Epilepsy is a neurological condition that affects the electrical activity in the brain, resulting in seizures. It is a common condition, affecting around 1 in 100 people in the UK. While seizures can be controlled with medication and other treatments, leaving epilepsy untreated can lead to a number of risks. Risk of injury During a seizure, a person may experience loss of consciousness, muscle spasms and convulsions. These symptoms can cause a person to fall or injure themselves, particularly if the seizure occurs in a dangerous environment such as near a road or in water. In addition, if a pe ..read more

Musicogenic epilepsy is a rare form of epilepsy that is triggered by music. It is a seizure disorder where seizures are triggered by certain types of music or specific musical notes. What is Musicogenic Epilepsy? Musicogenic epilepsy is a type of reflex epilepsy, which means that seizures are triggered by specific stimuli. In this case, the stimulus is music. The seizures can occur in response to any type of music, but they are most commonly triggered by specific types of music or by certain musical notes. Symptoms The symptoms of musicogenic epilepsy can vary depending on the person. Some peo ..read more

Epilepsy laser ablation is a surgical procedure that uses laser technology to destroy abnormal brain tissue that is causing seizures. It is a newer, more advanced version of a traditional surgical procedure called lobectomy, which involves removing a portion of the brain. Why is Epilepsy Laser Ablation Performed? Epilepsy laser ablation is performed when medication and other treatments have not been successful in controlling seizures. The procedure is typically recommended for people who have seizures that originate from a specific area of the brain, known as the epileptogenic zone. This is th ..read more

The National Health Service (NHS) in the UK has recently announced that it will be offering a new form of laser surgery for epilepsy patients. The procedure, called epilepsy laser ablation, uses laser technology to destroy abnormal brain tissue that causes seizures. This is a newer, more advanced version of a traditional surgical procedure called lobectomy, which involves removing a portion of the brain. Epilepsy is a neurological disorder that affects the brain and causes seizures. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it is one of the most common neurological disorders, affecting ..read more

A study into how cost effective it could be to implement new EEG technology on the NHS has been launched. The study will recruit 33 people with medication resistant epilepsy to trial the small EEG device over a six month period.  The technology itself, which has been developed by Danish company UNEEG medical, is a small device that’s implanted under the scalp in a procedure that takes no longer than 20 minutes and can accurately monitor brainwave activity for up to 15 months.  Currently, healthcare professionals are limited to the data that can be captured for a few days at a time in ..read more

Research conducted by Boston Children’s Hospital has found new links between calorie restriction and seizures. Whilst the link between diet and seizures has been known since ancient times, first theorised by Ancient Greek philosopher Hippocrates, it has never been truly clear what the link was and how it can be an effective way to limit or prevent seizure activity.  Christopher J. Yuskaitis, MD, PhD, a neurologist with the Epilepsy Center and Epilepsy Genetics Program at Boston Children’s Hospital spoke about the research and noted that “This study is the first step in understanding how d ..read more

Epilepsy is more common than most people would think. In fact, if you look into any field you will almost always find people who have epilepsy, even amongst the famous. Epilepsy has affected people for millennia so it’s not surprising to find out that many of the most famous people throughout history had epilepsy. Similarly, if we look to more modern celebrities from music, film, tv or sports, there are many notable examples who have epilepsy.    Musicians Lil Wayne  Rapper Lil Wayne first went public about his epilepsy back in 2013 after a series of seizures hospitalised h ..read more

There is no way to know for certain how long epilepsy and seizures have been prevalent due to the fact that there are accounts of seizures in the earliest records we have throughout history. Epilepsy has a long and storied history, throughout which it has often been misunderstood and misdiagnosed. It’s only now looking back at historical accounts that we can see how far we’ve come in our understanding of epilepsy, and also how far we still have to go.  Ancient History As previously mentioned, accounts of what we now suspect to be seizures go back as far as the first medical records we kno ..read more

There are many causes for epilepsy, ranging from head trauma and injury, to strokes and infections. Whilst late onset epilepsy has increased over the last decades, there are still between 32% and 48% of cases where the cause remains uncertain or completely unknown. There is still much to learn about epilepsy and its causes and studies that must be conducted.  One more recent concern has been whether high blood pressure could be an underlying cause for epilepsy. Research conducted in 2021 found that high blood pressure can increase the risk of epilepsy by 2.5 times. The same study also fou ..read more

Taking cocaine, like many recreational drugs, can have a number of negative health effects. For cocaine, one of the concerns that many people often ask is “can taking cocaine cause seizures?”. In short, yes, cocaine can cause seizures and can also be associated with heart attacks. In fact, cocaine is one of the leading sources of drug and toxin related seizures. Cocaine has been known to cause seizures in people who have no history of seizures, and can be particularly dangerous for people who have epilepsy and a history of seizure activity.  Why does this happen?  Seizures from cocai ..read more