Research into epilepsy can be divided into
three main categories:
Basic research
Basic research is laboratory research. It
asks fundamental questions about the way
the brain works, the way drugs work in the
brain, and the way our genes influence these
things. Examples of questions being investigated
now are:
How does a seizure start and what makes
it spread?
What makes seizures stop?
How do anti-epileptic drugs interact
with brain cells to produce their effects
(both in stopping seizures and in causing
side effects)?
Why do some people respond to anti-epileptic
drugs and not others? What's different about
them? Is it genetic?
What effects do seizures have on the
brain?
Which genes are implicated in causing
epilepsy? Which one causes (or more likely,
which combinations cause) which syndromes?
How do they do this?
Clinical research
Clinical research investigates new treatments
in human patients, particularly their efficacy
and safety. It asks questions about what
sorts of epilepsy there are, and what they're
like. Examples of questions being investigated
now are:
How many people with epilepsy are there?
What sorts of epilepsy do they have? What
sorts of seizures do they have? When in
life did their epilepsy develop?
Can we predict whether a patient will
respond well to anti-epileptic drugs? If
so, what are the predicting factors?
How well do anti-epileptic drugs work?
What proportion of people become seizure-free
on them? What side effects do they have?
Do they have any long-term effects? Do they
work on many different types of seizures
or only in one type?
What treatments work for the resistant
types of epilepsy, such as some types of
status epilepticus?
What sorts of epilepsy can we treat
with surgery or radiosurgery? What are the
side effects?
How effective are the newer types of
treatment for epilepsy, including vagus
nerve stimulation, innovative surgical techniques,
or other techniques such as focal cooling?
What causes SUDEP? Can we predict who's
at risk for SUDEP? Can we prevent SUDEP?
Qualitative research
This kind of research looks at issues affecting
patients, finding out how good our treatment
of patients is, from their perspective.
Questions asked include:
What are patients' perceptions of their
treatment? What worries do they have about
their treatment?
Are patients happy with the amount of
information they have about epilepsy? Do
they feel confident being able to find out
more?
Do the treatment and care needs of patients
differ depending on their age or social,
economic or cultural background?
What results to patients want from their
treatment? Is complete seizure freedom the
ultimate treatment goal? What level of side
effects is acceptable?
These are just some of the questions researchers
worldwide are looking into at the moment.
Epilepsy Research UK is proud to be able
to help the work towards finding some of
the answers. Click
here to find out what work we're funding.
Click here to find out how
you can help.
