Active clinical trials for "Epilepsy"

Epilepsy is a medical condition marked by the occurrence of unpredictable, recurrent seizures. One-third of people with epilepsy continue to experience seizures, despite having attempted multiple forms of anti-seizure medication (ASM). Currently, response to ASM is assessed on a trial-and-error basis as their efficacy can only be determined in hindsight. This causes delays in finding the proper treatment per individual. Responsiveness of the outer brain layer to external stimuli, termed cortical excitability (CE), may be used as additional means of treatment evaluation. In this study, the investigators aim to measure CE before and after starting with ASM, so as to determine whether indicators of CE can be used to predict favorable response to the medication. Participants in this study are adult individuals with uncontrolled seizures that will start with the novel anti-seizure medicine cenobamate. The investigators hypothesize that, after starting with ASM, the CE will decrease in people with epilepsy who show a favorable response to the medication. Conversely, the investigators anticipate that the CE will not decrease in those that do not react to the mediation. The investigators will address this hypothesis by evaluating both brain activity (electroencephalography, EEG) during rest and during different types of stimulation (magnetic, light flashes). Besides, the investigators will measure the subjective experiences of participants by using questionnaires on the quality of life and feelings of anxiety or depression. These measurements are performed at a baseline instance, just before starting with ASM, and at two instances after start with the ASM. Participants in the study will track the occurrence of seizures - using a diary - from 12 weeks before ASM start up till 12 months after ASM start. The investigators will compare seizure frequency with both changes in brain activity and subjective experiences by the participants.

Background: Dexmedetomidine (DEX) is a highly selective 2-adrenergic receptor agonist with significant analgesia affection. This study is planned to explore the brain regions and functional neuronal network involved in promoting analgesia of Dexmedetomidine. Methods: Select 12 patients with the proposed intraoperative MR-guided radiofrequency ablation of epilepsy. The subjects were randomized into the Dexmedetomidine group (DEX group) (n=6) and the Opioid group (OPI group) (n=6). DEX group: continuous intravenously administered 1.5 µg kg-1 h-1 dexmedetomidine 15min before anesthesia induction, continuous infusion for 15min after anesthesia induction, and then Intraoperative functional magnetic resonance imaging scanning was started. OPI group: the equivalent administered speed 0.9% sodium chloride was continuously pumped for 15min before anesthesia induction, then induce and intraoperative fMRI scanning started after continuous 30min infusion. The intraoperative fMIR scan results were compared and analyzed to find the unique analgesic brain regions of DEX, and the differences of the functional neuronal network of analgesia effect between the two groups.

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is used to treat epilepsy in cases where patients are medically refractory and are not candidates for surgical resection. This therapy has been shown to be effective in seizure reduction, yet very few patients achieve the ultimate goal of seizure freedom. Implantable neural stimulators (INSs) have many parameters that may be adjusted, and could be tuned to achieve very patient specific therapies. This study will develop a platform for stimulation setting optimization based on power spectral density (PSD) measures.

The aim of the MicroEPI study is to know whether it is possible to use safely a medical device (a micro-electrode) that allows recording the activity of neurons in the human brain. Patients who suffer from drug-resistant epilepsy and who are candidates to epilepsy surgery to alleviate their condition sometimes require the implantation of intracranial EEG electrodes for a few weeks, in order to determine as best as possible which region of the brain to operate on. In the MicroEPI study, some of these electrodes will also comprise micro-electrodes, allowing us to record the activity of the patients' neurons during their epileptic seizures.

The purpose of this research study is to evaluate the feasibility of a 12-week, telehealth delivered, step-goal based physical activity intervention in people with epilepsy. The study team will also evaluate the physical activity profiles of people with epilepsy both at rest and when engaged in physical activity and gather information on the effect of the intervention on epilepsy and epilepsy associated comorbidities.

The purpose of this study is to assess the ability of the home-based intervention, HOBSCOTCH-PTE, to improve the quality of life and cognitive function in Service Members, Veterans and civilians with post traumatic epilepsy (PTE). This study will also assess the ability of the HOBSCOTCH-PTE program to improve quality of life in caregivers of PTE patients and to reduce caregiver burden.

Nearly 100 million Americans are affected by neurological disorders with an overall cost above $765 billion for the more prevalent conditions. Given this significant burden, effective treatments to prevent dementia and new disease modifying therapies are urgently needed. Regeneration of lost neurons with new ones (i.e., neurogenesis) is compromised at early stages of dementia and in part correlates with cognitive impairment in Alzheimer's disease. Boosting the neurogenesis delays the cognitive impairment in animal models of dementia and has been proven beneficial in improving the memory in rodent studies. Aerobic exercise is the most potent known stimulator of neurogenesis in animal models. A crucial next step is to translate endogenous regenerative strategies to people. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the feasibility and investigate the effects of an exercise program on neurogenesis and cognitive improvement in epilepsy patients.

The purpose of this study is to incorporate multidimensional self-management programs into the routine care of epilepsy patients. Consenting patients will enroll in one of four interventions that help improve medication adherence, increase seizure awareness and documentation, improve memory and deal with stress and depression.

Every year, thousands of patients worldwide with drug resistant focal epilepsy (DRE) undergo resective brain surgery with the aim of achieving seizure freedom. Despite technical advances over the last 50 years, the success rate of epilepsy surgery in terms of seizure freedom has not greatly improved, remaining overall at around 50%. Depending on features of individual cases, presurgical evaluation includes a first phase of non-invasive data including video-EEG recordings, magnetoencephalography, structural and functional neuroimaging and neuropsychological evaluation. If these investigations do not allow adequate localization of likely region of seizure organization in the brain (the epileptogenic zone, EZ), then a second invasive phase using intracerebral EEG recording may be necessary (stereoelectroencephalography, SEEG). Interpretation of SEEG remains difficult in many cases, in particular since seizure onset is often characterized by discharges that very rapidly involve several distinct brain regions. No reliable measuring instrument currently exists to combine the various prognostic factors for a given patient. This leads to great uncertainty on an individual scale in predicting the effects of surgery. The mapping of epileptic networks in patients with DRE is an innovative scientifically-validated and clinically-tested method to significantly improve accuracy of SEEG and presurgical interpretation and guide surgical strategies in patients with DRE. Therefore, the investigators developed the Virtual Epilepsy Patient software. Retrospective study already demonstrated the pertinence of this approach in improving the anatomical mapping of epileptogenic networks. Now, the investigators aim to prospectively demonstrate the role of VEP during presurgical evaluation of DRE patients

Many studies have reported a disparity in medication adherence among epileptic patients. In this population, Medication Possession Ratio (MPR) is an index of medication adherence. MPR is defined as the ratio of the number of days of treatment delivered to the number of days in the period of interest. No-adherents patients are defined by a MPR of less than 80% , in whom an increase in seizures and the rate of hospitalization can be observed. A pharmacist-led intervention and medication information to epileptic patients could improve patient medication adherence to antiepileptic drugs, and possibly decrease the frequency of seizures, hospitalizations and the health costs generated by these hospitalizations. This intervention could also improve patient knowledge about their medications. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a pharmacist-led intervention on medication adherence of epileptic patients with the MPR. Secondary objectives include the comparison of medication adherence with health insurance score, the evaluation of patients knowledges about their medications, community pharmacists' satisfaction about community hospital network, the comparison of the seizure free patient rate and the comparison of the rate of patient in whom seizure have decreased by 50%