Posts by: Joana Fernandes, PhD

Joana Fernandes, PhD

Joana brings more than 8 years of academic research and experience as well as Scientific writing and editing to her role as a Science and Research writer. She also served as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology in Coimbra, Portugal, where she also received her PhD in Health Science and Technologies, with a specialty in Molecular and Cellular Biology.

April 7, 2017

Researchers Working on Non-Invasive Method to Suppress Epileptic Seizures

News

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have developed a new device that detects ongoing epileptic seizures and suppresses them as they start, according to a recent study. This approach may evolve into a ... Read more

March 3, 2017

Nodding Syndrome, Endemic to Africa, May Be Linked to Parasitic Infection

News

Nodding syndrome, a form of pediatric epilepsy, may result when the immune system tries to fight an infection by the Onchocerca volvulus worm, which causes river blindness. According to a new study, ... Read more

February 17, 2017

Belviq Reduces Epileptic Seizures in Study of Children with Dravet Syndrome

News

Belviq (lorcaserin) may be a promising anti-epileptic drug for patients resistant to other therapies, according to results of a new study that tested the compound in children with Dravet syndrome, ... Read more

February 13, 2017February 13, 2017

Abnormal Gene Copy Numbers May Cause Epilepsy, Other Disorders

News

Certain genes must be present in cells in a very precise amount, and variations to this “rule” may lead to developmental diseases like epilepsy, schizophrenia or autism spectrum disorders, according to a new report. ... Read more

January 30, 2017

Adult Human Neurons Grown in Lab May Open Insights into Epilepsy and Its Treatments

News

Neurological diseases are best studied using human neurons, and a longtime goal — once thought impossible — has been to grow such neurons in the lab. Now researchers have succeeded, maintaining ... Read more

January 25, 2017

Early Surgery Gives Epilepsy Patients Better Chance to Be Seizure-free, Research Suggests

News

Doctors should recommend surgery for epilepsy patients as early as possible, before their symptoms affect brain function and quality of life, according to research in Sweden. A key finding was ... Read more

January 16, 2017January 16, 2017

Researchers Identify Epilepsy-Linked Genes That Could Lead to Better Therapies

News

Researchers have identified a network of 320 genes in the brain that are linked to epilepsy — a finding that could help address genetic anomalies that lead to the condition. In ... Read more

January 9, 2017January 9, 2017

New Mutation Identified in 2 Boys with Progressive Myoclonus Epilepsy

News

Researchers found a mutation in the KCTD7 gene in two young boys with progressive myoclonus epilepsy (PME), a group of conditions similar to epilepsy. This finding may pave the way for ... Read more

December 21, 2016

Absence of Select Protein, eEF2K, Seen to Protect Against Epileptic Seizures in Early Study

News

The forced elimination of a protein, called eEF2K, may affect the brain’s ability to draw on certain memories, but that lack may also protect against epileptic seizures, according to research published in ... Read more

November 23, 2016

Researchers Hope to Develop Novel Epilepsy Therapy from New Compound

News

A new compound call CERC-611 (LY3130481) that targets specific neural circuits in epilepsy could become a new drug candidate for the disease, according to a study by researchers at Eli ... Read more