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Cannabidiol has been big news in the epilepsy community over the last year. We have previously posted about the medication becoming available on the NHS for patients with certain syndromes and types of epilepsy. At present, researchers are unsure as to why cannabidiol has the positive effect that it does.  However, research reported in the…

Category: News, Treatments

Epilepsy surgery is a blanket term for several different types of procedures, each of which can be vastly different and used for different types of epilepsy.  Surgery is usually one of the last options that will be suggested and is most common in people with epilepsy whose seizures cannot be controlled using anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs).…

Category: Treatments

Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) is a type of epilepsy surgery that involves implanting an electrode into the brain and a neurostimulator into the chest, usually just below the left collarbone.  DBS is a type of ‘neuromodulation’, similar to vagus nerve stimulation (VNS). It has been used for both epilepsy and is also widely used for…

Category: Treatments

The European Union has taken the landmark step of approving a medical cannabis product for use in certain cases of epilepsy. Put simply, this means that the drug can legally be prescribed within the UK and other EU countries, however, at present it is not recommended by the NHS. (source: BBC - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-49795260)  Just last…

Category: Treatments

When a person is diagnosed with epilepsy, the first thing they often ask is “can it be cured?”. It’s a completely natural reaction after receiving news that is possibly life changing to hope that there is a cure and life can continue as normal. However, at present there is no medical cure for epilepsy.  For…

Category: Treatments

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published their initial decision to not recommend the use of cannabidiol/CBD (Epidyolex) for people who have Lennox-Gastaut or Dravet syndrome.  This is an initial decision and not yet classed as final NICE guidance, which means that although they are not initially backing it as a…

Category: Treatments