There are different types of epilepsy surgery to help control seizures. An important step before surgery occurs is to identify the precise area in the brain where seizures start. In resective epilepsy surgery, doctors remove the area of the brain where seizures are thought to begin. Sometimes, when seizures start in different areas, more brain…
Video electroencephalography, or vEEG, is a widely used technique in the assessment for epilepsy surgery. vEEG is used in a hospital setting in an epilepsy monitoring unit (EMU), where a medical team can observe the physical symptoms of a person’s seizure and match these symptoms with their brain activity. This helps surgeons to identify where…
-Project aims to develop potential cures for drug-resistant epilepsy and Dravet Syndrome- Toronto, ON – November 21, 2017 – EpLink – The Epilepsy Research Program of the Ontario Brain Institute – and Katie’s Run – announced today that proceeds from the 6th Annual Katie’s Run for Epilepsy will support the EpLink Genetics Project led by…
SUDEP, or sudden unexpected death in epilepsy, occurs when an otherwise healthy person with epilepsy dies suddenly or unexpectedly, and no clear cause of death can be found. Although SUDEP is rare, the risk is highest in people with uncontrolled generalized tonic clonic seizures, and it tends to occur at night or during sleep. Researchers…
Adaptive functioning (AF) describes how well a person manages the day-to-day demands of independent living. It includes motor, social, communication, personal living, and community living skills. Higher AF is associated with better educational and employment outcomes, and can predict life achievement in young adulthood for people with epilepsy. Children with epilepsy who have uncontrolled seizures,…
Small variations in DNA (the genetic material that contains a blueprint for our development) are natural and are what makes each person’s DNA code unique. However, when variation causes certain sections of DNA to disappear, it can lead to disease. This is the case with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome, or 22q11.2 DS (the name may sound…
Quality of life (QoL) is a primary concern for children with epilepsy and their families. Different factors have been associated with QoL, which means it can be difficult to predict. Dr. Gabriel Ronen and colleagues wanted to investigate why some children with epilepsy report satisfaction with their lives while others do not. If researchers can…
Research indicates that people who have suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI) are at risk of developing epilepsy. However, it is not clear why some develop epilepsy and others do not. Dr. Jorge Burneo and his colleagues hope to shed some light on this question. Their study involves two parts: The first part looks back…
What is the relationship between epilepsy, birth weight and readiness for school? To study this question, Drs. Prasad and Corbett looked at a set of data collected over time from a group of children aged 4 to 5 years old, and compared this data with 20 children diagnosed with epilepsy using survey data collected by…
Avertus Inc., the biotechnology company founded by Drs. Peter Carlen and Berj Bardakjian, has been developing new wearable technology that can improve seizure control. Their innovative headset contains sensors that can continuously monitor electrical activity from ten different brain areas using electrodes placed on the scalp (a technique known as electroencephalography, or EEG). The information…