Epilepsy Research UK was formed following
the merger of the Epilepsy Research Foundation
and the Fund for Epilepsy, in April 2007.
It supports and promotes basic and clinical
scientific research into the causes, treatments
and prevention of epilepsy; and is the only
national charity in the UK that funds independent
research exclusively into this condition.
Epilepsy Research UK supports the work
of scientists and clinicians throughout
the UK, who are investigating all aspects
of epilepsy in both adults and children.
They are especially looking at what causes
epilepsy, who gets it, what goes on in the
brain during a seizure, and safer drugs
and better surgical techniques to treat
it.
Our annual research spending is about £800,000
- raised almost wholly through donations
from the public - and we fund 4-9 new research
projects each year.
Our funds support individual students and
scientists based in university departments,
medical schools and hospitals across the
country. They also allow academic institutions
to invest in much-needed equipment.
In addition, Epilepsy Research UK arranges
technical workshops and scientific meetings
to encourage collaboration between researchers.
We work closely with other epilepsy charities
to ensure that epilepsy is recognised in
Government health and social care policy.
Developments in drug therapy and medical
scanning, along with major breakthroughs
in the study of the human genome, mean that
great progress has been made in understanding
the causes of epilepsy in recent years.
These are exciting times in epilepsy research
and Epilepsy Research UK is proud to be
supporting some of the key researchers in
the UK, who are pushing forward our knowledge
of epilepsy. Even greater advances will
be made in the coming years and the research
that we fund will be at the forefront of
developments to control, and perhaps even
cure, epilepsy.
