epilepsy tagged posts

Herbs, including cilantro, have long been used as folk remedies. Herbs, including cilantro, have a long history of use as folk medicine anticonvulsants. Until now, many of the underlying mechanisms of how the herbs worked remained unknown. In a new study, researchers uncovered the molecular action that enables cilantro to effectively delay certain seizures common in epilepsy and other diseases.

The study, published in FASEB Journal, explains the molecular action of cilantro (Coriandrum sativum) as a highly potent KCNQ channel activator. This new understanding may lead to improvements in therapeutics and the development of more efficacious drugs.

Nightwatch bracelet on the arm of a young epilepsy patient.
Credit: LivAssured

A new high-tech bracelet, developed by scientists from the Netherlands detects 85% of all severe night-time epilepsy seizures. That is a much better score than any other technology currently available. The researchers involved think that this bracelet, called Nightwatch, can reduce the worldwide number of unexpected night-time fatalities in epilepsy patients. They published the results of a prospective trial in the scientific journal Neurology.

SUDEP, sudden unexpected death in epilepsy, is a major cause of mortality in epilepsy patients. People with an intellectual disability and severe therapy resistant epilepsy, may even have a 20% lifetime risk of dying from epilepsy...

eEF2 pathways regulate cellular protein translation

A new study exposes a new biological mechanism that, on the one hand, damages a very specific type of memory, but at the same time provides resistance to epilepsy. Research student Elham Taha from the laboratory of Prof. Kobi Rosenblum explains: “In both healthy and sick brains, the relationship between the activities of the nerve cells that cause the transfer of information and activities delaying the transmission of information is extremely important. We know that damage to this relationship forms the basis of various brain diseases, such as neuro-developmental diseases and epilepsy. The aim of our study was to isolate molecular components that serve the creation of long-term memories...

neurotransmission

The bioelectronic neural pixel: Chemical stimulation and electrical sensing at the same site. A small device both detects the initial signal of an epileptic attack and doses a substance that effectively stops it. All this takes place where the signal arises – in an area of size 20×20 μm known as a “neural pixel.” According to a recently produced estimate, no less than 6% of the Earth’s population suffers from some type of neurological illness such as epilepsy or Parkinson’s. Some medicines are available, but when these are taken orally or injected into the bloodstream, they also end up where they aren’t needed and may cause serious problems. All medicines have more or less severe side effects.

The small 20×20 μm device developed by the scientists can both capture signal...