Research Portfolio

2014 grant: EEG-biofeedback is a non-invasive learning strategy that can enable a person to alter his/her brain wave activity. It has already been shown to be a safe and effective therapeutic option for some adults with epilepsy, but as yet there are no data available for children. Here Mrs Parker and colleagues will assess the feasibility of using EEG-biofeedback as a therapeutic tool in children with BCECTS. Click on the title or picture to read about this pilot grant!

2014 grant: Epilepsy is more common in adults with learning disability than in the ‘general population’, and there is concern amongst professionals and carers about the physical and behavioural side effects of anti-epileptic drug (AED) treatment in this group. However, it is unclear how best to identify and measure these side effects and their impact on wellbeing. Click on the title or picture to read about this project grant!

2014 grant: For women with epilepsy pregnancy requires very careful planning, because several anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) have been shown to increase the chance of birth defects in the unborn child. Exposure to certain AEDs before birth can also have effects upon a child’s behaviour and development, but the nature of these is not fully understood and further research is needed. Click on the title or picture to read about this project grant!

2014 grant: The underlying mechanisms of SUDEP are not fully understood, but with more than 500 people in the UK dying in this way each year, it is a serious cause for concern. Click on the title or picture to read about this project grant!

2014 grant: Focal neocortical epilepsy (in which seizures arise in a specific part of the neocortex – the brain’s folded surface) is often resistant to anti-epileptic drugs, and there is an urgent need for new treatment strategies. Click on the title or picture to read about this fellowship award!

Grant round winners 2013 Reactive oxygen species (ROS), which include a number of free radicals, are thought to play important roles in ageing and cancer; and there is a growing use of anti-oxidants in [...]

Grant round winners 2013 The events leading up to a seizure are still not clear, and this makes it difficult for scientists to design the most effective anti-epileptic drugs. GABA, the main inhibitory [...]

Grant round winners 2013 Mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (mTLE) is the most common form of epilepsy in adults, and seizures normally originate in the hippocampi (singular=hippocampus – important memory c [...]

Grant round winners 2013 In recent years more than 70 genes have been linked to childhood epilepsies, and the search is still ongoing. Autoimmune conditions, in which the body’s immune system produces [...]

PILOT GRANT £29,897 over 8 months Awarded in 2013 SCIENTIFIC TITLE A mouse model of seizures in Down’s syndrome/Alzheimer’s disease LEAD INVESTIGATOR Dr Frances Wiseman CO-INVESTIGATORS Prof [...]

Grant round winners 2013 It is widely recognised that having a stroke greatly increases a person’s risk of epilepsy, and statistics show that stroke is the most common cause of epilepsy in people over [...]

Grant round winners 2013 In recent years there has been a growing interest in epilepsy susceptibility genes, and approximately 13 have been identified in humans to date. Susceptibility genes do not nec [...]