Epilepsy

Layan Ibrahim, Master of Public Health Class of 2023, was named to the 2023–24 class of Luce Scholars. The Luce Scholars Program is a nationally competitive fellowship program launched by the Henry Luce Foundation to enhance the understanding of Asia among potential leaders in American society. Read More

Research in the Weaver lab leads to discoveries that help secure partnership with Ancora Innovation LLC.  “Vanderbilt is at the forefront of genetic research. By understanding the genetic causes of disease opens exciting new opportunities to develop drugs to treat them more effectively,” said Matt Nelson, vice president, genetics and genomics, 3DC at Deerfield Management.  Read More

Vanderbilt neurologists found altered excitability in deep brain structures that they note may drive respiratory dysfunction and sudden death in a rare form of epilepsy. Read More

A Vanderbilt research team has received a $2 million National Institutes of Health grant to further develop a needle-size robotic surgery system with real-time MRI guidance for drug resistant temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). Such a procedure has the potential to reduce or eliminate seizures using a minimally invasive approach over the current standard of care,... Read More

Brain inflammation links genetic and acquired epilepsy — providing new clues about epilepsy development and pointing to potential treatments. Read More

A single mutation in one gene can impair inhibitory signaling in the brain and cause multiple types of seizures and behavioral abnormalities. Read More

Vanderbilt neurologists have identified a protein modification that could be targeted to reduce neuronal excitability in epilepsy. Read More

Structural details of a protein that is essential to normal brain function could improve treatments for epilepsy and other seizure disorders. Read More

Vanderbilt investigators have linked genetic mutations in a single receptor to epilepsy, autism and intellectual disability. Read More

A protein with important functions in astrocytes — star-shaped brain support cells — may alter neuronal excitability and contribute to seizure activity, Vanderbilt researchers report. Read More

A team led by an engineering professor who specializes in techniques to analyze functional neuroimaging data and a neurosurgeon-scientist has received a $3 million National Institutes of Health grant for epilepsy research. Read More

New research from Vanderbilt suggests that repeated seizures reduce brainstem connectivity, a possible contributor to unexplained neurocognitive problems in epilepsy patients. Read More

Cannabidiol (CBD) oils reduced seizures in patients with difficult-to-treat epilepsy, Vanderbilt investigators have found. Read More

Patients with epilepsy who suffer seizures that can’t be effectively treated with medications or established surgical interventions could benefit from responsive neurostimulation, a relatively new treatment. Read More

An interdisciplinary team of Vanderbilt University researchers has received a two-year, $2-million federal grant to develop an “organ-on-chip” model for two genetic forms of epilepsy. Read More

Elevated body temperature alone can increase vulnerability to fever-induced seizures, even in the absence of infection or inflammation. Read More

Assessing brain functional and structural connectivity in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy may be a useful way to identify the best candidates for surgical treatment. Read More

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) are one step closer to understanding what causes early-onset epileptic encephalopathy, a rare form of childhood epilepsy that is difficult to treat and has poor developmental outcomes. Read More

Understanding how mutations affect the structure and function of inhibitory neurotransmitter receptors will shed light on the mechanisms underlying some types of epilepsy. Read More

Genetic variation in GABA-A receptors confers risk for inherited forms of epilepsy. Read More