Brain Injury Lawyer - New York

New York City Epilepsy Education Program

Traumatic brain injury and head injury are frequent causes of seizure disorders and epilepsy.

The Epilepsy Advocate Program will be offering a free program in New York to take place on October 6 at the Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers.  A reception is scheduled for 6 PM with the program beginning at 6:30 PM.

The Epilepsy Advocate program is designed to help you learn more about epilepsy and its’ treatment advancements.  The program  have two people living well with epilepsy sharing their personal stories followed by local neurologists who will be providing  an educational presentation on epilepsy. You will also have the opportunity to ask the neurologist or the Advocates any general questions you may have.

Call 1-866-865-7305 or visit  Epilepsy Advocate  to register in advance. For answers to questions about  accidents and seizure disorder and epilepsy visit the brain injury attorneys web site.

New Drugs May Prevent Development of Seizures and Epilepsy From Head Injury

Chronic seizures, also known as traumatic epilepsy caused by traumatic brain injuries or head injury, may result from chemicals released by the brain's immune system attempting to repair the injured site, according to a study led by the University of Colorado at Boulder and reported in the July issue of the journal, BRAIN.

The findings could help prevent one of the most common forms of adult epilepsy, called acquired epilepsy, or traumatic epilepsy which is often found in people who have suffered a brain injury or infection.

For decades researchers have focused on neurons as the culprits in seizures, which can be characterized as debilitating "electrical storms" in the brain. However, this new research suggests that the brain damage is caused by the release of chemicals which attempt to repair the damage at the site of brain injury. These chemicals then cause the neurons to become excited resulting in seizures.  The researchers are developing drugs that would shut down the release of these chemicals to prevent seizures from occurring.  When these seizures continue to occur, this is called epilepsy. .

It can take days, weeks or even months for the seizures to become apparent following a traumatic brain injury. Our brain injury attorneys have represented many individuals who have developed seizure disorders and epilepsy as a result of head injury. 

Following Severe Brain Injury: Need to Monitor For Seizure Activity

Two new studies published  in the Annals of Neurology and Critical Care Medicine  demonstrate a need for more vigilant monitoring for seizure activity among intensive care patients who may be experiencing subtle seizures that are typically unrecognized. These subtle seizures may be affecting patients' prognoses and causing long-term brain damage, death and severe disability.

It has previously been shown that unrecognized seizures are common in the critically ill, particularly in those with acute brain injury, and that these seizures are associated with unfavorable outcomes.
 
The two studies found that electroencephalography (EEG)  was effective in detecting subtle seizures that are often impossible to detect by visual observation.

The findings demonstrated the value of continuous EEG (where electrodes are placed on the scalp – a noninvasive procedure used in nonsurgical ICUs)  and intracranial EEG (ICE), an invasive technology where a probe is placed in the cortex of the patient's brain. ICE is mainly used in Neurological ICUs for serious acute brain injuries, such as subarachnoid hemorrhage, severe head trauma and very large strokes (hemorrhagic or ischemic), which require other invasive brain monitoring devices.

The papers, are entitled  "Intracortical Electroencephalography in Acute Brain Injury," and  "Continuous Electroencephalography in the Medical Intensive Care Unit".

New Guidelines for Epilepsy and Pregnancy

New guidelines developed by the American Academy of Neurology and the American Epilepsy Society show it's relatively safe for women with epilepsy to become pregnant, but caution must be taken, including avoiding one particular epilepsy drug that can cause birth defects. The guidelines are published in the April 27, 2009, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, and were presented at the Academy's Annual Meeting in Seattle held this April.

The guidelines recommend women with epilepsy avoid taking the drug valproate during pregnancy which has been linked to birth defects

The guidelines also suggest, if possible, women with epilepsy should not take more than one epilepsy drug at a time during pregnancy since taking more than one seizure drug has also been found to increase the risk of birth defects compared to taking only one medication.

Pregnant women with epilepsy should consider having their blood tested regularly. Levels of seizure medications in the blood tend to drop during pregnancy, so checking these levels and adjusting the medication doses should help to keep the levels in the effective range and the pregnant woman seizure free.

The guidelines also state that physicians of women with epilepsy should consider avoiding the epilepsy drugs phenytoin and phenobarbital in order to prevent the possibility of decreased thinking skills in children. In addition, the guidelines recommend women with epilepsy be warned that smoking may increase substantially the risk of premature contractions and premature labor and delivery during pregnancy.

Living with the uncertainty of epilepsy

Epilepsy is a common consequence following all types of head trauma.  Epilepsy has been found to occur following mild, moderate and severe brain injury and often occurs following car accidents, drowning and injuries that cause lack of oxygen to the brain.

Unfortunately, epilepsy is misunderstood by most individuals.  NPR recently produced an interesting radio show on the difficulties faced by individuals with epilepsy and their family members.

Guests on the radio broadcast are: Warren Lammert, co-founder and chairman of the Epilepsy Therapy Project and Dr. Orrin Devinsky, director of the Comprehensive Epilepsy Center and professor of neurology, neurosurgery and psychiatry at the NYU School of Medicine.

Listen to the epilepsy broadcast.

NYC Epilepsy Education Program Registration Now Open

Registration is now open for the FACES (Finding A Cure For Epilepsy) 2009 New York City Education Program.  All programs will be held at New York University Medical Center in Manhattan, New York.

