📖Research on PTE, rare epilepsies, taking medications while pregnant, and more.

View this email in your browser ([link removed])


** The Latest Epilepsy Research
------------------------------------------------------------

CURE Epilepsy is dedicated to funding patient-focused research to find a cure for the 65 million people with epilepsy worldwide. This month, we share the following articles and abstracts which are furthering the study of epilepsy and bringing the world closer to a cure.

This issue of Epilepsy Research News includes summaries of articles on:
* Post-Traumatic Epilepsy Associated with Long-Term Dementia Risk ([link removed])
* Epilepsy and the Risk of COVID-19-Related Hospitalization and Death ([link removed])
* Study Looks at the Burden of Illness of Lennox–Gastaut Syndrome on Patients, Caregivers, and Society ([link removed])
* Patterns Across Epilepsy Syndromes Study ([link removed])
* Study Data on Lacosamide and Pregnancy ([link removed])
* Genotype–Phenotype Associations in Individuals with SCN1A-Related Epilepsies ([link removed])


** Post-Traumatic Epilepsy Associated with Long-Term Dementia Risk
------------------------------------------------------------

In a recent study, using data from the atherosclerosis risk in communities (ARIC) study, researchers assessed the associations between post-traumatic epilepsy (PTE) and the risk of dementia. PTE is the occurrence of unprovoked seizures more than a week after a traumatic brain injury (TBI), and it accounts for up to 20% of acquired epilepsies. Research suggests that PTE is associated with poor short-term psychosocial, cognitive, and functional outcomes; however, less is known about the long-term impact of PTE.
Learn More ([link removed])


** Epilepsy and the Risk of COVID-19-Related Hospitalization and Death
------------------------------------------------------------

Researchers found that people with epilepsy may be at an increased risk of severe COVID-19. The study assessed whether people with epilepsy were at higher risk of being hospitalized with, or dying from, COVID-19. Researchers performed a retrospective study using anonymized electronic health records. In this large, population-level study of more than 27,000 people with epilepsy, researchers found that people with epilepsy were more likely to have a COVID-19-related hospitalization or death when compared to controls during the first 15 months of the pandemic in Wales.
Learn More ([link removed])


** Study Looks at the Burden of Illness of Lennox–Gastaut Syndrome on Patients, Caregivers, and Society
------------------------------------------------------------

In a recent systematic literature review, researchers evaluated the global burden of illness of Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome (LGS) including clinical symptom burden, care requirements, quality of life, comorbidities, caregiver burden, economic burden, and treatment burden. LGS is a rare developmental and epileptic encephalopathy that is estimated to account for 1%–10% of childhood epilepsies. In the study, published articles with predetermined criteria were identified with 113 articles included for review. A high clinical symptom burden of LGS was identified including high seizure frequency and non-seizure symptoms such as developmental delay and intellectual disability, leading to low quality of life and substantial care requirements, with the latter including daily function assistance for mobility, eating, and toileting.
Learn More ([link removed])


** Patterns Across Epilepsy Syndromes Study
------------------------------------------------------------

Epilepsy is a prevalent, chronic group of neurological diseases that affects more than 70 million people worldwide and encompasses many different disorders, of which temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is the most common in adults. Current models of the neurological condition conceptualize epilepsy as involving widespread cortical and subcortical network disturbances, including reduced cortical thickness and white matter abnormalities. As such, studies have frequently overlooked the cerebellum. However, evidence from electrophysiological and optogenetic studies in animals, as well as noninvasive imaging studies in humans, indicates a role for the cerebellum in seizure generation.
Learn More ([link removed])


** Study Data on Lacosamide and Pregnancy
------------------------------------------------------------

In pregnancy, it is important to balance the risks of uncontrolled epileptic seizures to the mother and fetus against the potential negative effects of antiseizure medications on the unborn child. Data are limited on pregnancy outcomes among pregnant women taking lacosamide (LCM), particularly when taken as the only medication in a treatment plan. The study evaluated the pregnancy outcomes of LCM-exposed pregnancies.
Learn More ([link removed])


** Genotype–Phenotype Associations in Individuals with SCN1A-Related Epilepsies
------------------------------------------------------------

A recent study assesses data from a retrospective cohort of 1,018 individuals with SCN1A-related epilepsies, exploring how seizure characteristics, genetic variant type, position, and in silico scores relate to the epilepsy phenotype. Understanding genotype–phenotype associations in SCN1A-related epilepsies is critical for early diagnosis and management. Pathogenic variants in SCN1A, the gene coding for the alpha-1 subunit of the voltage-gated sodium channel, are associated with a range of epilepsy syndromes from relatively mild phenotypes in the genetic epilepsy with febrile seizures plus (GEFS+) spectrum to Dravet syndrome (DS), a severe developmental and epileptic encephalopathy. DS usually presents at approximately five–six months of age with prolonged, febrile and afebrile, hemiclonic or generalized clonic seizures. From age nine months to four years, other seizure types, including myoclonic, absence, and focal seizures, develop.
Learn More ([link removed])


** Check Out Our Latest:
------------------------------------------------------------
[link removed]


** Seizing Life Podcast ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
[link removed]


** Epilepsy Explained Episode ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
[link removed] [link removed] [link removed] [link removed] [link removed] [link removed]
[link removed]

Today's research has the ability to help
the 65 million people worldwide who are impacted by epilepsy every day.
And each one of those individuals has a story.
Read Desiree's story ([link removed])
[link removed]

Our mission is to find a cure for epilepsy, by promoting and funding patient-focused research.

CURE Epilepsy is a non-profit 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. Our tax identification number is 36-4253176.

Copyright (C) 2024 CURE Epilepsy. All rights reserved.
In the past you provided CURE Epilepsy your email address. Occasionally, you will receive updates from us about epilepsy research and news.
Our mailing address is:
CURE Epilepsy
420 Wabash Ave, Ste 650
Chicago, IL 60611
USA
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences ([link removed]) or unsubscribe ([link removed])