EPILEPSY IN 2016 Part II

TECHNOLOGY & IMPROVEMENTS

                                         SUDEP AND CANNABIS OIL

Researchers stimulate human amygdala to gain key insight into sudden unexpected death in epilepsy

    Researchers have identified areas of the human brain in which breathing is controlled and, in some cases, impaired. Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy is becoming increasingly recognized as a very real and devastating problem in which impaired breathing is thought to play a critical role. Researchers believe breathing may be impaired during and after seizures, without the patient's knowledge.

    Close up of a CT scan with brain (stock image). This study - which marks the first time researchers have stimulated the amygdala in humans and reported loss of breathing - is published in the July 15 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.

    Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) is becoming increasingly recognized as a very real and devastating problem in which impaired breathing is thought to play a critical role. Researchers believe breathing may be impaired during and after seizures, without the patient's knowledge.

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Cannabis-based drug reduces seizures in children with treatment-resistant epilepsy

    Children and young adults with severe forms of epilepsy that does not respond to standard antiepileptic drugs have fewer seizures when treated with purified cannabinoid, according to a multi-center study led by researchers from UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital San Francisco.

    "Better treatment for children with uncontrolled seizures is desperately needed," said Maria Roberta Cilio, MD, PhD, senior author and director of research at the UCSF Pediatric Epilepsy Center. "It's important to get seizure control at any age, but in children, uncontrolled seizures may impact brain and neurocognitive development, which can have an extraordinary effect on quality of life and contribute to progressive cognitive impairment."

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Pharmaceutical CBD (cannabidiol) shows promise for children with severe epilepsy

Significant seizure reduction in studies using CBD in combination with AEDs

    Around the globe there is high interest in the use of cannabidiol, for the treatment of people with epilepsy, especially children who have treatment-resistant forms of the disorder. Three studies presented at the American Epilepsy Society's 69th Annual Meeting in Philadelphia highlight emerging efficacy and safety data of Epidiolex, a pharmaceutical liquid formulation of cannabidiol. A fourth study highlights possible interactions of CBD with existing anti-epileptic drugs in animal models of seizures.
    Around the globe there is high interest in the use of cannabidiol (CBD), a type of cannabinoid, for the treatment of people with epilepsy, especially children who have treatment-resistant forms of the disorder such as Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome (LGS) and Dravet Syndrome (DS). Three studies presented at the American Epilepsy Society's 69th Annual Meeting in Philadelphia highlight emerging efficacy and safety data of Epidiolex, a pharmaceutical liquid formulation of cannabidiol, which is currently undergoing U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized Phase 3 pivotal clinical trials in the United States and across the globe by GW Pharmaceuticals. A fourth study highlights possible interactions of CBD with existing anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) in animal models of seizures.

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EPILEPSY IN 2016 Part I

TECHNOLOGY & IMPROVEMENTS
Music & Marijuana

    Researchers at Case Western Reserve University may have found a new way information is communicated throughout the brain.

    Researchers may have found a new way information is communicated throughout the brain. Their discovery could lead to identifying possible new targets to investigate brain waves associated with memory and epilepsy and better understand healthy physiology.

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Can music help people with epilepsy?

    The brains of people with epilepsy appear to react to music differently from the brains of those who do not have the disorder, a finding that could lead to new therapies to prevent seizures, according to new research.

    The researchers found significantly higher levels of brainwave activity in participants when they were listening to music. More importantly, brainwave activity in people with epilepsy tended to synchronize more with the music, especially in the temporal lobe, than in people without epilepsy.

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Marijuana derivative reduces seizures in people with treatment-resistant epilepsy

Cannabidiol (CBD) - A medical marijuana derivative, was effective in reducing seizure frequency and well-tolerated and safe for most children and young adults enrolled in a year-long study, researchers report led by epilepsy specialists at NYU Langone Medical Center. These latest findings provide the first estimates of safety, tolerability and efficacy of prescription CBD in children and adults with severe, highly treatment-resistant epilepsy.

         These latest findings provide the first estimates of safety, tolerability and efficacy of prescription CBD in children and adults with severe, highly treatment-resistant epilepsy. Led by Orrin Devinsky, MD, professor of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry and director of the Comprehensive Epilepsy Center at NYU Langone, the study is published in the December 23 issue of Lancet Neurology. While early findings have been released at medical meetings -- including the 2015 American Academy of Neurology conference -- these are the first findings from the trial to be published in a peer-reviewed journal.

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Medical cannabis treats Colombian 12-year-old's epilepsy

 Twelve-year-old Luna Valentina is epileptic. After 11 years of daily seizures, she started taking medical cannabis made by the Colombian company Cannalivio earlier this year, and her epileptic fits have since stopped. Video provided by AFP

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