Greetings CURE Epilepsy community,
November is Epilepsy Awareness Month, an opportunity for the community to come together and raise awareness of how common epilepsy is, unite in fighting the stigma associated with epilepsy, and reinforce the importance of funding research to find a cure. The facts remain, 1 in 26 Americans will be impacted by epilepsy in their lifetime and 65 million people are living with epilepsy globally. Epilepsy is the fourth most common neurological disease in the US but is much less understood and receives significantly less funding than other neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s, autism, and Alzheimer’s.
As COVID-19 continues to limit our ability for in-person activities it becomes even more important to use this month to talk about epilepsy with your friends and loved ones. Throughout November, we’ll be posting videos and articles on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for you to share to spread awareness about living with epilepsy. A great place to start is with this video where people with epilepsy, families and community members share their hopes for a future free from epilepsy.
In this CURE Epilepsy update, please also find information on:
- Upcoming Webinar: Disparities in Epilepsy: Overcoming Barriers to Improve Care and Treatment Outcomes
- CURE Epilepsy Discovery: Epilepsy Surgery May Be Beneficial in Reducing SUDEP
- What’s New from the Seizing Life® podcast
- Save the Date: Kendra Scott Teams Up to Raise Money for CURE Epilepsy
Webinar: Disparities in Epilepsy: Overcoming Barriers to Improve Care and Treatment Outcomes
Register
Disparities in epilepsy healthcare have been identified based on factors such as socioeconomic position, race and ethnicity, and address. On Monday November 16 at 12:00 pm CT, join us for a webinar that will define the social determinants of health and health disparities and how these translate to the epilepsy community, as well as identifying strategies that can address these disparities in epilepsy care.
The Leaders in Epilepsy Research Webinar Series is made possible by the generous support of the BAND Foundation.
CURE Epilepsy Discovery: Epilepsy Surgery May Be Beneficial in Reducing SUDEP
Learn More
For people who have epilepsy surgery, there may be a reduction in death, and statistically significant fewer deaths from Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP), suggests research from CURE Epilepsy grantee Dr. Lisa Bateman (left) and her collaborator Dr. Catherine Schevon (right). Based on their analysis of data comparing mortality of those who underwent epilepsy surgery versus those who did not, Drs. Bateman and Schevon found that those who underwent surgery had a reduction not only in the occurrence of death, but significantly fewer deaths from SUDEP.
These findings provide evidence of additional potential benefits from epilepsy surgery in reducing the overall mortality rate, including SUDEP. A larger scale study will be instrumental in understanding how long these benefits last and whether there are any other factors that might predict who is at great risk for SUDEP post-surgery
New from Seizing Life, A CURE Epilepsy Podcast
Watch or listen
Catch up on the latest episodes of our Seizing Life podcast where we share:
- Advice from our host Kelly Cervantes and her husband Miguel on how to cope with the impacts and challenges of parenting a special needs child.
Listen or Watch - What two moms, Libby Boyce and Jessica Brandes, who each lost a son to SUDEP, wished they had known, and how that is driving them to transform their grief into awareness and action.
Listen or Watch
Save The Date: Kendra Scott teams up to raise money for CURE Epilepsy
Learn More
Looking for a holiday present that both delights and gives back? Then you won’t want to miss the Kendra Scott + CURE Epilepsy “Give Back” event. Purchase any Kendra Scott item online on November 5-6 using the code GIVEBACK00CA and CURE Epilepsy will receive 20% of the proceeds. This is an exciting opportunity to buy gifts for yourself or loved ones and help fund the incredibly important epilepsy research CURE Epilepsy does.
Upcoming CURE Epilepsy Events:
- November 5-6: Kendra Scott + CURE Epilepsy Give Back event – Old Orchard Mall, Skokie, IL and Online
- November 7-8: Dressage for a Cause – Batavia, OH
- December 1: #GivingTuesday – Online