These grants were made in 2006 by the Epilepsy Research Foundation.

What is the link between febrile seizures in childhood and epilepsy later in life?

About 5% of all children under the age of five years will experience at some point a seizure caused by a fever. These are called febrile seizures. These seizures are not normally serious, and go away when the fever subsides. However, if these seizures are long or occur frequently, developing temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) in adulthood is more likely. This form of epilepsy is often not treatable with current anti-epileptic drugs.

Scientists think that the febrile seizures may cause some sort of damage to the brain cells in the hippocampus, and that this is then the cause of the seizures many years later. These developments may be linked by the activity of a protein called interleukin-1, which is part of the body's immune system. Interleukin-1 helps generate and regulate the body's immune response. Developing a fever is also part of this natural immune response.

Dr Stuart Allan at the University of Manchester has been awarded £59,518 over three years to investigate this link. This project, called "The association between febrile seizures and temporal lobe epilepsy and the role of interleukin-1", will look for the link by studying interleukin-1 levels and distribution in the brain. Dr Allan will look at whether these levels can be affected by genetic background or by the administration of anti-inflammatory drugs. If interleukin-1 is proved to be part of the development of TLE from febrile seizures, this may provide the basis for a new treatment for febrile seizures in children which will reduce their chances of getting TLE later in life.

UK-wide survey of refractory convulsive status epilepticus in children

Most seizures end naturally after just a few seconds or minutes. Occasionally, they can last much longer, as much as 30 minutes or more. These seizures are then called status epilepticus. A very long tonic-clonic seizure is called convulsive status epilepticus. This can be treated, but sometimes the drugs do not work and the status continues. This is then called "Refractory convulsive status epilepticus" (RCSE). This is a serious medical emergency and, particularly in children, may cause brain damage or death. The treatment of RCSE is therefore very important. There is currently no agreement amongst doctors on which drugs and treatments should be used to treat RCSE.

The sum of £6,657 has been awarded to Dr Richard Appleton of the Roald Dahl EEG Unit, Royal Liverpool Children's Hospital, and his colleagues, to carry out a national audit of RCSE in the UK. This study will look at all children admitted to intensive care with RCSE over the course of one year. The researchers will study how many children get RCSE, what caused each case, what treatment was given in hospital and what happened to the patients afterwards. This will indicate which treatments are the safest and most effective, and could lead to a trial comparing them. It will also be used to find new and improved treatments for RCSE. It is hoped that this work will ensure fewer children suffer brain damage or death because of RCSE.