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Tag: epilepsy

  • 3D Printed Drug: FDA Approves Its First, an Epilepsy Medication

    Medical tech is a huge market where 3D printing is attempting to make a splash, and now we have another first for the industry.

    The US Food and Drug Administration has approved its first-ever 3D-printed medication.

    The drug is called Spritam, and it’s used in the treatment of seizures.

    Spritam is a “prescription adjunctive therapy in the treatment of partial
    onset seizures, myoclonic seizures and primary generalized tonic-clonic seizures in
    adults and children with epilepsy,” according to Aprecia Pharmaceuticals.

    The 3D printing tech allows Aprecia to produce a pill that’s easier to administer.

    Spritam utilizes Aprecia’s proprietary ZipDose Technology platform, a groundbreaking advance that uses three-dimensional printing (3DP) to produce a porous formulation that rapidly disintegrates with a sip of liquid.

    “By combining 3DP technology with a highly-prescribed epilepsy treatment, SPRITAM is
    designed to fill a need for patients who struggle with their current medication
    experience,” said Don Wetherhold, Chief Executive Officer of Aprecia. “This is the first in
    a line of central nervous system products Aprecia plans to introduce as part of our
    commitment to transform the way patients experience taking medication.”

    The drug will become available in early 2016. 3D printing has been used to create medical devices and models, but this is the first time a medication has ever received full FDA approval.

  • Twitter Pulls Flashing Ads After Epilepsy Group Takes Issue

    Twitter Pulls Flashing Ads After Epilepsy Group Takes Issue

    Twitter-owned Vine’s videos autoplay in users’ timelines, unless you turn off autoplay in your settings – so it’s pretty hard to avoid them unless you’ve made a real effort to. Twitter just got in a bit of trouble over some of these Vine videos that featured flashing lights and colors.

    Why?

    Because they could have triggered seizures.

    Epilepsy awareness group Epilepsy Action took issue with a couple of Vines advertising Twitter’s #DiscoverMusic posted by TwitterUK. According tot he group, the ads were “massively dangerous to people with photosensitive epilepsy.”

    It didn’t take Twitter long to realize its mistake and pull the ads.

    “Eighty seven people are diagnosed with epilepsy every day and that first seizure can often come out of nowhere,” said Epilepsy Action’s deputy chief executive Simon Wigglesworth. “For a huge corporation like Twitter to take that risk was irresponsible.”

    Irresponsible, of course. But did you know that Twitter was also running afoul of the UK’s main advertising authority?

    From the BBC:

    The Advertising Standards Authority told the BBC that “marketing communications”, even those uploaded on a company’s own website, should not include “visual effects or techniques that are likely to adversely affect members of the public with photosensitive epilepsy”.

     

    It said both online and broadcast adverts in the UK had to adhere to rules made by the Committees of Advertising Practice.

     

    “We take very seriously ads in online media that might cause harm to people with photosensitive epilepsy,” an ASA spokeswoman told the BBC.

    The videos were up for about 18 hours.

  • Epilepsy-Treating Brain Implant Approved by FDA

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today approved a brain implant designed to treat epilepsy. The implant is now approved for use in the U.S. to help reduce the frequency of epilepsy-related seizures for patients who haven’t responded to seizure medications.

    The implant is called the RNS System and is manufactured by a company called Neuropace. I consists of a neurostimulator that is implanted within a patient’s skull, then connected to two electrodes that are placed on or inside a patient’s brain in areas where doctors believe epilepsy seizures occur. The neurostimulator then provides a normalizing burst of electrical stimulation when it detects electrical activity consistent with an oncoming seizure.

    “The neurostimulator detects abnormal electrical activity in the brain and responds by delivering electrical stimulation intended to normalize brain activity before the patient experiences seizure symptoms,” said Christy Foreman, director of the Office of Device Evaluation at the FDA.

    Approval for the device was based on a three month clinical trial in which 191 epilepsy patients who had not responded to seizure medications were implanted with the device. Patients participating in the trial were shown to have n average of around 38% fewer seizures each month.

    Abnormal electrical signals in the brain are known to cause epilepsy. People with the disorder often suffer from odd physical behaviors or seizures. According to the FDA around 3 million people in the U.S. suffer from epilepsy, and almost 200,000 Americans will be diagnosed each year.

