Marisa Wexler, MS, senior science writer —

Having a child with Dravet syndrome affects the whole family, and it’s common for parents to feel burnt out and sleep-deprived and for siblings to feel unseen, a study reported. Clinicians should be proactive about offering information about support networks for families affected by Dravet syndrome, the study’s authors…

Diacomit (stiripentol) may be more effective than other available Dravet syndrome treatments at reducing the frequency of seizures, according to an analysis of data from multiple clinical trials. The therapy “can be recommended as the first choice among the included drug regimens for reducing seizures in [Dravet] patients,”…

Treatment with the experimental oral therapy bexicaserin led to sustained reductions in seizure frequency for children with Dravet syndrome and other types of developmental and epileptic encephalopathies (DEEs), according to new data from the PACIFIC Phase 1/2a clinical trial and its open-label extension study. The findings were announced by…

A Phase 3 clinical trial testing soticlestat in people with Dravet syndrome showed that patients given soticlestat tended to have fewer seizures than those given a placebo, but the difference did not quite reach statistical significance, so the study missed its main goal. While the treatment didn’t meet…

Avata Biosciences is gearing up for a Phase 3 clinical trial to test SAP-021, the company’s oral capsule formulation of cannabidiol — commonly abbreviated as CBD — that’s being developed as an alternative to Epidiolex, an oil-based cannabidiol solution that’s approved to reduce seizure frequency in people with…

Among recent treatments to reduce the risk of seizures in people with Dravet syndrome, Fintepla (fenfluramine) appears to be the most potent, according to a new analysis. “In [Dravet syndrome], [Fintepla] provided significantly greater efficacy compared with other [anti-seizure medications], and it was generally well tolerated,” researchers wrote…

Treatment with Fintepla (fenfluramine) appeared to be reasonably safe and to effectively lower seizure frequency in five young children with Dravet syndrome who started on the therapy before they were 2 years old, scientists in Italy reported. These findings are especially noteworthy because, in…

Available treatments aren’t enough to fully control seizures for most people with Dravet syndrome, and most have side effects that can worsen their quality of life. That’s according to a new study funded by Takeda. A team led by scientists at the company presented the work at the…

Epidiolex (cannabidiol), an approved treatment for seizures in Dravet syndrome, may in some rare cases cause side effects including clusters of seizures, vision impairment, and problems with speech. That’s according to a new study, “Adverse Events of Epidiolex: A Real-world Drug Safety Surveillance Study based…

Treatment with a noninvasive procedure called transcranial static magnetic stimulation (tSMS) led to significantly less seizure activity in a mouse model of Dravet syndrome. “Our results show that tSMS, a non-invasive neuromodulatory technique, can reduce the number, duration, and severity of [seizures] in a mouse model of” Dravet,…