The program again is as follows:

Schedule

Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Navigating the Educational Needs of Children with Epilepsy
Presenter: David Salsberg, Psy.D

Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Parents and Caregivers Forum
Presenters: Daniel Miles, M.D. & Peggy Guinnessey, Sr. Recreational Therapist

Tuesday, May 19, 2009
What's New in Clinical Trials
Presenter: Jacqueline French, M.D.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Herbal Treatment of Epilepsy
Presenter: Daniel Luciano, M.D.

You can register by clicking here or by telephoning FACES at (646) 558-0900.

Spring New York Epilepsy Lecture Series Announced

FACES (Finding A Cure For Epilepsy) has announced its spring lecture series. Further registration details have not yet been made available and will be announced shortly and will be provided on this site.

Schedule

Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Navigating the Educational Needs of Children with Epilepsy
Presenter: David Salsberg, Psy.D

Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Parents and Caregivers Forum
Presenters: Daniel Miles, M.D. & Peggy Guinnessey, Sr. Recreational Therapist

Tuesday, May 19, 2009
What's New in Clinical Trials
Presenter: Jacqueline French, M.D.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Herbal Treatment of Epilepsy
Presenter: Daniel Luciano, M.D.

All lectures will be held at 6:30-7:30pm at the NYU Langone Medical Center, Smilow 1st floor Seminar Room, 550 First Avenue, NYC.

Risk of Epilepsy Following Traumatic Brain Injury Lasts For More Than 10 Years

Children and young adults who suffer a traumatic brain injury are at high risk of developing epilepsy for more than 10 years after the injury, Danish researchers report.

But there's good news, too: treatments carried out during that time period may help prevent epilepsy, the team adds.

"Traumatic brain injury is a significant risk indicator for epilepsy many years after the injury. Drug treatment after brain injury with the aim of preventing post-traumatic epilepsy has been discouraging, but our data suggest a long time interval for potential, preventive treatment of high-risk patients," wrote Dr. Jakob Christensen, of the neurology department at Aarhus University Hospital, and colleagues.

Their analysis of national data on young people revealed that the risk of epilepsy was more than doubled among people who'd suffered a mild brain injury or skull fracture and was seven time higher than normal in those who'd suffered a serious brain injury.

Even after more than 10 years, people who'd suffered a mild brain injury were 1.5 times more likely than normal to develop epilepsy, those who'd suffered skull fractures had twice the risk, and those who'd suffered severe brain injury had 4.5 times the risk.

The risk of epilepsy was most pronounced in those older than 15 years -- mild brain injury increased the risk for this group by 3.5 times and severe brain injury increased the risk by more than 12 times.

The researchers also found that female brain injury patients had a slightly higher risk than males and that the risk was especially high among patients with a family history of epilepsy -- almost six times the risk for those with mild brain injury and 10 times the risk for those with severe brain injury.

The study was released online Monday by The Lancet and will be published in an upcoming print issue of the journal.

Post Traumatic Epilepsy: Next Wave of Brain Injury For Returning Soldiers

Traumatic brain injury has become known as the signature injury of the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, yet it may represent just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the long-term neurological and financial costs of the wars. Speakers at the Presidential Symposium of the annual ANA meeting said that one injury that still hasn't been fully appreciated is post traumatic epilepsy.

“Over 4,000 US soldiers have died, and many, many more have been injured,” said American Neurological Association (ANA) President Tim Pedley, Chairman of Neurology at Columbia, in introducing the speakers. “The changed nature of warfare in Iraq has led to a higher number of brain injuries and persistent disabilities, including epilepsy and neuropsychiatric disorders.” Pedley said he selected the topic for this year’s symposium - Neurological Injuries Caused by War: What Have We Learned from Iraq and Afghanistan? - to examine not only the type of injury and subsequent disability, but also why head injuries are more common and what the long-term financial impact might be on society.

The future wave of post-traumatic epilepsyy among survivors of war induced TBI represents another challenge that the United States and Iraq may be ill-equipped to deal with, according to a review of data presented by Dan Lowenstein, UCSF vice chair of neurology and director of the UCSF epilepsy center. Studies from four previous wars, from World War I to Vietnam, show a “remarkably consistent pattern,” he said, with five-year incidence ranging from 22 percent to 43 percent (median: 34 percent) among combatants. As many as half develop epilepsy within a year of the injury, studies suggest, but in a significant number, epileptic seizures first appear several years later, even a decade or more in some cases. The four studies that examined epilepsy rates 10 or more years after head injury, representing a total of more than 3,000 participants, found that approximately 45 percent of those with penetrating wounds had developed epilepsy at 10 years post-injury.

Given the sometimes-delayed onset of symptoms, combined with the lack of solid data on the prevalence of moderate and severe TBI in combatants and civilians (who have also been exposed to blasts associated with traumatic brain injury), the number of people in the current wars who may eventually develop epilepsy is “essentially unknown.”

“Post-traumatic epilepsy is a common and predictable cause of epilepsy, with a 35 to 45 percent incidence among combatants, and no anti-epilepsy therapy exists that has been shown to prevent the development of epilepsy following TBI,” Lowenstein concluded. “This is an area ripe for clinical translation.”

Epilepsy Conference

The New York Universtiy Medical Center, Epilepsy Department's foundation, FACES (Finding A Cure For Epilepsy) will be holding its fall Epilepsy Conference  on Sunday, October 26, 2008.

This annual one day symposium will bring together world renowned doctors and researchers to present cutting edge information on the treatment of Epilepsy and Seizures to patients and their caregivers.
Admission is free.  Click here to view the conference program and to register, please visit:

If you have any questions please contact FACES at (212) 871-0245 x109 or by  email

The program will be held at: NYU Langone Medical Center--Schwartz Lecture Hall--550 First Avenue
New York, NY 10016.