  • FDA Approves New Seizure Medication

    FDA Approves New Seizure Medication

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today announced that it has approved a new medication for seizures associated with epilepsy.

    The drug, branded Aptiom by Sunovion Pharmaceuticals, is now approved for the treatment of “partial” seizures of the type seen in epilepsy patients. The drug was approved following three clinical trials that showed the drug is effective at reducing the frequency of seizures in patients with epilepsy.

    “Some patients with epilepsy do not achieve satisfactory seizure control from existing treatments,” said Dr. Eric Bastings, acting director of Neurology Products at the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. “It is important we continue to make new treatment options available to patients.”

    Epilepsy is a brain disorder that can cause electrical disturbances in the brain. People with epilepsy can suffer from odd behaviors or movements, or even sometimes suffer seizures that are caused by intense nerve cell activity in the brain. Serious seizures can even lead to convulsions or loss of consciousness. The FDA estimates that around 200,000 Americans will experience epilepsy each year.

    Aptiom has many of the same side-effects that other anti-seizure medications have, including headache, nausea, drowsiness, dizziness, double-vision, vomiting, and fatigue. The FDA also warns that it could cause suicidal thoughts for a smaller subset of patients.

  • Lil Wayne Chats with Katie Couric, Talks Retirement and Seizures

    The famous 2009 interview between former network anchorwoman, Katie Couric, and rapper Lil Wayne wasn’t just your regular, routine interview. The two forged an unexpected bond that’s spanned over the past 4 years. Now, he’s stopped by Couric’s syndicated talk show “Katie”, bringing her up to speed with the latest happenings in “Wayne’s world”. From discussing his growing desire to retirement from music, to his bouts with epilepsy, Wayne laid it all out on the table with Katie Couric.

    For the very first time, Wayne revealed to Couric why he chose to drop out of high school. When asked if he regretted his decision to drop out, Wayne coolly replied, “Not at all … I mean, kids, please finish high school. And all my kids, you are finishing high school!” He went on to state that he was already a multi-platinum selling artist, with a stable career, at the time he made the decision to drop out. The decision to drop out was one he and his mother made collectively.

    Wayne went on to confront the questions surrounding his health. Over the past few months, things have been quite challenging for the YMCMB CEO, as he’s suffered several epileptic complications. When Couric inquired about his health, Wayne had no problem filling her in on his situation. He touched on his recent health scares which center around epilepsy, seizures, and his addiction to ‘syrup’. Syrup, which consists of prescription-strength, codeine and promethazine cough syrup and Sprite or Mountain Dew, has been a widely publicized substance Wayne has made lyrical reference to on several occasion. A self-proclaimed extremist, Wayne openly admitted to his battle with the substance abuse of syrup. Over a four-month span, Wayne has been hospitalized on a number of occasions due to seizures. During one hospital stay at the Los Angelos Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Wayne spent six days in ICU as a result of multiple seizures. Unfortunately, his recovery wasn’t persistent, because he was faced with yet another seizure that landed him back in the hospital again on April 30th. Wayne went on to tell Couric that he has no recollection of the seizures he’s experienced.

    “I told them the other day, ‘Y’all can tell me right now that y’all was lying, like, ‘You know what? We lyin’ ain’t nothin,’ and I’d have to believe them because I don’t know. I go to sleep and wake up in the hospital. I don’t feel anything. I just hope it stops happening.”

    When the seizures became more frequent, he initially cut back on his syrup intake. Then, he admitted that he had only traded one vise for another, substituting syrup for pain pills which also contain codeine. It hasn’t been clearly specified if excessive amounts of codeine are contributing factors to his battle with the unprovoked seizures. Wayne went on to assure Couric that he has now stopped drinking syrup altogether, crediting his doctors whom urged his mother to assist him in making the decision to abstain. His mother spoke, and he definitely took heed to her warning. According to Vibe Magazine, Wayne also expounded upon his hopes to retire within the next few years. Now at age 30, Wayne plans to go into retirement within the next five years with hopes of being completely out of the game by age 35.

    The memorable moments of the interview centered around Wayne and Couric’s glints of comedic banter and blatant camaraderie. Couric presented Wayne with a customized “Katie” branded skateboard, and she even went so far as to trick out her 2005 minivan in his honor.

     

     

    Image Via WikiMedia Commons