Latest Febrile seizure Stories
NIH-funded study is following nearly 200 children Seizures during childhood fever are usually benign, but when prolonged, they can foreshadow an increased risk of epilepsy later in life. Now a study funded by the National Institutes of Health suggests that brain imaging and recordings of brain activity could help identify the children at highest risk. The study reveals that within days of a prolonged fever-related seizure, some children have signs of acute brain injury, abnormal brain...
One-third of febrile seizures associated with roseola virus New research shows that human herpesviruses (HHV)-6B and HHV-7, commonly know as roseola virus), account for one third of febrile status epilepticus (FSE) cases. Results of the FEBSTAT prospective study now available in Epilepsia, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE), suggest that HHV-6B may be involved in the development of epilepsy and further research is urgently...
Controlling acid-base status could lead to novel treatment strategies New research shows that febrile seizures in children may be linked to respiratory alkalosis, indicated by elevated blood pH and low carbon dioxide levels caused by hyperventilation, and independent of the underlying infection severity. Febrile seizures were not observed in susceptible children with fevers brought on by gastroenteritis, suggesting that low blood pH levels (acidosis) may have a protective effect. Full...
Electronic health records study of 459,000 children sparked new CDC recommendationsThe combination vaccine for measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox (MMRV) is associated with double the risk of febrile seizures for 1- to 2-year-old children compared with same-day administration of the separate vaccine for MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) and the varicella (V) vaccine for chicken pox, according to a Kaiser Permanente Division of Research study appearing online in the journal Pediatrics. A...
Sodium channel gene linked to Dravet syndromeUniversity of Utah medical researchers have identified a gene with mutations that cause febrile seizures and contribute to a severe form of epilepsy known as Dravet syndrome in some of the most vulnerable patients "“ infants 6 months and younger.The discovery, published online in PLoS Genetics, means some infants with Dravet syndrome, a type of epilepsy that often begins with fever-induced (febrile) seizures, would benefit from genetic testing to...
Largest review to date questions current recommendationsWhen babies develop a fever high enough or abrupt enough to cause a seizure, frightened parents often rush them to the emergency room, where their workup frequently includes a lumbar puncture (spinal tap) to rule out bacterial meningitis. Now, in the largest study to date, researchers at Children's Hospital Boston find that this uncomfortable procedure is probably not necessary in well-appearing children who have had a simple febrile...
A promising animal model of epilepsy became even more valuable with the demonstration that the course of the disorder closely parallels that of one of the most common forms of epilepsy in humans. In an article published online June 6, 2005, in the Annals of Neurology, researchers at St. Justine Hospital at the University of Montreal in Canada report that prolonged fever-related seizures in rat pups with underlying brain malformations lead to epilepsy in the rats in adulthood. The article is...
