Useful Blog about Different Types of Seizures

"Finding Freedom With Epilepsy" is a great resource about different types of seizures.  Freya Symes has written one blog entry a day about different types of seizures in the month of March, leading up to Purple Day (3/26).  Although it is not a medical website, it is a very good place to get a general overview.  Also, check out her post on epilepsy and creativity, part of the Epilepsy Blog Relay.

https://findingfreedomwithepilepsy.wordpress.com/

https://findingfreedomwithepilepsy.wordpress.com/about/

Epilepsy and Public Transportation Access

Epilepsy is often misunderstood in the public, and there is a stigma that is different from other disabilities since it is invisible. That is, until a seizure occurs.  People do not believe that people with epilepsy deserve the privileges that people who are physically disabled do.

An Update on Epidiolex—Medical Marijuana

GW Pharmaceuticals is in Phase 3 of testing Epidiolex, their form of cannabis (medical marijuana) especially for children with a rare form of epilepsy called Dravet syndrome.  This is the kind of epilepsy that Charlotte Figi, of “Charlotte’s Web” fame had. 

In the British study, results are positive.  There was a reduction of 39% of convulsive seizures with the treatment versus 15% with the placebo.

GW will soon request a meeting with the Food and Drug Administration to seek approval as an officially recognized drug to treat Dravet syndrome.  Currently, no treatments are approved by the FDA.

Resources 

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-gw-pharma-cannabis-idUSKCN0WG16Z

http://www.epilepsy.com/learn/types-epilepsy-syndromes/dravet-syndrome

http://time.com/3264691/medical-marijauna-epilepsy-research-charlottes-web-study/

http://soosepilepsycorner.blogspot.com/2014/09/medical-marijuana-and-reminder-about.html

Epilepsy Blog Relay: More than Seizures

This post is part of the Epilepsy Blog Relay™, which will run from March 1 through March 31. Follow along and add comments to posts that inspire you!

When you think about epilepsy, you immediately think of seizures.  How to stop them, how to get rid of them.  That is the ultimate goal.  However, in that quest, there is a long journey ahead, which at times seems like an impossible dream.  If I sound like Don Quixote, the Man of La Mancha, maybe that’s what it feels like—trying to slay dragons that turn out to be windmills. Seizures are one part of the life of a person with epilepsy.  The effects of treatment on quality of life may play an equal part, especially if you are on multiple treatments.