CURE Update: Let’s Unite to CURE Epilepsy
September 8, 2020
Greetings CURE community,
Unite to CURE Epilepsy, our inaugural virtual fundraising event, is only a few short weeks away! I hope you’ll join us on Thursday, September 24 at 7PM CT for this inspirational evening showcasing tenacity, discovery, and hope as we raise critically needed funds to support epilepsy research.
Unite to CURE Epilepsy will be hosted by award-winning journalist and MSNBC’s Morning Joe contributor Mike Barnicle and feature Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Eric Church, and Nils Lofgren. Tune in on Facebook Live and YouTube Live for wonderful performances, research insights, and moving community stories.
Plus leading up to the event, we will highlight the impacts of epilepsy research with a daily featured topic during CURE Week! Read on for more details.
In addition to these exciting events, in this update please find:
- Webinar and Q&A: Treating Dravet Syndrome with Fenfluramine
- CURE Discovery: The Connection Between Chronic Stress, Epilepsy, and Autism
- CURE Champions Cross the Finish Line Raising $72,000 to Support Research
- What’s New from the Seizing Life® Podcast
Discover Impacts of Research during CURE Week
Discover fascinating research projects and learn how they have the potential to change lives during CURE Week. From September 21-25, visit our Facebook page or YouTube channel daily where we highlight the real-world, positive impacts of epilepsy research. CURE Week will explore a different topic each day; pediatric epilepsy, acquired epilepsy, treatment-resistant epilepsy, SUDEP, and the road to a cure. Join us to see how scientific advancements are making a difference for people around the world.
Webinar and Q&A: Treating Dravet Syndrome with Fenfluramine
Fenfluramine (Fintepla®) is now FDA-approved to treat Dravet syndrome. Tomorrow, September 9 at 12PM CT, leading expert Dr. Joseph Sullivan will dive into the information parents and caregivers should know, including potential side effects. After the presentation, Dr. Sullivan will address questions from the audience.
This webinar was made possible by the generous support of Zogenix.
CURE Discovery: The Connection Between Chronic Stress, Epilepsy, and Autism
In a CURE-funded study, Dr. Daniel Barth and his team worked to understand why chronic stress late in pregnancy and the early days of life is a risk factor for both epilepsy and autism. The team tested if stopping brain inflammation caused by stress could prevent or treat both conditions in a rat model of epilepsy and autism. Unexpectedly, they found that the treatment relieved the autistic-like symptoms but had virtually no effect on the development of epilepsy.
CURE Champions Cross the Finish Line Raising $72,000 to Support Research
This summer CURE Champions raised an amazing $72,000 with socially-distant fitness events! The Ella Mile and ReSearching for a CURE brought people together locally and around the country to support epilepsy research and honor the 1 in 26 Americans who will be diagnosed with epilepsy in their lifetimes.
For the Ella Mile, CURE Champion Shalee Cunneen and CURE Board Member Blake Cunneen decked out their neighborhood with signs sponsored by friends and family spaced 26 feet apart. During ReSearching for a CURE, people from around the country aimed to walk or run 26 miles in six weeks while fundraising along the way.
New from Seizing Life®, a CURE Podcast
Catch up on the latest episodes of the Seizing Life podcast where we discuss:
- Types of seizures and epilepsy, explained in simple terms. Listen or Watch
- How one organization created a unique housing model for individuals with special needs that aims to foster belonging and empower independence. Listen or Watch