Medical researchers might have discovered a new way to stop an epileptic seizure quickly and without the help of paramedics.

The longer an epileptic seizure lasts, the more harmful and deadly it can become, and most caregivers are relatively helpless in the event of a seizure.

Their only current methods are an oral or anal gel suppository, which can prove difficult to administer in the midst of a seizure.

In a new study published last Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers found that injecting emergency anti-seizure medication into muscle tissue can stop prolonged seizures – those seizures that last for five minutes or longer – faster than if it were administered through an intravenous (IV) line by a paramedic.

Nearly 900 patients with epilepsy, who experienced seizures lasting longer than five minutes, were either given a shot in their muscle tissue with the anticonvulsant midazolam by paramedics, or the standard IV line of the anticonvulsant drug, lorazepam, according to WebMD.

Those patients who were administered a shot of midazolam directly into their muscle tissue on average experienced shorter seizures, lasting just one and one-half minutes after the medication was injected.

In contrast, patients who received anticonvulsant drugs by IV drip suffered longer seizures, which continued on average for as long as five minutes before the treatment took effect.

Nearly 55,000 people die each year from prolonged seizures, according to Dr. Robert Silbergleit, emergency physician at the University of Michigan Health System, and lead author of the study.

Although paramedics administered the shot to patients in the study, the findings could lead to a shot that can be administered by caregivers before paramedics even arrive, said to Dr. Jason McMullan, an assistant professor of clinical emergency medicine at the University of Cincinnati and co-investigator of the study.

“The earlier they are treated, the sooner the seizure will stop, the easier it will be to control and the better the outcome,” McMullan said.

Midazolam, one drug in a class of medications called benzodiazepines, can be used to stop seizures.

The syringe form has yet to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use by caregivers, but McMullan said paramedics can use the technique now.

“I am very excited that this is another tool in the arsenal for present life-saving treatments for prolonged seizures,” McMullan said.