epilepsy tagged posts

Traditional Chinese medicinal fungi might show potential for central nervous system diseases

Evaluating traditional Chinese medicinal fungi for bioactive potential
Central nervous system (CNS) diseases and characteristics (AD: Alzheimer’s disease; PD: Parkinson’s disease). Credit: Journal of Food Science (2025). DOI: 10.1111/1750-3841.70230

Shandong researchers suggest that edible and medicinal fungi contain bioactive components with therapeutic potential for central nervous system (CNS) diseases. Findings offer evidence for the potential of these fungi to serve as novel pharmaceuticals or functional foods in the treatment of CNS diseases.

Central nervous system (CNS) diseases involve complex pathophysiology, gradual symptom onset, and significant challenges in therapeutic evaluation...

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US Patient ‘Happy Again’ after Brain Implant Treats Epilepsy and OCD

Dr. Ahmed Raslan, professor of neurological surgery, talks about the placement of a brain implant with patient Amber Pearson
Dr. Ahmed Raslan, professor of neurological surgery, talks about the placement of a brain implant with patient Amber Pearson.

American Amber Pearson used to wash her hands until they bled, terrified by the idea of contamination from everyday items, a debilitating result of her obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).

But the repetitive rituals of her condition are largely consigned to memory, thanks to a revolutionary brain implant that is being used to treat both her epilepsy and her OCD.

“I’m actually present in my daily life and that’s incredible,” the 34-year-old told AFP.

“Before, I was just constantly in my head worrying about my compulsions.”

Brain implants have hit the headlines recently with Elon Musk’s announcement that his Neuralink company had placed a chip in a pat...

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AI Algorithm that Detects Brain Abnormalities could help Cure Epilepsy

epilepsy
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

An artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm that can detect subtle brain abnormalities that cause epileptic seizures has been developed by a UCL-led team of international researchers.

The Multicentre Epilepsy Lesion Detection project (MELD) used over 1,000 patient MRI scans from 22 global epilepsy centers to develop the algorithm, which provides reports of where abnormalities are in cases of drug-resistant focal cortical dysplasia (FCD)—a leading cause of epilepsy.

FCDs are areas of the brain that have developed abnormally and often cause drug-resistant epilepsy. The condition is typically treated with surgery, however identifying the lesions from an MRI is an ongoing challenge for clinicians, as MRI scans in FCDs can look normal.

To develop t...

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Seizure Forecasting with Wrist-Worn Devices possible for People with Epilepsy

medical illustration or graphic of a brain having a seizure representing epilepsy

A new study found patterns could be identified in patients who wear a special wristwatch monitoring device for six to 12 months, allowing about 30 minutes of warning before a seizure occurred. This worked well most of the time for five of six patients studied.

Despite medications, surgery and neurostimulation devices, many people with epilepsy continue to have seizures. The unpredictable nature of seizures is severely limiting. If seizures could be reliably forecast, people with epilepsy could alter their activities, take a fast-acting medication or turn up their neurostimulator to prevent a seizure or minimize its effects.

A new study in Scientific Reports by Mayo Clinic researchers and international collaborators found patterns could be identified in patients who wear a specia...

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