News

A new study which looked at the working relationship between HSE Epilepsy Nurse Specialists and Epilepsy Ireland’s Community Resource Officers in delivering patient-centred care for people with epilepsy in Ireland has recently been published in the Journal of Interprofessional Care.

The study used a participatory action research (PAR) approach and featured collaboration between FutureNeuro, Royal College of Surgeons, NUI Maynooth, St. James’ Hospital & DCU.

A new study recently published in the Journal of Neuroscience has revealed how memory and abnormal brain activity are linked in people with epilepsy.

Memory impairment or loss is a common complaint amongst people with epilepsy and this study, which was conducted by Cedars-Sinai in the US, investigated the area of the brain which is key to memory –the hippocampus.

A major new study recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine has stated that levetiracetam (Keppra), fosphenytoin (Pro-Epanutin) and valproate (Epilim) are equally effective in the treatment of Status Epilepticus.

The international study featured collaboration between a number of institutions in the UK & the US and sought to establish whether the drugs stated above are effective in the treatment of Status Epilepticus.

A new study undertaken by a number of institutions in the United States and recently published in the journal, JAMA Neurology , has recommended that mothers with epilepsy continue to breastfeed as normal despite being on epilepsy medication.

A recent study from the University of Alabama in the USA published in the medical journal, Epilepsy & Behaviour has looked at the use of the Responsive Neurostimulator System (RNS) in the treatment of conditions associated with epilepsy.

We are delighted that Epilepsy Ireland’s proposal was one of the 122 projects from around the country to receive funding under the SláinteCare Integration Fund.

The Fund was established to support innovative projects led by hospitals, primary care centres and patient organisations that have the potential to improve citizen engagement in their own healthcare or that can encourage a shift in care from the hospital to the community.

As 2019 draws to a close, it allows for a period of reflection on the work of our organisation over the past 12 months. We are immensely proud to have been a continuous pillar of support to people with epilepsy and their families over the year and we look forward to continuing our work in 2020.

Epilepsy Ireland would like to congratulate our colleagues in FutureNeuro after it was confirmed that €3.9mill has been awarded for their Blockchain & AI-Enabled Stratified Trial System (BESTS) project.

Funding was granted under the Disruptive Technology Innovation Fund (DTIF) which is run by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation.

At the December meeting of the Board of Epilepsy Ireland, Cathy Grieve was elected as the new Chairperson of our charity.

Cathy has lived with epilepsy since her diagnosis in 2008 and was originally appointed to the Board in 2014. She has a background in media and journalism and spent 19 years with the BBC. Cathy originally became involved with Epilepsy Ireland through our awareness raising and advocacy work and she has been Secretary of the Board since 2016.

New data regarding the use of Epidyolex (Cannabiniol) in the treatment of the rare condition tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) has pointed to the use of the product having a positive impact in seizure frequency for the patients included in the trial.

The findings of the study were presented recently at the annual meeting of the American Epilepsy Society.