Coronavirus Resource Center. Investigators have found biochemical evidence of brain injury in patients hospitalized with acute COVID-19 and in those with long COVID. Combined blood biomarker evidence of neuronal damage activation of glial cells, indicating brain inflammation, correlated with symptoms of anxiety in long … Read more
In a bid to stop abuse and diversion of the anticonvulsant gabapentin, a watchdog group is petitioning federal regulators to make the drug a controlled substance. The nonprofit group Public Citizen has filed a petition with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), arguing that medication’s risks additional safeguards. … Read more