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10 important updates for International Epilepsy Day

Today is International Epilepsy Day. According to WHO, approximately 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, and about 70% of these individuals could live seizure-free if they were properly diagnosed and treated.

The Epilepsy Foundation states that the observance, held annually on the second Monday of each February since 2015, is to increase public awareness about the disease and to take actions that enhance the lives of those with epilepsy.

To commemorate International Epilepsy Day, Healio Primary Care compiled recent coverage related to the disorder.

FDA approves XCOPRI for partial-onset seizures

Last year, the FDA approved XCOPRI for adults with partial-onset seizures. The manufacturer said the treatment will be available in the second quarter of 2020. Read more.

FDA approves novel epilepsy drug

UCB announced that its benzodiazepine-based nasal spray for patients with epilepsy was approved by the FDA. Read more.

FDA approves marijuana-based drug for rare forms of epilepsy

In June 2018, the FDA approved Epidiolex — the first drug that the agency had approved that consists of a purified drug substance derived from marijuana — for the treatment of seizures in patients aged 2 years and older with Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, according to a press release. Read more.

Smartphone videos help diagnose epileptic seizures

Smartphone videos taken by witnesses could help physicians diagnose epileptic seizures, according to a study published in JAMA Neurology. Read more.

Epilepsy does not impact likelihood of pregnancy

Another study in JAMA Neurology reported that women with epilepsy, without previous infertility and related disorders, who were attempting to get pregnant were as likely to conceive as their counterparts without epilepsy. Read more.

Patients with epilepsy at increased risk for unnatural death

Patients with epilepsy were at a higher risk for unnatural death compared with those without the disorder, researchers reported. In a perspective published on Healio, Jacqueline French, MD, a fellow at the New York University Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, said she was not surprised by the findings. Read more.

Epilepsy tied to severe hypoglycemia in type 2 diabetes

Adults with type 2 diabetes have an increased risk for epilepsy, especially in the presence of severe hypoglycemia, compared with adults without type 2 diabetes, according to findings published in Diabetes Research & Clinical Practice. Read more.

Pandemic influenza vaccination is not associated with an increased risk for epilepsy in children, according to an analysis conducted on data collected during an H1N1 pandemic in Norway. Read more.

Maternal use of epilepsy drug may decrease school performance in offspring

Pregnant women who used valproate had children with significantly lower school performance vs. children who were exposed to lamotrigine or not exposed to antiepileptic drugs at all, according to findings published in JAMA Neurology. Read more.

Overall outcomes in new epilepsy cases not improving

Findings indicate that overall patient outcomes in those with newly diagnosed epilepsy have not improved during the past 30 years despite many new antiepileptic drugs that have different mechanisms of action. Read more.

References:

Epilepsy Foundation. International Epilepsy Day. https://www.epilepsy.com/make-difference/public-awareness/international-epilepsy-day. Accessed Feb. 4, 2020.

WHO. Epilepsy. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/epilepsy. Accessed Feb. 4, 2020.