All posts tagged: seizures

When drug after drug failed, a teen hoped brain surgery could fix her daily seizures. Insurance denied it.

When drug after drug failed, a teen hoped brain surgery could fix her daily seizures. Insurance denied it.

Published by Sam Flores

Several weeks later, the insurer went one step further, announcing a change in policy to include deep brain stimulation for certain conditions in children and adolescents. “We are constantly reviewing our medical coverage policies to keep pace with the latest treatment standards and expert recommendations,” it said in a statement. “After reviewing new clinical information, we have updated our deep brain stimulation coverage policy to include pediatric and adolescent patients in the treatment of epilepsy, OCD and dystonia when all other clinical criteria are met.” The change is “great news,” said Cambrie’s doctor, Guerriero. “Changes like this are an important step in improving access to care,” Marupudi wrote in an email. “I’m encouraged to see growing recognition of deep brain stimulation as a treatment option for carefully selected children with severe, treatment-resistant epilepsy,” she wrote. “For some patients who have exhausted other therapies, DBS can make a meaningful difference in seizure burden and overall quality of life.” Cambrie’s surgery is scheduled for June, and she is looking forward to a future with hopefully fewer seizures. …

How to save a life: paramedics on emergency first aid – from cardiac arrest to burns to seizures | Emergency services

How to save a life: paramedics on emergency first aid – from cardiac arrest to burns to seizures | Emergency services

Published by Sam Flores

Cardiac arrest “If you learn one thing, it should be how to resuscitate,” says Richard Webber, an associate clinical director of St John Ambulance and practising NHS paramedic in the south of England. “We know that for every one minute delay in restarting the heart, there is a 10% reduction in survivability.” “In the UK, we have about 40,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests each year and the current survival rate is 9%,” says Emily Le-Gallienne, a resuscitation officer and paramedic for the East of England ambulance service, who is based in Hertfordshire. “We see much better survival rates in countries like Denmark and Sweden, because people are being taught cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) skills more.” A CPR element has just been introduced to the UK driving theory test, “which is really positive progress”, says Le-Gallienne. “CPR and defibrillation can increase the chance of survival by up to 70% if it is done in the first three to five minutes of cardiac arrest, and an ambulance may not arrive in that time. If we get there and that …

Norwegians told to prepare for wartime property seizures

Norwegians told to prepare for wartime property seizures

Published by Sam Flores

Norway has issued thousands of letters to citizens warning that the army may have to seize their homes and vehicles if war breaks out with Russia. Norwegian military officials said the letters were an advance warning to those with assets that may need to be requisitioned. The requisition policy covers vehicles, boats, machinery and property, and around 13,500 “preparatory requisitions” were issued on Monday, valid for one year. “The requisitions are intended to ensure that, in a wartime situation, the armed forces have access to the resources necessary for the defence of the country,” the Norwegian military said. The letters will not have come as a shock to most recipients, as two thirds of them were simply renewing requisition notices from previous years. The requisition notices were ordered amid a diplomatic crisis between Europe and Donald Trump, who has threatened to annex Greenland – Jim Watson/AFP Anders Jernberg, the head of the military’s logistics organisation, said: “The importance of being prepared for crisis and war has increased dramatically in recent years.” “Norway is in the …