Although many have their epilepsy controlled with medication, about one third of people with epilepsy continue to have seizures despite treatment.
This figure has not changed significantly over the last few decades, despite new antiepileptic medication.
Neuroimaging research funded by ERUK has been crucial to understanding the brain areas involved in language, learning and memory in children being considered for epilepsy surgery, and to making that surgery safer.
A grant made by ERUK ten years ago was the beginning of a project which has now resulted in potential gene therapies for drug-resistant epilepsy.
A research team working on a project on epilepsy-related deaths in Scotland spoke at the Scottish parliament on reducing the mortality rate of people with epilepsy.
Our research has highlighted potential dangers to children born to women taking AEDs, resulting in the government issuing new prescription guidelines.
Clinical trials of existing drugs for the treatment of memory dysfunction in people with temporal lobe epilepsy are underway thanks to support from ERUK for the underpinning research.
Immunotherapy has been discovered – thanks to ERUK research – to be an effective treatment for faciobrachial dystonic seizures, a seizure disorder affecting the arms and face.
As a direct result of ERUK-funded research, methods used for focal epilepsy surgery have improved and are being used in specialist neurology clinics, and may lead to altered practice worldwide.
Using Researchfish – the independent research impact assessment platform – we have tracked the success of the research we have funded over the last 5 years. Looking at these figures we can confirm that every £1 invested by Epilepsy Research UK has generated a further £5.82 for epilepsy research (current as of June 2021).
