Infantile Spasms
CURE Epilepsy directed its unique resources to establish a team science-based initiative to support research into this devastating disorder.
SUDEP
The reduction in the occurrence of SUDEP for those who have had surgery appeared to be most significant in the first 10 years post-surgery.
Genetics
As a physician who cares for pediatric patients living with severe epilepsy syndromes, Dr. Mefford has firsthand knowledge of the devastating impacts of seizures in children.
Researchers found that the treatment relieved the autistic-like symptoms but had virtually no effect on the development of epilepsy. This surprising result suggests that the two disorders may have distinct underlying causes and should be treated differently.
Temporal Lobe Epilepsy
Restoring disrupted firing patterns may someday provide relief from the memory deficits and cognitive delays that accompany temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE).
CURE Grantee Dr. Detlev Boison and his team discovered that short-term use of a substance called 5-ITU prevents epilepsy from developing in mouse models of acquired epilepsy.
The team found that inhibiting EZH2 activity increased the frequency and severity of seizures, suggesting that EZH2 protects against the development of seizures and may be a potential new therapeutic target.
Post-Traumatic Epilepsy
One exciting, ongoing PTE project is led by Dr. Jeffrey Loeb of the University of Illinois at Chicago. Dr. Loeb’s team project will focus on a type of bleeding commonly caused by TBI called subarachnoid hemorrhage.
SUDEP
Generalized tonic-clonic seizures and sleeping alone identified as significant risk factors for SUDEP.
