North Shore-LIJ
HEALTH BLOG

Cynthia Harden, MD

Chief, Epilepsy and Electroencephalography
North Shore-LIJ Health System
Professor, Neurology
Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine

Recent Posts By: Cynthia Harden, MD

Response to First Treatment May Predict Epilepsy’s Course

by Cynthia Harden, MD0 Comments

In patients diagnosed with epilepsy, the likelihood that they will continue to have seizures may well depend on their response to the initial anti-seizure medication given after their diagnosis. According to a recent study published in Neurology, researchers found that 50 percent of the people in the study were seizure-free after the first medication they… Read more »

Monitoring Spinal Cord During Surgery May Prevent Paralysis

by Cynthia Harden, MD0 Comments

The American Academy of Neurology recommends monitoring the spinal cord during spinal surgery and certain chest surgeries to help prevent paralysis or loss of muscle function related to the surgeries, according to an updated guideline published recently in Neurology, the academy’s medical journal. This report, which I cowrote, provides the most comprehensive and compelling evidence… Read more »

Quick Treatments for Prolonged Seizures

by Cynthia Harden, MD0 Comments

Faster, more effective relief of prolonged seizures (which last more than five minutes) may be available with medicine delivered into a muscle via an autoinjector, according to a study recently published by the New England Journal of Medicine. An autoinjector is similar to the EpiPen used to treat serious allergic reactions. This study represents a… Read more »

Epilepsy Surgery Improves Seizure Control and Quality of Life

by Cynthia Harden, MD0 Comments

A 26-year follow-up study published in the journal Epilepsia revealed that after epilepsy surgery, nearly half of participants were free of disabling seizures and 80 percent reported better quality of life than before surgery. Spanning over three decades, the study is the longest follow-up of epilepsy surgery patients. However, nothing has changed in that time… Read more »