Epilepsy Talk
Antidepressants — Improving Mood AND Seizure Frequency
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Epilepsy and depression often go hand-in-hand. Up to 50% of people who have epilepsy also experience depression at some point in their lives, and this greatly impacts upon their quality of life.
The highest frequency rate occurs in those patients with seizure disorders arising in the temporal or frontal lobes or who have poorly controlled epilepsy. And among TLE patients, those with a left temporal focus had higher depression severity than those with a right focus. A more recent study confirmed these findings and found that patients suffering from a complex partial seizure disorder were much more inclined to have depression, compared to those with generalized tonic-clonic seizures.
However, concern for the potential of certain antidepressants to induce seizures has led to under-treating depression and anxiety disorders in epilepsy patients.
Responsive Neurostimulation (RNS) Shown to Reduce “Untreatable” Seizures
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The idea that we can implant a Star Trek-type device that will detect seizures and interrupt them without causing injury is entirely new. And exciting. And scary.
Especially for those people with epilepsy that have seizures that begin at one focal point in the brain, but aren’t appropriate for epilepsy surgery.
What were your most formative moments?
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For me, it was three different stages, ages and issues…
Gratitude is the Attitude — Part 6
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A wise woman once told me: “When you wake up in the morning — before you get out of bed — think of 5 (or 10!) things that you’re really grateful for.” (I think 10 is a bit of a stretch.)
That simple advice, changed my attitude. And my life…
“Pseudo Seizures” AND Epilepsy – Yes You CAN have BOTH!
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Some know it as non-epileptic seizures (NES), psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES), or pseudoseizures. And then there’s epilepsy. Which is what?
Tags: "pseudo-seizures", coexistence of epilepsy, Epilepsy, frontal lobe seizures, NES, PNES
Attractive Epilepsy Alert Jewelry
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Here are some great resources for Medical Alert jewelry that’s both functional and fun…
Tags: affordable, alternatives, attractive, jewelry, medical alert, safety, stylish
TNS vs. VNS – NO SURGERY!
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The first Vagus Nerve Stimulator (VNS) was implanted in 1988, as a therapeutic option for medically intractable epilepsy, when elective epilepsy surgery was not appropriate.
As the number of implanted vagus nerve stimulators grows, so does the need to remove or revise the devices.
Tags: alternative, better seizure control, depression reduction, drug-resistant, effective, enhancement, Epilepsy, FDA approval, no side-effects, no surgery, non-invasive, post traumatic stress, success rate, trigeminal nerve stimulation, vagus nerve stimulator
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