MINDSET for Epilepsy

It is well documented that quality of life for people with epilepsy is not solely related to seizure control, but impacted by a multitude of factors such as medication side-effects, depression, lifestyle restrictions and social support. Addressing these issues is important to comprehensive epilepsy care but patents are often hesitant to bring up these topics with their clinicians. The computer program, MINDSET (Management Information and Decision Support Epilepsy Tool) strives to facilitate communication between clinicians and patients by obtaining and managing relevant information. MINDSET is provided on a table computer to epilepsy patients as they come into clinic. The program then prompts patients to answer a series of questions relating to not only seizure frequency and severity, but also lifestyle factors such as medication management, social support and depression. MINDSET uses these responses to identify important issues and provides an individualized printout for the patient to provide to their clinician. This printout can then allow the patient and clinician to better collaborate in creating strategies to overcome these complex problems.

Read more about the study demonstrating the feasibility of MINDSET here:

http://www.epilepsybehavior.com/article/S1525-5050(14)00701-X/abstract

CDC Finds Fewer Healthy Behaviors Among People with Epilepsy

Using data from the 2010 National Health Interview survey, researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that people with epilepsy are less likely to engage in selected healthy behaviors. While less likely to drink alcohol and as likely to smoke when compared to the general population, only 35% of adults with epilepsy met government recommended guidelines for physical activity and less than 40% of this group reported walking for greater than 10 minutes during the 7 days prior to the survey. Additionally, only half of adults with active epilepsy sleep 7-8 hours per night. As physical activity and sleep have been demonstrated to improve quality of life and seizure control in many patients with epilepsy, this study suggests increased education and support of healthy behaviors should be prioritized as part of primary care for this group.

Read the full study:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1525505015000189

Smart Implanted Devices to Treat Epilepsy

Wearable technology is increasingly used to help manage chronic health conditions. “Smart implants”, exemplified by the neurostimulator NeuroPace, are specifically engineered to be embedded in the body and can track physiology and symptoms in real-time. Implanted under the scalp, NeuroPace is a tiny computer that scans for abnormal brain activity, firing electrical signals to preemptively control seizures. In recent clinical trials, the device demonstrated a 38% reduction in the number of seizures every month. While not a cure for epilepsy, this novel treatment could provide substantial benefit for patients with epilepsy, especially those whose seizures are not controlled by medication.

Read more about NeuroPace and other “smart implants” here:

http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/innovation/cyborgrx-how-smart-implants-could-change-medicine-n300771

Education May Help Epilepsy Patients Avoid the ER

Educational materials have the potential to reduce costly emergency room visits according to a new study. Researchers from the University of Oklahoma provided handouts and a DVD to epilepsy patients at an adult neurology clinic. They found that emergency room visits were significantly less frequent according to self-reported data following the intervention. Although the study did not use a control group who received no outpatient materials, these findings suggest that patient education may be a tool to reduce health-care costs for people with epilepsy.

Read the full article:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1525505014005794

Crowdsouring Leads to Improved Seizure Prediction

Improved accuracy in seizure prediction could lead to a better quality of life and more independence for people with epilepsy.  A new algorithm that that can predict seizures with up to 82% accuracy has been developed from a crowdsourcing competition hosted by the American Epilepsy Society. By soliciting contributions from a “crowd of users”, teams were able to analyze a huge data set to develop the prediction equation. The success of this data sharing and collaboration has spurred the National Institute of Health’s National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) to launch a site (iEEG.org) to facilitate the sharing of epilepsy related data, algorithms and research tools.

Read more here:

http://directorsblog.nih.gov/2015/01/20/epilepsy-research-benefits-from-the-crowd/

New Methods Discover "Microlesions" in Epileptic Tissue

Researchers have used a novel technique to discover mircolesions in the brain tissue of epileptic patients, perhaps explaining why seemingly “normal” regions of the brain can produce seizures. Using genetic analysis coupled with mathematical modeling, investigators elucidated clusters of genes that act differently in tissue with high levels of epileptic activity. These genes were then linked to specific cell types, enabling researchers to predict the types of neurons and markers present in epileptic tissues. These predictions were confirmed through histopathology. This novel way to predict cellular abnormalities through the measurement of genetic composition could be a step towards a better understanding and more effective treatment of epilepsy

Read the full article here:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25516101

Review of the Embrace Smartwatch

The Embrace smartwatch is a novel tool for the self-management of epilepsy. This watch monitors a multitude of health markers such as sleep patterns, heart rate, and stress level in addition to alerting caregivers at the onset of a seizure. This device can allow for more comprehensive care for patients with epilepsy, possible resulting in better quality of life and fewer seizures.

Read more about Embrace below:

http://backerjack.com/embrace-smartwatch-watches-out-for-epilepsy-other-conditions/