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Latest Research and News

Recent publications

📚 Epilepsy in childhood and school performance: A nationwide cohort study: In this study of Danish schoolchildren, researchers examined whether childhood epilepsy relates to school performance on standardized tests. Childhood epilepsy was associated with poorer school performance overall. While there were no significant differences based on sex or age, children using antiseizure medication demonstrated larger score differences. Link to article.

💊 Classic ketogenic diet versus further antiseizure medicine in infants with drug-resistant epilepsy (KIWE): This study is the first randomised trial in infants (aged 1–24 months) with drug-resistant epilepsy to assess the efficacy of a classic ketogenic diet versus further antiseizure medication. No evidence was found that a ketogenic diet was better than additional antiseizure medication at achieving seizure control in infants, and the two treatments were similarly tolerated. Link to article.

⚡️ Psychological Precursors of Epileptic Seizures: This exploratory study used patient data to examine whether seizures would be preceded by significant changes in reported stressors. Fourteen epilepsy outpatients completed daily questionnaires over 87–898 days. In 50% of patients, seizures were preceded by a significant increase in stressors and/or a significant decrease in resource utilization. Link to article.

New in News

🧪 Researchers Advocate for Adults with Epilepsy to Receive Genetic Testing if Etiology is Unknown: Study results presented at the 2023 American Epilepsy Society (AES) Annual Meeting underscore the importance of genetic testing in adults with unknown causes of epilepsy. Link to article.

💥 Teens With Epilepsy Face Higher Odds for Eating Disorders: Researchers found that approximately 8.4% of children aged 10–19 at a Boston epilepsy clinic had an eating disorder. This is three times the national average (2.7%) of teens with an eating disorder. Particularly, children with a lower BMI and those who experienced psychogenic non-epileptic seizures were found to be at a greater risk. Link to article.

💸 CureSHANK to award $250,000 for stimulating research on SHANK3-related epilepsy: The CureSHANK Research to Cure Grant will provide targeted funding to support SHANK3-related epilepsy research projects, with the aim to improve mechanistic and clinical knowledge of SHANK3-related epilepsy. This opportunity is open to investigators employed by institutions engaged in healthcare or health-related research. Link to article.

Featured

Under the Lights: An Award-Winning Epilepsy Film

Under the Lights portrays the story of Sam, a boy with epilepsy. Desperate to feel like a normal kid, he goes to the prom, even though he knows the lights will cause him to have a seizure. Written and directed by filmmaker with epilepsy, Miles Levin, the poignant feature film aims to fight stigma and raise awareness.

The producers are currently working on a full-length Under the Lights film, which you can read more about here.

Community Corner

💜 Finally made it to six months seizure-free: Reddit user Ok-Ad4375 shared an uplifting milestone, celebrating six months of her daughter being seizure-free after trying a range of different medicines. Read the full post.

📻 Living with epilepsy, Kentuckians share their stories to raise awareness: Kentucky Sports Radio founder and host Matt Jones shares his story with the Epilepsy Foundation of Kentuckiana to raise awareness and educate the public on epilepsy. He states, “Epilepsy can be a very lonely feeling…you have something happen that is very hard to describe…and that’s hard for people to understand.” By sharing his story, he hopes to give a voice to others like him. Read the full post.

🧠 3 Questions: Laura Beretsky's Life and Lessons with Epilepsy: In this short interview, Laura Beretsky, diagnosed with epilepsy at age 6, discusses her memoir “Seizing Control” with MIT News. She shares her experience with epilepsy, discrimination, and her major surgery to reduce seizures. Beretsky also sheds light on her disability advocacy work and how employers can create a more inclusive workplace for “invisible” conditions. Read the full post.

Resources and Tools

📖 The Epilepsy Hub: A knowledge-base for current information about Epilepsy, including live feeds of the latest clinical trials and publications, news articles, community stories, and more. Visit the Epilepsy Hub.

📱 Health tracking: Human Health is a free mobile app that helps you track Epilepsy symptoms and treatments. Download the app here.

💬 Support groups: You can find a list of Epilepsy support groups (in-person and virtual) on the Epilepsy Foundation Website. Link to list.

Inspiration and Motivation