We’re ringing in the first day of the month with a brand new roundup of everything happening in the world of epilepsy, thoughtfully curated by the team at Human Health.

In this edition, we’ve highlighted research showing an increased risk of dementia in people with post-traumatic epilepsy, a fundraising milestone for a charity in Wisconsin, and how one TikTok influencer shares her life with her service dog Echo.

If someone you know would enjoy the content in the Epilepsy Digest, please share it with them! Forwarding is encouraged 💜

If this email has been shared with you, you can subscribe to the Epilepsy Digest here.

Latest Research and News

Recent publications

🧠 Posttraumatic Epilepsy and Dementia Risk: This paper investigates the association of posttraumatic epilepsy (PTE) with dementia risk. The findings reveal that PTE is associated with a significantly higher risk of dementia compared to head injury or seizure/epilepsy alone. This emphasizes the importance of preventing head injuries through public health measures and further encourages research into the underlying mechanisms and risk factors for the development of PTE in order to prevent dementia. Link to the study.

🤰 Therapeutic drug monitoring in pregnancy: Levetiracetam: Researchers wanted to know if levels of anti-seizure medicine Levetiracetam in the body changed during pregnancy. They found that the levels decreased during pregnancy and then increased suddenly after giving birth. This suggests that monitoring is essential for women with epilepsy during pregnancy and that dosing plans may need to be adjusted for women prior, during, and after pregnancy. Link to the study.

🍽️ Efficacy of daily versus intermittent low glycemic index therapy diet in children with drug-resistant epilepsy: A randomized controlled trial: This study investigated whether a specialized diet could help to reduce seizures in children with untreated epilepsy and compared being on the diet daily vs. 5 days per week. While the study did find a reduction in seizures in some participants it was not the case for all. Nevertheless, there was a comparable response for people in both the intermittent and daily groups. This suggests that a reduction in seizures could be possible for some children on the diet, even if they were only on the diet for part of the week. Link to the study.

New in News

🐀 Avenue Therapeutics announces publication in drug development research: Avenue Therapeutics has published a successful study showing their drug “BAER-101” was able to suppress seizures in rats that are specially bred to mimic a form of genetic absence epilepsy. Avenue Therapeutics now plans to conduct a further study to investigate the effect of the drug in human participants. Link to article.

💊 Epilepsy medication shortage 'making me anxious': UK residents have been concerned over a potential shortage of medications including those used to treat epilepsy. The UK Department of Health and Social Care stated they have “taken swift action to improve the supply”. They also suggested that while “medicine supply issues do not only affect the UK [there are] a range of well established processes and tools to manage [shortages]” Link to article

Featured

Joey’s Song raises over $1 million for epilepsy research

The Joseph Gomoll Foundation's annual Joey’s Song event, organized to raise funds for epilepsy research, recently hosted a successful battle of the bands at the Sylvee in Madison, Wisconsin. The event featured members of renowned bands such as Cheap Trick and The Bangles.

The proceeds from the event, totaling $325,000, has added to the 13-year cumulative total, surpassing an amazing $1,000,000. The funds benefit CURE Epilepsy, select epilepsy foundation affiliates, and the Wisconsin Badger Camp. The foundation was established in 2010 after Joseph Gomoll's death from Dravet Syndrome, a rare form of epilepsy, and has since become a significant contributor to epilepsy education and fundraising.

You can read more about Joey’s Song here

Community Corner

🐕 Service dogs and epilepsy: TikTok influencer @embracingecho shares stories about her journey with epilepsy and how her service dog Echo supports and helps her during seizures (as well as how he likes to sit on top of the fridge!). Link to profile

📺 Living with Epilepsy: The University of Kansas Health System shares their Morning Medical Update all about epilepsy. They share the story of Grace Lindsey who experienced multiple seizures a day until undergoing transformative surgery and is now seizure free. The team interview Grace and her mom to talk about their journey. Link to the video

Resources and Tools

💊 Rescue Medications and Therapies: Epilepsy Alliance America have prepared seizure medication training videos in English and Spanish. Watch the videos here.

📱 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