Recent Research

A recent study explored a promising new method for monitoring seizures in patients with hard-to-treat epilepsy using a subcutaneous electroencephalographic device, known as sqEEG. The purpose? To see how well this device could track seizure activity over an extended period and how safe it was for patients. It involved five individuals with drug-resistant focal epilepsy, who were implanted with this innovative device for ultra long-term monitoring.

In a recent study, researchers tackled the complexities of understanding SCN8A-related epilepsy, a condition that can manifest in a variety of ways. This condition is caused by genetic variants that lead to a spectrum of symptoms, ranging from developmental delays without seizures to more severe developmental and epileptic encephalopathies (DEEs). The central question of the research was whether patients could be grouped into clinically relevant subcategories based on their symptoms and disease progression.

A recent study has shed light on a specific genetic condition linked to the POLR3B gene, which plays a crucial role in the synthesis of small non-coding RNAs in our cells. Variants—or changes—in this gene have already been connected to a type of inherited disorder known as hypomyelinating leukodystrophy, which affects the brain’s white matter.

A recent study dives into the world of epilepsy surgery, particularly focusing on older adults aged 60 and above. This is an important area of research because we know that managing epilepsy in older patients can be tricky, especially considering the various health issues or comorbidities they may have. The researchers looked at 94 older adults who underwent a specific type of surgery called resective epilepsy surgery (RES) between 2000 and 2021. Over an average follow-up period of about 3.5 years, they found that nearly 57% of these patients were seizure-free after the surgery.

Imagine you’re a patient with a rare type of epilepsy, grappling with unpredictable seizures and unsure which treatment might work best for you. A recent study dives into a unique type of research called N-of-1 trials, which are basically personalized experiments designed to test the effectiveness of treatments on an individual level. These trials have become increasingly important, especially for conditions like epilepsy that don’t fit neatly into traditional clinical trials due to their rarity.

Researchers have been working on understanding the risk of developing epilepsy after a stroke, particularly focusing on a tool called the SeLECT 2.0 score. This score is designed to help predict whether a person who has suffered an ischemic stroke—where blood supply to the brain is blocked—might face seizures later on.

In a recent study conducted at Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital in Rome, researchers focused on a specific group of neurological disorders known as developmental and epileptic encephalopathies (DEEs). These conditions are marked by both developmental delays and seizures, making them particularly challenging for affected individuals and their families.

As our global population ages, health issues related to strokes, including dementia, are becoming more common. Recent research highlights a significant connection between poststroke seizures (PSS) or poststroke epilepsy (PSE) and the development of dementia. This study tapped into a comprehensive health care database from Taiwan, examining data from over 62,000 stroke patients from 2010 to 2015 to understand this relationship better.

A recent study has shed light on the rising issue of late-onset epilepsy (LOE) in older adults, particularly those aged 65 and above. The researchers were curious about how this condition affects health care usage before and after a diagnosis. By examining a large dataset of health records from the UK between 1998 and 2019, they compared the health care utilization of individuals diagnosed with LOE to a group of similar individuals without the condition.