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.

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.

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 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 investigated how the organization of brain networks could influence the success of epilepsy surgery, particularly for patients with focal epilepsy. They focused on a specialized measurement called the “Resection-Hub Alignment Degree” (RHAD), which helps identify critical brain regions—referred to as “hubs”—that are highly connected to other areas. The central idea was to see if removing these hubs during surgery could lead to better outcomes for patients after their operations.

A recent study has taken a closer look at how wearable technology can help track tonic-clonic seizures (TCS) in patients. Using a wristband equipped with artificial intelligence, researchers sought to confirm whether the patterns of seizures they observed in diaries and medical records also appeared in the data collected by this device. The aim was not only to understand how often these seizures occur but also to analyze how patients interact with the wristband alerts.

Functional seizures (FS) can be quite puzzling. They resemble typical epileptic seizures in appearance, but here’s the catch: there’s no actual epileptic activity going on in the brain during these episodes. Shockingly, about one in every five people referred to epilepsy clinics ends up being diagnosed with FS. Currently, diagnosing FS involves capturing a seizure on video and using electroencephalography (EEG) to analyze it. Unfortunately, this method can be costly, hard to access, and stressful for patients. To make things even trickier, there’s no single biomarker to help identify FS, which leaves healthcare providers exploring better options.

Recent research has shed light on the factors influencing late-onset epilepsy, a condition that can arise later in life, often without clear medical causes like stroke or dementia. The study focused on individuals aged 45 and older from the Offspring Cohort of the Framingham Heart Study, examining how cognitive performance and brain imaging might predict the risk of developing epilepsy in this age group.