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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…

This week marks the launch of the “7,000 Mile Rare Movement,” a nationwide effort to raise money for research into the 7,000 known rare diseases that afflict at least 30 million Americans. The campaign kicks off Feb. 1 and culminates with Rare Disease Day on Feb. 28. Organized by…

Topamax (topiramate, TPM) is far more effective than Onfi (clobazam, CLB) when combined with two other medications in reducing the number of seizures in an infant with Dravet syndrome, a Japanese case study shows. The study, “Marked efficacy of combined three-drug therapy (Sodium Valproate, Topiramate and Stiripentol) in a patient…

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…

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.