Category Archive

Medical Information

Seizure medication shortages create anxiety and stress for families

February 18, 2016

By Deron Hamel Tina Smith has seen the negative impact seizure medication shortages have on people living with epilepsy and their families – she and her son, Nicholas, have lived through it more than once. Fifteen-year-old Nicholas had his first tonic-clonic seizure at seven. In 2009, Nicholas was diagnosed with epilepsy. During the next several…

Absence seizures: what they look like and how to react

February 11, 2016

By Deron Hamel The scene is a play rehearsal. Two high-school students, a boy and a girl, are practising their parts. Suddenly, the girl pauses. She stares blankly, appearing lost in her thoughts. Several seconds pass. She then she resumes speaking, as though nothing has happened. One of the students asks another if a teacher…

Pharmaceutical companies need to explain why drug shortages occur in order to prevent them

February 4, 2016

By Deron Hamel Stakeholders would be better positioned to offer solutions to prevent medication shortages if pharmaceutical companies provided public explanations about why shortages happen, says Suzanne Nurse, Epilepsy Ontario’s director of information and client services. Following public consultation in 2014, the Canadian government announced it would be mandating the country’s pharmaceutical manufacturers to publicly…

Focal dyscognitive seizures explored in new video

January 21, 2016

By Deron Hamel A businessman is giving a presentation in a boardroom. Suddenly, he stops midspeech and begins to blankly stare. Then he starts to fidget and wander. One of his colleagues notices something is not right, but she has seen this before. She walks over to the man and slowly begins to guide him…