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/

Can Healthy Competition Help Epilepsy?

The Epilepsy Foundation is using competition to promote innovation in treatment for epilepsy. Over 500 internationally based teams competed in two challenges to use crowdsourced data to more accurately predict and detect seizures. The winners were announced in December and are innovators in a variety of fields including mathematics, software engineering, medicine and biostatistics. The Foundation hopes this type of competition will complement traditional approaches to treatment by utilizing shared data and algorithms from the communities outside neurology.

Read more below:

http://www.epilepsy.com/release/2014/12/crowdsourcing-advances-seizure-detection-and-prediction

Smartphone Apps for Epilepsy

The most useful innovations in health technology are often those that can be seamlessly integrated into the everyday life of the patient. Health related apps use the personal smartphone of the patient to improve their quality of life and health outcomes. A recent influx of epilepsy related apps offer a variety of tools promoting disease self-management. These tools range from seizure documentation, seizure recording, information delivery, medication support or direct physician communication. Read more below about some of the newest apps for epilepsy patients:

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/epilepsy-ontario/epilepsy-smartphone-app_b_6354926.html

Learn More About Upcoming POEM Study Presentation with Dr. John Hixson

Click on the link below for additional information regarding the November 18th presentation of findings from the POEM Study. Dr. John Hixson will discuss use of social media and health tracking tools among Veterans with epilepsy on MyVeHU www.myvehucampus.com. 

http://www.myvehucampus.com/cdnplayer/15032_social_media_in_managing_chronic_disease_promo_v2/908/512