Patricia Inácio, PhD,  science writer—

Long-term use of sodium channel blockers in the first five years of disease has been linked to poorer cognitive function in Dravet syndrome patients. The study, “Influence of contraindicated medication use on cognitive outcome in Dravet syndrome and age at first afebrile seizure as a clinical predictor in…

The ketogenic diet, which is high in fats and low in carbs, helped reduce the frequency of seizures and improve cognitive function in children with Dravet syndrome who are resistant to standard therapies, a small study in China found. The study, “Prospective study of the efficacy of a ketogenic…

Mutations in a specific gene could be behind adult Dravet syndrome with motor features of Parkinson’s disease, according to case report. The study, “The adult motor phenotype of Dravet syndrome is associated with mutation of the STXBP1 gene and responds well to cannabidiol treatment,” was published in the…

Stiripentol combined with two other antiepileptic medicines seems to be an effective strategy to improve long-term seizure frequency in Dravet syndrome patients. The study that contains that finding, “Stiripentol efficacy and safety in Dravet syndrome: a 12-year observational study” was published in the journal Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology.

GW Pharmaceuticals has published positive results of its Phase 3 trial testing Epidiolex, the company’s cannabis-based oral therapy, in people with treatment-resistent Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS). The results, published in the journal The Lancet, also carry promise for Dravet syndrome, another rare and difficult-to-treat epilepsy, as this therapy is currently…

Incorporating brain activity pattern analysis in chemical compounds screenings for Dravet syndrome and other epilepsies can help predict therapies’ effectiveness and minimize chances for off-target effects. That finding comes from the study “Brain activity patterns in high-throughput electrophysiology screen predict both drug efficacies and side effects,” which was published…

Severe respiratory abnormalities induced by seizures are common in patients with Dravet syndrome, and may increase patients’ risk of sudden unexplained death in epilepsy (SUDEP), according to a recent study. The report, “Severe Peri-Ictal Respiratory Dysfunction is Common in Dravet Syndrome,” was published in The Journal of Clinical…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will give priority review to a New Drug Application that GW Pharmaceuticals submitted for its cannabis-based therapy for two difficult-to-treat epilepsies that appear in childhood. U.S. regulators” decision to review the application on an accelerated timetable follows GW’s submission  of a Marketing Authorization Application to…