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FRIDAY, Dec. 2, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Costs for epilepsy medications in the United States are skyrocketing, outpacing inflation and straining federal insurers Medicare and Medicaid, according to new research.Spending on antiseizure medications more than doubled in eight years for the government insurers, largely because of third-generation and brand-name drugs, the study found."While it's very important that Medicare and Medicaid patients have access to these drugs, the cost to the system is significant and continues to rise each year," said Dr. Deepti Zutshi, lead study author and an associate professor of neurology at Wayne State University in Detroit. "The answer is not to remove access to the medications but consider ways to cap or head off costs so we can continue to ensure the...

FRIDAY, Dec. 2, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Dementia patients who suffer from seizures tend to decline faster and die younger, according to a new study that urges caregivers to watch for these sudden brain changes."Our hope is that controlling seizures by prescribing antiseizure medications to these patients will slow down the progression of cognitive impairment," said Dr. Ifrah Zawar, lead study author and an assistant professor at the University of Virginia School of Medicine. "Unfortunately, seizures are often underdiagnosed because they can be subtle and the person just seems confused, so family members often mistake them for typical signs of dementia," Zawar added in a news release from the American Epilepsy Society.In some people, a staring spell is evidence of a seizure, while...

FRIDAY, Dec. 2, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- If you've ever left a medical appointment confused, it's probably not you: A new study finds that the medical jargon doctors use can be completely misunderstood by patients.Common medical lingo that makes perfect sense to doctors often gets lost in translation when conveyed to laypeople, the new research found. It turns out that many people mistakenly believe it's good news if a tumor is "progressing" or a chest X-ray is "impressive."And it's no wonder, experts said: In a frustrating quirk, medical meanings of certain words are exactly the opposite of their meaning in plain English."There are words with perfectly good meanings in English, and we've co-opted them in medicine and given them different meanings," said senior researcher Dr. Michael...

FRIDAY, Dec. 2, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Alcohol increases the risk of cancer, but some Americans think it does the opposite, a new study shows. Researchers set out to understand people's awareness of the links between alcohol and cancer, finding that many would benefit from further education on the issue. “All types of alcoholic beverages, including wine, increase cancer risk,” said senior study author William Klein, associate director of the U.S. National Cancer Institute’s Behavioral Research Program. “This study’s findings underscore the need to develop interventions for educating the public about the cancer risks of alcohol use, particularly in the prevailing context of national dialogue about the purported heart health benefits of wine.”Using data from a government...