Epilepsy News and Research

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Epilepsy is a group of disorders marked by problems in the normal functioning of the brain. These problems can produce seizures, unusual body movements, a loss of consciousness or changes in consciousness, as well as mental problems or problems with the senses.

Researchers Pinpoint Neural Compass Crucial for Navigation

A pattern of brain activity that helps prevent us from getting lost has been identified in a new study, published in Nature Human Behaviour.

7 May 2024

New Study Discovers Gene Associated with Epilepsy and Autism

A genetic mutation or variation in the SCN2A gene is known to cause infantile seizures, autism spectrum disorder, and intellectual disability, among other moderate-to-severe impairments in movement, communication, feeding, and vision.

29 Apr 2024

Astrocytes Identified as Key Trigger for Epileptic Seizures

Epilepsy, where patients suffer from unexpected seizures, affects roughly 1% of the population.

22 Apr 2024

Understanding How the Human Forebrain Develops at the Cellular Level

A group of researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine led an investigation that offers new insight into the development of the human forebrain.

17 Apr 2024

Researchers Unveil a Key Gene with a Central Role in Learning and Memory Across Mammalian Brain Cells

Discoveries in mice could guide the quest for treatments aimed at addressing brain developmental disorders in children with SYNGAP1 gene mutations.

1 Mar 2024

Neuroscientists Uncover Significance of Glial Cells in Brain Communication

Neuroscientists at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center have found that an often-overlooked type of brain cell called glia has more of a role in brain function than previously thought.

29 Feb 2024

The Role of Associative Memory in Spatial Navigation

Human lives revolve around spatial navigation and spatial memory. Without these skills, it would be extremely difficult to remember the past and to navigate the environment. But understanding the neural underpinnings of spatial memory is still quite incomplete.

19 Feb 2024

New Technology Enables Minimally-Invasive, High-Resolution Recording of Brain Activity

Sensors built with a new manufacturing approach are capable of recording activity deep within the brain from large populations of individual neurons–with a resolution of as few as one or two neurons–in humans as well as a range of animal models, according to a study published in the Jan. 17, 2024 issue of the journal Nature Communications.

18 Jan 2024

"Wake" Slow Waves may Decrease the Impact of Epileptic Spikes on Brain Activity

Slow waves that usually only occur in the brain during sleep are also present during wakefulness in people with epilepsy and may protect against increased brain excitability associated with the condition, finds a new study led by researchers at UCL.

30 Nov 2023

Epigenetic Regulator MOF Plays Critical Role in Mitochondrial Function

The intricate control of cellular metabolism relies on the coordinated and harmonious interplay between the nucleus and mitochondria.

10 Oct 2023

Largest Genetic Study Discovers Specific DNA Changes That Increase Risk of Epilepsy

The largest genetic study of its kind, coordinated by the International League Against Epilepsy, including scientists from FutureNeuro at RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, has discovered specific changes in our DNA that increase the risk of developing epilepsy.

5 Sep 2023

The Evolution of Epilepsy and Potential Cure: A New Study

Specific alterations in human DNA have been shown to raise the likelihood of getting epilepsy, according to the biggest genetic study of its type, which was managed by the International League Against Epilepsy and involved researchers from FutureNeuro at RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences.

1 Sep 2023

New Class of Brain Inhibitory Neurons May Contribute to Autism and Schizophrenia

A University of California, Irvine-led team of researchers working at the Center for Neural Circuit Mapping find links between brain disorders and dysfunction of newly identified inhibitory brain cell types.

26 Jul 2023

Developing a Fluorescent Sensor to Visualize Neuronal Self-Connectivity

How do brain cells, or neurons, distinguish their own processes and those of other neurons when they send out processes to connect with other neurons? A molecule known as clustered protocadherin (Pcdh) plays an important role in this puzzle.

19 Jul 2023

Rescue Treatment Found From Plant Extracts for People With Ataxia

A University of California, Irvine-led team of researchers have discovered that extracts from plants used by the Kwakwaka'wakw First Nations peoples in their traditional botanical medicine practices are able to rescue the function of ion channel proteins carrying mutations that cause human Episodic Ataxia.

22 Jun 2023

Miniaturized Sensor System can Detect Specific Seizure Gases

In people with epilepsy, seizure-alert dogs can smell small changes in body chemistry and warn of an impending seizure an hour or more before it occurs.

21 Jun 2023

Online Prediction Modeling Tool to Help Advance Scientific Discoveries

By anticipating the location of proteins within a cell, researchers might have access to a trove of biological knowledge. Future scientific discoveries related to drug development and the treatment of diseases like epilepsy will depend on this information.

6 Jun 2023