epilepsy

September 28, 2017

Neurostimulation an option for some epilepsy patients

Patients with epilepsy who suffer seizures that can’t be effectively treated with medications or established surgical interventions could benefit from responsive neurostimulation, a relatively new treatment.

By Tom Wilemon
Pediatric health conditions, their treatments and the related stress hinder the prefrontal cortex, which is the region of the brain associated with learning, memory and behavior. (istock)
September 20, 2017

Goal of new tissue-chip research is to assess efficacy of novel epilepsy drugs

An interdisciplinary team of Vanderbilt University researchers has received a two-year, $2-million federal grant to develop an “organ-on-chip” model for two genetic forms of epilepsy.

By VUMC News and Communications
Asian baby girl getting temperature taken
September 6, 2017

Heat a trigger for seizures

Elevated body temperature alone can increase vulnerability to fever-induced seizures, even in the absence of infection or inflammation.

By Sanjay Mishra
Brain image
August 18, 2017

Predicting brain surgery outcomes

Assessing brain functional and structural connectivity in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy may be a useful way to identify the best candidates for surgical treatment.

By VUMC News and Communications
newborn baby
December 15, 2016

New clues emerge in rare form of childhood epilepsy

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) are one step closer to understanding what causes early-onset epileptic encephalopathy, a rare form of childhood epilepsy that is difficult to treat and has poor developmental outcomes.

By Bill Snyder
brain and lightning
November 10, 2016

Protein structure and epilepsy severity

Understanding how mutations affect the structure and function of inhibitory neurotransmitter receptors will shed light on the mechanisms underlying some types of epilepsy.

By VUMC News and Communications
October 11, 2016

Culprits in genetic epilepsies

Genetic variation in GABA-A receptors confers risk for inherited forms of epilepsy.
By Leigh MacMillan
August 4, 2016

NIH grant boosts Englot’s epilepsy research efforts

Dario Englot, M.D., Ph.D., has received a grant from the National Institutes of Health to support his research into better understanding brain connectivity disturbances in patients with focal epilepsy.
By Tom Wilemon
August 13, 2015

Protein ‘clumping’ linked to severe form of genetic epilepsy

Researchers at Vanderbilt University for the first time have demonstrated in a mouse model that aggregation, the “clumping together” of abnormal proteins, can contribute to a severe form of genetic epilepsy.
By Bill Snyder
May 14, 2015

Insights on lysosomal storage diseases

A novel mechanism could point to new therapies for a group of inherited diseases that share pathological features.
By Leigh MacMillan
March 12, 2015

Laser technology offers new option to treat epilepsy

Vanderbilt University Medical Center recently debuted a new minimally invasive surgical treatment for epilepsy.
By VUMC News and Communications
October 15, 2014

Brain surgery through the cheek

Vanderbilt engineers have developed a surgical robot designed to perform brain surgery by entering through the cheek instead of the skull.
By VUMC News and Communications
September 30, 2014

Seizure mutation impairs receptor

Defects in the production of certain receptors are linked to the pathogenesis of genetic epilepsies and fever-induced seizures.
By Yan Su