A new study is suggesting that human herpesviruses (HHV)-6B and HHV-7, which are referred to as roseola, may be responsible for as many as one-third of febrile status epilepticus (FSE) cases. This study, known as FEBSTAT, is published in the journal Epilepsia.

While more information is needed, FEBSTAT is suggesting that HHV-6B might be behind the development of epilepsy. FEBSTAT sought to figure out the consequences of FSE and find out what factors increased the patient’s hippocampus injury risks, which is located in the part of the brain that is responsible for a person’s long-term memory. This is also the area of the brain that is linked to the development of temporal lobe epilepsy.

“One aim of the FEBSTAT study is to determine the frequency of HHV-6A, HHV-6B, and HHV-7 as a cause of FSE and whether infection with any of these herpesviruses increases the risk of brain injury and epilepsy,” said lead author Dr. Leon Epstein a, pediatric neurologist at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago.

According to an article published on Sciencedaily.com, FEBSTAT found that “one-third of children with FSE had HHV-6 or HHV-7 viremia. HHV-6B viremia was detected in 32 percent of pediatric participants, with 38 and 16 children having primary and reactivated infection, respectively.”

Sciencedaily goes on to report that, “Researchers found that 7 percent of children had HHV-7 viremia at baseline and 2 children had HHV-6/7 primary co-infection. There were no apparent differences in age, illness type, fever, seizure structures or acute imagining abnormalities in children with or without one of the herpesviruses.”

The researchers for this study will be following up with the nearly 200 participating kids involved with the study with the belief that as much as 40 percent of them will develop TLE. From there, FEBSTAT makes a final determination as to whether there is a solid link between prolonged febrile seizures caused by HHV-6B viremia and the development of TLE.

Epilepsy is a condition that affects people of all ages across the globe. Most are treated with anti-seizure medications like Topamax. Some of the side effects linked to Topamax include birth defects in babies exposed to the drug in-utero. Some of those birth defects linked to Topamax include PPHN, oral clefts, neural tube defects and heart, lung and brain defects.

If your baby was born with any of these birth defects after being exposed to Topamax during gestation, contact Greg Jones today for a free consultation. I am experienced at fighting Topamax lawsuits and may be able to help you recover money for your baby’s injuries.