Ana Pena, PhD,  —

A combination of high body temperature, seizures, and SCN1A mutations can cause the rapid accumulation of fluid in the brain and cardiac arrest, potentially leading to sudden death in Dravet syndrome patients, according to a case report. The study, “Can…

Two teenage girls with Dravet syndrome became seizure-free after starting contraceptive hormonal therapies containing synthetic estrogen and progesterone, according to a recent case report. The girls had begun taking a birth control pill (patient 1) or received a contraceptive implant (patient 2) at the ages of…

Epidiolex, GW Pharmaceuticals’ investigational cannabis-based oral therapy, was proven safe in a Phase 2 clinical trial testing it in young children with Dravet syndrome. The therapy is a plant-derived cannabidiol being developed for patients with treatment-resistant forms of epilepsy including…

A database created at the University of Arizona College of Medicine — Phoenix alerts physicians about medications that can be harmful to epilepsy patients on ketogenic diets. The database identifies high-carbohydrate medications that are not recommended for people on ketogenic diets.

Zogenix has completed enrolling patients in a second Phase 3 trial evaluating ZX008 as a treatment for Dravet syndrome epilepsy. Standard epilepsy medications are unable to counter Dravet-associated seizures, which can cause cognitive impairment and even death. Doctors usually use anticonvulsant medications for the disease, but patient outcomes remain poor. ZX008…

Sudden unexplained death in epilepsy (SUDEP) in patients with Dravet syndrome can be caused by breathing abnormalities associated with an epileptic seizure, which may slow down the heart rate and eventually lead to death, a study shows.