Genetics, Tech/AI
Researchers at the Epilepsy Genetics Initiative (ENGIN) at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) used machine learning and artificial intelligence to comb through medical records and use clinical notes to match symptoms with specific genetic epilepsies. Building upon previously developed techniques, the researchers aimed to identify early clinical features that could suggest a genetic diagnosis of epilepsy.
Mechanisms
Researchers from the University of Virginia School of Medicine have discovered functions of structures in the brain that could help understand and treat several neurological disorders.
Genetics
Scientists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital demonstrated the value of DNA methylation patterns for identifying the root cause of developmental and epileptic encephalopathies (DEEs). Their new study shows that specific gene methylation and genome-wide methylation “episignatures” can help identify the genes that cause DEE. DEEs affect 1 in 590 children and involve more than 825 genes.
Treatment
According to a new study led by researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine and Linköping University in Sweden, the general anesthetic propofol may hold the keys to developing new treatment strategies for epilepsy and other neurological disorders.
Mechanisms
A team of epilepsy specialists at University of California San Francisco has developed a method to predict 24-hour seizure risk. The researchers, led by Vikram Rao, MD, PhD, a Distinguished Professor in Neurology, showed that the storm of brain activity characterizing a seizure is presaged by abnormal communication between specific areas of the brain.
Tech/AI
The ILAE Sharp Waves Podcasts focuses on the Human Intracerebral EEG Platform, which is a cloud-based, collaborative environment that encourages the sharing of data and the conducting of research with state-of-the-art methodologies and software. This platform can be used to improve research methods and promote data sharing in order to best drive epilepsy research forward.
Temporal Lobe Epilepsy, Treatment Resistant/Refractory
A recent study finds that a small posterior part of the hippocampus may play a role in causing seizures, specifically in individuals who do not respond to anti-seizure medications or tissue ablation in the hippocampus.
Acquired Epilepsies, Adult-onset
A class of blood pressure medications, called angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs), appear to help lower seniors’ risk of developing epilepsy, a new study finds.
Mechanisms
The findings suggest a promising target for developing treatments for epilepsy and preventing the downstream effects of seizures.
