New advice has been issued on whether medical professionals can safely change a person with epilepsy from one version of their medicine to another. Epilepsy medicines may now be classified in three categories depending on the supposed risk attached to switching
The Epilepsy Foundation in the US recently awarded a prize for a new device to help treat epilepsy. The winning device can instantly test levels of epilepsy medicines in the blood
A new US study aims to finally settle the question of whether a generic version of a branded epilepsy medicine is really any different.
The study has been largely funded by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The administration has previously produced guidelines to make sure that the generic version of a drug is virtually identical to its branded counterpart. These guidelines allow a certain margin of difference, within which a generic drug is supposedly just as effective.
An inquest into the death of Sunderland resident Karen MacIntyre in April 2012 found that she died from SUDEP (sudden unexpected death in epilepsy). Evidence from her family doctor, Dr Majella Soumakiyan, highlighted that Karen had not taken her epilepsy medicine regularly.
