Epilepsy, called a hidden disability, could affect a person in various ways, if not checked with treatment. The neurological disorder carrying a social stigma with it had been a field of much medical research and it has provided severe epileptic patients other therapeutic measures, too, where medicines have failed to be effective, said neurologist B. Rajendran, Editor, Epilepsy India, a newsletter brought out by Indian Epilepsy Association and Indian Epilepsy Society. Awareness about the epilepsy, some of the new methods and effective management are among some of the issues that took centre-stage on National Epilepsy Day observed on Monday Characterised by seizures, epilepsy is actually abnormal electrical activity in the brain. About 70 per cent of epilepsies can be controlled with medications, though there are a worrisome 30 per cent where the first line of epileptic drugs does not work well. It is quite possible that if patients do not respond to the first and second line of drugs that they may be resistant to the third line drug too, said Dr. Rajendran. It is in such patients that other therapeutic measures like surgery or the now accepted ketogenic diet are prescribed. For surgery, the epileptogenic zone in the brain … Continue reading →

Health News of Tuesday, 18 November 2014 Source: GNA The Ministry of Health in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO) is piloting a Fight against epilepsy initiative-Ghana Project in the Birim Central Municipality. The aim of the project is to improve access to care for people with epilepsy and to integrate the care of epilepsy into primary health care in the country. A team from the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and the WHO visited the Akyem Oda Government Hospital, the Oda Old Town and the Akyem Akroso sub Municipal Health Centres to see how the project was going on. Dr Mrs Cynthia Sottie, Focal Person for Mental Health at the GHS and National Coordinator for epilepsy, told the GNA Media Auditing and Development Tracking team that, the project was started in January. She said the visit was to enable the team to see the work the 30 nurses who were trained for the project were doing and to support them. The trained nurses are expected to carry out early identification and assessment of epilepsy cases, treatment and management of epilepty and mental clients, offer outreach services, home visits, health education at schools, churches and on the radio. Dr Sottie … Continue reading →

MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WMBF) - South Carolina's Medicaid department is asking for $30 million to help fund the completion of a federal mandate to get all children living with autism treatment next year, said Colleen Mullins, public information officer for SC Department of Health and Human Services. However, the state isn't equipped to handle even more children in the system. "The state of South Carolina wants to do the right thing, but unfortunately we don't have the resources to provide for the kids that already have funding, let alone if we open it up more," said Debbie Wardell, founder of South Carolina Interventionist. As is, Medicaid in South Carolina can pay for three years of a child's applied behavior analysis therapy up until age 11 through the waiver for pervasive developmental disorders, or PBB. "ABA therapy is proven to work," said Kim Kuiken, who has a son living with autism. "My son is a walking witness to it. It is unbelievable when it is done consistently and for a long time. It shouldn't just be for three years. It should be constant." One thousand children are already on a waiting list for that program, not including the children who have … Continue reading →

25 spots available in Utah Autism Waiver program By Jessica Ivins November 17th, 2014 @ 8:39pm SALT LAKE CITY A unique program designed to help Utah families affected by autism began accepting applications Monday. The state-funded Medicaid Autism Waiver program provides personal, in-home treatment for children whove been clinically diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. The program serves about 290 Utah children a year, and slots can be difficult to come by. The Utah Department of Health opened enrollment for 25 available spots on Monday. For the next three weeks, parents of eligible children can submit applications. Applicants will be randomly selected using a lottery system, and parents of those chosen will be notified by the state. To qualify, the child must be between the ages of 2 and 6 and meet eligibility requirements for Medicaid. The unique thing about this program, however, is that the only income taken into consideration is that of the childs, and the child must have no more than $2,000 in his or her name. For this program, parents dont have to meet financial eligibility guidelines, said Kolbi Young with the Utah Department of Health. Its based upon the childs income, so there are many, … Continue reading →

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 17-Nov-2014 Contact: Martin Ebinger martin.ebinger@charite.de The JAMA Network Journals @JAMA_current A specialized ambulance staffed with a neurologist and equipped with a computed tomographic scanner helped increase the percentage of patients with stroke who received thrombolysis to break down blood clots within the so-called 'golden hour,' the 60 minutes from time of symptom onset to treatment when treatment may be most effective, according to a study published online by JAMA Neurology. The time to treatment with tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) to break down blood clots is crucial to how patients fare after acute ischemic stroke. But when prehospital times are added to hospital delays the onset to treatment (OTT) within 60 minutes seems out of reach for most patients. An approach to shorten the OTT is prehospital thrombolysis in a specialized ambulance, according to background information in the study. Martin Ebinger, M.D., of the Charit-Universittsmedizin Berlin, Germany, and co-authors examined the achievable rate of golden hour thrombolysis in prehospital care and the effect it had on how patients fared. The authors used data from a study conducted in Berlin where weeks were randomized according to the availability of a stroke emergency mobile unit (STEMO) from May 2011 through … Continue reading →