By: Terry Graedon April 4, 2024 19 Comments
    What Could a Ketogenic Diet Do for You?

    Diets come and diets go with amazing predictability. The standard American diet has shortcomings, so people are frequently eager for an approach to nutrition that will be healthful. A ketogenic diet h…

    By: Terry Graedon February 16, 2023 8 Comments
    How Does Epidiolex (Cannabidiol) Work Against Se…

    In 2018, the Food and Drug Administration approved the first drug made from Cannabis sativa. Most people know this plant better as marijuana. At that time, the FDA approved cannabidiol under the brand…

    By: Joe Graedon February 2, 2023 2 Comments
    Ketogenic Diet Helps Control Seizures

    About 30 percent of children with epilepsy do not respond well to available medication. However, children with drug-resistant epilepsy sometimes benefit from dietary therapies such as a ketogenic diet…

    By: Joe Graedon April 20, 2020 11 Comments
    How Can People Afford Brand Name Medicines?

    We are frequently stunned by the high cost of medicines. That is especially true for brand name drugs. Most people have discovered that their insurance companies make it difficult to afford brand name…

    By: Terry Graedon April 19, 2018 7 Comments
    How Will FDA Treat Drug Derived from Cannabis?

    FDA staffers have reviewed data for an epilepsy drug derived from cannabis. They have written that the application is well done and that the balance of risks and benefits looks good. Drug Derived from…

    By: Joe Graedon May 25, 2017 9 Comments
    How Good is Medical Marijuana (Cannabidiol) Agai…

    After thousands of years of medicinal use, we now have irrefutable evidence that cannabis works to control epilepsy. The most prestigious medical journal in the world, The New England Journal of Medic…

    By: Terry Graedon April 20, 2017 1 Comments
    Does Cannabidiol Help a Rare Type of Epilepsy?

    Cannabidiol, a derivative of cannabis, reduced seizures by 50 percent in some patients with a rare type of epilepsy. The study included 225 children and adults with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, a rare typ…

    By: Joe Graedon March 13, 2017 21 Comments
    Can You Trust Foreign-Made Generic Medicines?

    We continue to receive complaints about generic medicines. Many are made in countries where the FDA does not have an adequate number of inspectors. Often the FDA staffers do not speak the native langu…

    By: Terry Graedon December 8, 2016 6 Comments
    Is Cannabidiol Oil Helpful for Hard-to-Treat Epi…

    Cannabidiol oil from marijuana may help control epilepsy. This has been suspected for a while. Some parents have even moved to states where medical marijuana is legal to treat their epileptic childre…

    By: Joe Graedon December 5, 2016 22 Comments
    Cannabidiol Oil Solved Severe Seizure Problem an…

    Many doctors are skeptical about the benefits of medical marijuana. That's because they did not learn about this "herb" in medical school. If it was discussed at all, the likelihood is that the lectur…

    By: Joe Graedon July 16, 2016 8 Comments
    Will Medical Marijuana Ease Pain and Prevent Dem…

    Two of our most complicated and challenging health problems are nerve pain and dementia. The drugs we have are often woefully inadequate. That's why it is so intriguing to learn that ingredients in me…

    By: Terry Graedon March 10, 2016 9 Comments
    Do People with Epilepsy Have Fewer Seizures on C…

    A compound derived from marijuana plants, cannabidiol oil, is showing promise for treating intractable seizures. Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham are presenting preliminary resul…

    By: Terry Graedon December 10, 2015 2 Comments
    Is Marijuana the Last Chance for Kids with Epile…

    The use of marijuana for medical purposes remains controversial, especially when it comes to epilepsy in children. Parents of youngsters suffering from uncontrollable seizures have been flocking to Co…

    By: Joe Graedon August 3, 2015 140 Comments
    Gabapentin for Pain Drove Patient to Brink of Su…

    How could a medicine that is supposed to relieve pain make someone suicidal? Turns out it happens far more often than most health professionals realize. If physicians and pharmacists do not warn patie…

    By: Terry Graedon April 8, 2013 8 Comments
    Generic Seizure Medicine Let Him Down

    Q. I have epilepsy and was well controlled on Keppra and Topamax for years. When I was switched to generic Keppra (levetiracetam) without realizing it, I had several seizures in two weeks. I fell down…

    By: Terry Graedon July 28, 2011 6 Comments
    Hope for New Epilepsy Treatment

    An experimental device that stimulates a nerve in the forehead may offer a safe and effective way to control hard-to-treat epilepsy. Researchers at UCLA studied 50 patients who experienced drug-resist…

    By: Joe Graedon March 13, 2009 32 Comments
    How Good Is Generic Anti-Epilepsy Drug?

    Q. I need more information about the generic for the epilepsy drug Keppra. I understand that the generic is fairly new.Is it safe to take, and does it have the same active ingredient as Keppra?A. Gene…

    By: Joe Graedon January 28, 2008 3 Comments
    Generic Epilepsy Drug Leads To Seizure

    Q. I was taking phenytoin, an extended release generic form of the anti-seizure drug Dilantin. On September 19, 2007, I had a grand mal seizure and upon admission to a local ER, my lab results indicat…