News

Carbamazepine causes various forms of hypersensitivity reactions, ranging from maculopapular exanthema to severe blistering reactions. Researchers have now identified a gene, called HLA-A*3101, in Caucasian patients that increases the risk of developing a reaction to the drug from 5% to 26%. The research undertaken, in collaboration with the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, screened more than a million variants in DNA across the human genome to understand why some patients are more prone to the drug's side-effects than others. Research in Taiwan has already shown that carbamazepine-induced Steven Johnson Syndrome–Toxic Epidermal Necropysis is...

Researchers at Concordia University have pioneered a computer-based method to detect epileptic seizures as they occur - a new technique that may open a window on the brain's electrical activity. Their paper, "A Novel Morphology-Based Classifier for Automatic Detection of Epileptic Seizures," presented at the annual meeting of the Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, documents the very successful application of this new seizure-detection method.  An epileptic seizure, which is caused by disruptions in the normal electrical activity of the brain, can produce a range of symptoms including convulsions and unconsciousness. To learn more about...

New data suggest that the drug Topamax (topiramate) and its generic versions increase the risk for the birth defects cleft lip and cleft palate in babies born to women who use the medication during pregnancy, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said today. Before prescribing topiramate, approved to treat certain types of seizures in people who have epilepsy, health care professionals should warn patients of childbearing age about the potential hazard to the fetus if a woman becomes pregnant while using the drug. Topiramate also is approved to prevent migraine headaches, but...

The results of the landmark major multi-center randomized clinical trial "Management of Myelomeningocele Study (MOMS)" report on fetal surgery for spina bifida has been published in the 9 February issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, NEJM. The results indicate that prenatal surgery for spina bifida has greatly improved benefits over postnatal repair, by reducing the need for shunting and improving motor outcomes. The randomized clinical trial is the first that systematically evaluated the best treatment for myelomeningocele. The eight-year trial was stopped early since the results suggested that fetal...

American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) publishes updated practice guidelines on simple febrile seizures, in the January 31 issue of Pediatrics. Following a comprehensive review of the evidence based literature from 1996 to February 2009, the AAP have published updated guidelines on simple febrile seizures which replaces the 1996 practice statndards. The recommendations stresses the importance of identifying the etiology in children presenting with fever. A lumbar puncutre should be performed if there are any signs or symptoms concerning meningitis. In infants between 6 and 12 months, who are unimmunized or in whose...

Red ear syndrome (RES) in children is a highly specific sign for migraine, according to the results of a study published by Raieli et al in Cephalalgia on December 2010 .Previous studies have suggested a relationship between ‘red ear syndrome’ (RES) and pediatric migraine and a crossover between RES and other other primary headaches, such as trigeminal autonomic cephalalgias (TACs) have also been proposed. The red ear syndrome is a rare syndrome originally described by Lance in 1994. It involves pain in and around the ear and associated autonomic phenomena, the most...

In pioneering research published in the Jan 18 issue of Neurology Pegoraro et al reports the identification of genetic modifiers of muscular dystrophy in humans for the first time. Duchenne muscular dystrophy is a severe X-linked disease caused by mutations in the DMD gene that lead to nearly complete loss of dystrophin in skeletal and cardiac muscle. In pioneering research published in the Jan 18 issue of Neurology Pegoraro et al reports the identification of genetic modifiers of muscular dystrophy in humans for the first time.The authors used informatics approaches, based on their...

Fever-induced refractory epileptic encephalopathy in school-age children (FIRES) is a recently described epileptic entity whose etiology remains unknown. Brain abnormalities shown by MRI are usually limited to mesial-temporal structures and do not account for the catastrophic neuropsychologic findings.

Fever-induced refractory epileptic encephalopathy in school-age children (FIRES) is a recently described epileptic entity whose etiology remains unknown. Brain abnormalities shown by MRI are usually limited to mesial-temporal structures and do not account for the catastrophic neuropsychologic findings. Research published in the January issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine shows that positron emission tomography (PET) scans can offer an evaluation of cognitive dysfunction of fever-induced refractory epileptic encephalopathy(FIRES), its evolution and further prognosis. FIRES, a recently named condition, occurs in previously healthy children who, after a brief fever, experience acute seizures that...

Women who suffer from epilepsy and take a common drug (carbamazepine) to treat the illness have a higher chance of having an infant with spina bifida compared with women not taking antiepileptic drugs, finds a study published on BMJ.com today. Women who suffer from epilepsy and take a common drug (carbamazepine) to treat the illness have a higher chance of having an infant with spina bifida compared with women not taking antiepileptic drugs, finds a study published on BMJ.com today. Some women choose to terminate their pregnancy because their baby has this condition....