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Foundation CEO Discusses Medicare Part D at Congressional Briefing

September 26, 2006
Eric Hargis, Epilepsy Foundation president and chief executive officer, spoke at a National Health Council congressional briefing on Medicare Part D implementation. The NHC briefing, Putting Patients First®: Making Healthy Progress in Our Lifetime, focused on how implementation of the Medicare Modernization Act affects Americans. Hargis's comments focused on how implementation has affected people with epilepsy and other chronic disabilities.

Referencing the MMA as "landmark legislation, which includes providing prescription drug coverage for Medicare beneficiaries," Hargis noted both successes of the program - including enabling access to prescription drug coverage for millions of older Americans - and deficiencies in the program that affect people with chronic disabling conditions like epilepsy. Utilization, access and coverage issues have left portions of the population behind, many of whom have disabilities and financial constraints.

Dale Todd came to Washington from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to be present at the hearing on behalf of his son Adam, who has epilepsy and continues to struggle with uncontrolled seizures. Hargis recognized Todd's presence, noting his dedication "on behalf of the countless patients and caregivers who live with chronic diseases and disabilities." More...

FDA Approves New Use for Seizure Drug Lamictal®

September 25, 2006
Few treatments are available for grand mal, also known as primary generalized tonic-clonic, seizures, particularly in children. Fewer still can be used to treat both generalized and partial seizures.

Today, the Food and Drug Administration approved the use of lamotrigine (Lamictal®) as an adjunctive therapy for children (2-20 years), in addition to adults. Approximately 20 percent of people with epilepsy experience PGTC seizures, which are more common in children than in adults.

Earlier this month, News & Views reported the results of the study on which the FDA's decision was based.

Scientists May Know Why Patients "See Ghosts"

Posted: September 22, 2006
The British journal Nature reports scientists, while evaluating a psychologically healthy young woman for possible epilepsy surgery, may have uncovered a physiological reason that some people feel ghost-like presences or exhibit paranoia.

During the surgical evaluation, scientists used electrodes to pinpoint the surgical locus. Electrical currents sent to the left temporal lobe, while having the young woman hold different physical positions and accomplish simple tasks, resulted in the young woman reporting the presence - and even interference - of other people, who appeared real to her.

The temporoparietal junction, the part of the brain the scientists were evaluating, is used to distinguish oneself from others, also known as social reasoning.for social reasoning - to assess oneself and distinguish oneself from others. The study's authors believe that this discovery may help in understanding why some individuals with neurological disfunction manifest psychiatric symptoms like paranoia, persecution and ghost-sighting.

Lamictal® Is Possible Add-On For Primary Generalized Tonic-Clonic Seizures in Children

September 14, 2006
The August issue of Pediatrics reveals promising data on the use of lamotrigine (Lamictal®) as an adjunctive therapy for patients aged 2-20 years with primary generalized tonic clonic seizures. Adjunctive therapy is medication used in addition to the primary treatment. PGTC seizures, also called grand mal seizures, involve the entire body and result in muscle stiffness, muscle contractions and loss of consciousness. This type of seizure is more common in children than adults, and there are very few proven options for treating PGTC seizures in children.

Researchers conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial to study the efficacy of adjunctive therapy with Lamictal® on a subgroup of children. They concluded that the treatment appeared to be effective in controlling PGTC seizures and was also tolerated well by the patients.

Study Shows Post-Surgical Verbal Memory Decline

September 8, 2006
A study by Dutch researchers, reported in the August issue of the journal Neurology, shows that surgery, most notably on the left temporal lobe, can result in a decline in verbal memory functions.

Dr. Willem C.J. Alpherts, from the Epilepsy Institute of the Netherlands, and his associates, evaluated the long-term effects of temporal lobe epilepsy surgery on 85 patients. They assessed verbal memory performance with a verbal test and found that patients who were treated on the left side showed an ongoing memory decline for consolidation and acquisition of verbal material for up to 2 years after surgery. Patients treated on the right side initially showed an increase in memory acquisition, which was not sustained in the long term.

The results indicate a compromise between being seizure-free and the risk of memory loss following epilepsy surgery.

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