Active clinical trials for "Epilepsy"

Determining the sleep quality and quality of life of epilepsy patients and offering solutions can be effective in their success both in their professional and social lives. Therefore, in this study, it was aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of yoga therapy on sleep quality and quality of life in epilepsy patients.

This study examines the use of an online social media platform (PatientsLikeMe) to assist Veterans with epilepsy. The hypothesis is that the online social media platform, PatientsLikeMe, will improve selected patient-reported outcomes on perceived self-management skills for patients who engage in the website functions.

Epilepsy is a frequent neurological disease in childhood, characterized by recurrent seizures and sometimes with major effects on social, behavioral and cognitive development. Childhood focal epilepsies particularly are age-related diseases mainly occurring during developmental critical period. A complex interplay between brain development and maturation processes and susceptibility genes may contribute to the development of various childhood epileptic syndromes associated with language and cognitive deficits. Indeed, the Landau-Kleffner syndrome (LKS), the continuous spike-and-waves during sleep syndrome (CSWS), and the benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (BCECTS) or benign rolandic epilepsy, are different syndromes that are considered as part of a single continuous spectrum of disorders. While genetic component in those three syndromes remains elusive, novel and high throughput genome analyzes could bring interesting insights into the possible genetic defects and pathophysiological mechanisms underlying and linking the various disorders associating epilepsy with speech and cognitive impairments.

The primary aim of the study is to determine the effect of reducing the number and/or dose of anti epileptic drugs on an individual's quality of life and seizure control in people with difficult to control epilepsy and who are on polytherapy. This is a randomised trial so children will be divided into two groups, with reduction of anti epileptic drugs in the first group (withdrawal group) and no change to their medications in the second (control group). Irrespective of the group the child is assigned to (withdrawal group or control group), we will ask parents to complete several questionnaires on 2 occasions: the first time will be immediately after the child enters the study (i.e. baseline assessment), and a second and last one will be 6 months after entering the study (i.e. follow-up assessment). These questionnaires aim to "quantify" aspects related with quality of life, AED side effects, seizure severity, and behaviour.

The aim of the proposed pilot study is to investigate patient tolerability and efficacy of moderate term, repeated exposure of Pulsed Low-Intensity Focused Ultrasound (PLIFUS) in patients with drug-resistant temporal lobe epilepsy.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate standard of care exercise education alone or in combination with a wearable physical activity tracker in people with epilepsy (PWE) to determine the most effective way to increase physical activity and measure impact on depression, anxiety, quality of life, sleep, and seizure frequency.

Epilepsy is a multifaceted disorder and a major public health problem. In addition to recurrent and unpredictable seizures, abnormalities in psychiatric status, cognition and social-adaptive behaviors are potential major sources of disability in children and adults with epilepsy disorders. Recent studies have unequivocally documented raised psychiatric comorbidities in children with epilepsy, particularly emotional regulation disorders such as depression and anxiety, as compared to both the general population and the children with other medical disorders, neurological and non-neurological. A prevalence of 12% to 35% has been reported, compared to 3-8% in the general population. Major advances have begun to uncover the potential mediators of emotional regulation disorders and social comorbidities in epilepsy, but important gaps remain in the early detection, treatment and prevention of these disorders. A very small number of investigations have examined children with epilepsy at or near the time of diagnosis. This is a time during which the effects of chronic epilepsy, potential averse social effects of epilepsy, and other complicating aetiological effects are minimized. Epilepsy syndromes provide a useful framework for considering the risk and type of emotional dysregulation comorbidities. But variability within and across syndromes needs to be taken into account thus requiring a strict phenotyping by specialists in the filed of pediatric epileptology. Retrospective studies, usually including patients with chronic epilepsies and suffering from a mixed spectrum of epilepsy syndromes introduce biases leading to rather disparate findings. Are such disorders the result of common physiopathological mechanisms, which precede the development of the epilepsy? The link between an underlying brain disorder and psychiatric comorbidities has emerged in recent literature, with evidence based on studies in adults, suggesting bidirectional relations between epilepsy and neurobehavioural comorbidities. Emotional regulation disorders can follow the onset of epilepsy, but they can also precede it, thus serving as a possible risk factor. The clinical implication of such a bidirectional association is that neurobehavioural comorbidities might be present at diagnosis and even before epilepsy onset. There is a need for greater understanding of the causes of these conditions in younger people. The degree to which specific epilepsy syndromes are associated with the relative risk of emotional dysregulation disorders in children with new- or recent-onset (within six months prior to enrolment) has rarely been comprehensively examined and represents the focus of the current investigation. The investigators study will be based on a prospectively recruited cohort of 280 children/adolescents with recently diagnosed epilepsy. All participating centres dispose of the necessary competences for a precise diagnosis of the epilepsy syndromes and the tools for a per case appropriate aetiology screening. Following a first seizure children are usually first examined at hospital based emergency departments. Prompt referral to the epilepsy teams participating at the present study will significantly reduce the population biases and shortcuts encountered in studies that recruited patients with chronic epilepsy followed in tertiary care epilepsy units. The investigators expect their results to provide a greater understanding of both the shared and the unique features of emotional regulation disorders, in relation to specific epilepsy categories defined on the basis of the underlying physiopathological mechanisms. Such knowledge will also assist clinicians and families in the planning of both diagnosis and management resources.

Children and young people with epilepsy are at increased risk of poorer outcomes related to emotional and psychological adjustment, peer relationship problems, lower academic attainment and mental health problems across the lifespan. Despite the well understood risks, there continues to be a lack of psychological and psychosocial support for young people with epilepsy, and a corresponding lack of evidence regarding the effectiveness of psychosocial interventions. This study aims to evaluate a manualised psychosocial group intervention for adolescents with epilepsy. A cognitive behaviour therapy approach is used, aimed at increasing awareness of how epilepsy may impact upon thoughts, feelings and activities and to develop strategies for improved psychological adjustment. In addition, an epilepsy knowledge component aimed at improving a sense of control and epilepsy self-management is included. A group delivery format allows an opportunity for social modelling, and social problem solving, helping others and relating to other young people with similar experiences. The social learning context and availability of knowledgable facilitators (an epilepsy nurse specialist and clinical psychologist) are also key aspects of the intervention. The study will allow us to establish a standard manualised group intervention that can be used throughout the UK which aims to; establish the effectiveness and desirability of this approach; improve the overall quality of life, psychological health and social integration of young people with epilepsy; and to improve epilepsy knowledge and selfmanagement skills aimed at maximising seizure control and overall management.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the tolerability and safety of the NeuroSigma eTNS system.

The goal of this study is to record and characterize larynx evoked motor potentials induced by vagus nerve stimulation. This study will include 10 adult patients implanted with a Vagus nerve stimulator, followed at the Center for Refractory Epilepsy at Cliniques St Luc. The inclusion criteria are: (1) patient aged between 18 and 65 years ; (2) cervical VNS device (Cyberonics, Houston, TX, USA) implanted for at least 6 months, (3) normal electrode impedance of the electrode. Exclusion criteria are (1) presence of a concomitant laryngeal pathology or recurrent laryngeal nerve damage, independent from VNS ; (2) important VNS side effects reported by the patient, such as severe dyspnea (grade III-IV) or severe pain in the neck/ear region.