Get Healthy!

A class of blood pressure medications appears to also help lower seniors' risk of developing epilepsy, a new study finds.

The drugs, called angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs), might prevent epilepsy in people at highest risk of the disease, researchers reported June 17 in the...

Newer epilepsy drugs taken while pregnant won't affect the creative thinking of children, an effect that had been observed in older medications, a new study reports.

Researchers found no difference in creativity scores at age 4 between kids of mothers with epilepsy and those of...

Climate change is likely to make brain conditions like stroke, migraine, Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy and multiple sclerosis even worse, a new review warns.

The potential effects of a changing climate is likely to be substantial on a range of neurological conditions, researche...

Two-thirds of kids who suffer a subtle type of epileptic seizure go undiagnosed when they seek emergency room treatment, new research shows.

"We do not know how many people are walking around with seizures that they are unaware of, and we are unaware of," said researcher Jacqueline French, a professor of neurology...

Add one more damaging consequence of sleep apnea to the list: New research suggests it's related to late-life epilepsy.

Late-onset epilepsy is defined as seizures that tend to begin only after the age of 60.

The condition might be related to underlying heart or brain illnesses, noted study co-author Dr. Rebecca Gottesman, chie...

Some people with tough-to-treat epilepsy might benefit if doctors target a brain region newly linked to the disorder, a new study suggests.

Seizures declined by 83% after a patient underwent surgery that removed almost all of the fasciola cinereum, a previously overlooked regio...

A common antiseizure drug used to treat epilepsy, migraines and bipolar disorder does not appear to increase the risk of autism for kids exposed to it in the womb, a new study says.

Topiramate does not contribute to any ri...

Perhaps by reducing anxiety, a service dog can help reduce seizures in people with tough-to-treat epilepsy, a new study finds.

A group of 25 study participants had an average 31% fewer seizures after months of owning a service dog trained to help people with epilepsy.

And seven of those patients experienced a 50% to 100% reduction in seizures, researchers report in the Feb. 28 issue...

Neurologist Dr. Deborah Holder says she often has parents come to her with kids who've experienced what they call "funny spells."

"Sometimes I start talking to a parent and find out the parent has [also] had 'funny spells' for years, but had no idea they were epileptic seizures," said Holder, who practices at ...

People with epilepsy suffer quicker declines in thinking than people without the brain disorder, particularly if they also have risk factors like high blood pressure or diabetes, a new study finds.

The difference was significant: Over the course of the 14-year study, those with epilepsy experienced a 65% to 70% faster decline in memory and thinking skills.

On top of that, having ris...

Black, Hispanic and low-income kids are less likely to receive surgery that can treat their drug-resistant epilepsy, a new study finds.

Researchers discovered that children on anti-seizure drugs who received vagus nerve stimulation were 35% more likely to be alive after 10 years, and those who also had cranial surgery were 83% more likely to be alive.

But White children were much mo...

Teenagers with epilepsy are more likely to have an eating disorder than those not suffering from the brain disease, a new study shows.

About 8.4% of children ages 10 to 19 treated at a Boston epilepsy clinic had eating disorders, three times the national average of 2.7% of teens with an eating disorder, researchers found.

"Adolescents with epilepsy may feel a loss of control because...

A seizure doesn't always look like what you see in the movies, but a new survey finds most Americans don't know what the more subtle signs of seizures are.

"Anything that interrupts your brain's circuit can cause seizures, from tumors, infections and strokes to high or low blood sugar, or glucose levels, to inherited genetic features. And different types of seizures can present with dozen...

For people with tough-to-treat epilepsy, seizures can be both frightening and dangerous, but a new experimental pill may bring significant relief to over one-third of them.

Dubbed XEN1101, the new drug reduced the frequency of seizures by more than 50%, or even eliminated them, in some patients with focal epilepsy who did not respond to an average of six other drugs.

"I am predictin...

Before learning they had epilepsy, about 5% of people who have what's called focal epilepsy had a seizure while driving, new research suggests.

"Seizures while driving pose substantial risks for those experiencing them and for others on the road,"said study author Dr. Jacob Pellinen, of the University of C...

People with a genetic predisposition to Alzheimer's disease may have an increased risk of epilepsy, a new study says. And folks with a certain type of epilepsy may have higher odds of developing Alzheimer's disease.

Having Alzheimer's was linked to a 5.3% increased risk of generalized epilepsy, researchers report in the journal Neurology. This involves seizures that occur from b...

For people with epilepsy, living in lower-income neighborhoods is associated with worse mental functioning, new research suggests.

For the study, the researchers looked at the memory, thinking ability and mental health of people with epilepsy, and found differences based on where they lived. Brain-health issues were more common among those from disadvantaged areas with fewer educational a...

Many adults with epilepsy have agoraphobia, or a fear of public places, new research suggests.

That impacts quality of life and is something doctors should include in other screening that looks for anxiety or depression, the investigators said.

"We know that agoraphobia can lead to delays in patient care because of a reluctance to go out in public, which includes appointments with ...

American adults who have epilepsy and are Black or Hispanic are less likely than white adults to be prescribed the latest medications, according to new research.

"While finding the right medication is often a trial-and-error process that is based on the individual, studies have shown that use of newer medications improves outcomes, and some newer medications have fewer side effects,"said ...

Growing numbers of Americans are suffering prolonged, life-threatening seizures known as status epilepticus, and Black people are nearly twice as likely to experience these seizures as white people.

These are the main findings from new research looking at hospitalizations for status epilepticus from 2010 to 2019 across the United States. Status epilepticus refers to ...

Seizures tend to get progressively worse over time in people with epilepsy, and a new study in mice suggests why that might be the case.

Seizures appear to prompt the brains of mice to produce more myelin, the insulating layer around nerve cells, researchers from Stanford University found.

This essentially rewires the brain, creating a vicious cycle in which more seizures cause more...

Dementia patients who suffer from seizures tend to decline faster and die younger, according to a new study that urges caregivers to watch for these sudden brain changes.

"Our hope is that controlling seizures by prescribing antiseizure medications to these patients will slow down the progression of cognitive impairment," said