Contact Information Available for logged-in reporters only Newswise Neptune, NJ June 6, 2014 The National Association of Epilepsy Centers (NAEC) recently designated Meridian Health Comprehensive Epilepsy Program at Jersey Shore University Medical Center as a Level 4 epilepsy center, the highest level possible. The recognition is a testament to the medical expertise, innovative surgical evaluation, and advanced techniques and treatments provided for patients with complex epilepsy. Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders, affecting more than 2 million people in the United States. It is a complex, chronic condition characterized by recurrent seizures caused by abnormal electrical activity in the brain cells. Living with epilepsy can be challenging, and seizures range from minor to traumatic physical convulsions. Some types of seizures are easier to manage, and many patients lead normal lives. Meridian Health Comprehensive Epilepsy Program at Jersey Shore University Medical Center offers specialized services, such as epilepsy monitoring aim to help children and adults gain control of seizures through an around-the-clock brain monitoring with electroencephalogram (EEG) technology synchronized with video monitoring. With a team trained in this subspecialty, led by Rajesh Sachdeo, M.D., adult and pediatric Epileptologist, Jersey Shores program leads the way in New Jersey in … Continue reading →

Duska Anastasijevic (@duska) published a blog post June 2nd, 2014 Mayo Clinic, University of Pennsylvania Launch International Challenge to Detect Seizures and Treat Epilepsy ROCHESTER, Minn. Researchers from Mayo Clinic and the University of Pennsylvania announce the launch of the Seizure Detection Challenge, an international competition inviting the best minds in machine learning to improve devices to track and treat epilepsy. Researchers from Penn and Mayo Clinic have designed the challenge, which is hosted by Kaggle.com, an online community where data scientists come together to solve complex problems. The unique data sets gathered during the challenge will be made freely available to researchers worldwide by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), University of Pennsylvania and Mayo Clinic at the International Epilepsy Electrophysiology Portalto advance epilepsy research and treatment. Predicting seizures, early and accurately is a first step toward controlling them and improving the quality of life for millions of patients with epilepsy worldwide, said Mayo Clinic neurologist Gregory Worrell, M.D., Ph.D.,a co-primary investigator of the project. Contestants will analyze retrospective prolonged intracranial EEG data recorded from four dogs with naturally occurring epilepsy and from eight patients with medication-resistant seizures during evaluation for epilepsy surgery. The contestant or group that can … Continue reading →

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) June 06, 2014 MetroMD introduces advanced PRP (platelet rich plasma) and Stem Cell therapy to help individuals and sportsmen to get rid of various kinds of injuries and pain incurred due to stress, tendon tear, bone dislocation etc. The PRP therapy comes as a boon for professional golfers, a majority of whom suffer from a nagging knee pain. As per some studies, knee problem is believed to be the second most prominent professional hazard that one can associate with a professional golfer. Its the tremendous pressure that the swing of a club puts on a golfers knee leading to tear/rupture of ligament and tendon - and a progressive condition amounting to pain in the region around the knee of the person. The golfer knee pain often remained from being cured fully so far. But with MetroMDs advanced PRP therapy around, solution for the nagging knee pain seems available. If Mr. Devin Stone, the Director of Operations at MetroMD, is to be believed, MetroMDs advanced PRP treatment will serve as a blessing for patients suffering from epicondylitis the type of problem that includes conditions such as tennis elbow, golfers knee pain etc. Detailing on the process, Mr. … Continue reading →

A large new analysis of DNA from thousands of patients has uncovered several underlying gene networks with potentially important roles in autism. These networks may offer attractive targets for developing new autism drugs or repurposing existing drugs that act on components of the networks. Furthermore, one of the autism-related gene pathways also affects some patients with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and schizophreniaraising the possibility that a class of drugs may treat particular subsets of all three neurological disorders. Neurodevelopmental disorders are extremely heterogeneous, both clinically and genetically, said study leader Hakon Hakonarson, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Center for Applied Genomics at The Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). However, the common biological patterns we are finding across disease categories strongly imply that focusing on underlying molecular defects may bring us closer to devising therapies. The study by Hakonarson and colleagues, appearing online today in Nature Communications, draws on gene data from CHOPs genome center as well as from the Autism Genome Project and the AGRE Consortium, both part of the organization Autism Speaks. Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), of which autism is the best known, are a large group of heritable childhood neuropsychiatric conditions characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, … Continue reading →

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 6-Jun-2014 Contact: John Ascenzi ascenzi@email.chop.edu 267-426-6055 Children's Hospital of Philadelphia A large new analysis of DNA from thousands of patients has uncovered several underlying gene networks with potentially important roles in autism. These networks may offer attractive targets for developing new autism drugs or repurposing existing drugs that act on components of the networks. Furthermore, one of the autism-related gene pathways also affects some patients with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and schizophreniaraising the possibility that a class of drugs may treat particular subsets of all three neurological disorders. "Neurodevelopmental disorders are extremely heterogeneous, both clinically and genetically," said study leader Hakon Hakonarson, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Center for Applied Genomics at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). "However, the common biological patterns we are finding across disease categories strongly imply that focusing on underlying molecular defects may bring us closer to devising therapies." The study by Hakonarson and colleagues, appearing online today in Nature Communications, draws on gene data from CHOP's genome center as well as from the Autism Genome Project and the AGRE Consortium, both part of the organization Autism Speaks. Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), of which autism is the best known, are a large … Continue reading →