The FINANCIAL — University of Liverpool scientists have been boosted £1m by the Medical Research Council to research the brain mechanisms contributing to cognitive problems and treatment outcome in people with a new diagnosis of epilepsy.
Newly diagnosed epilepsy
Every day in the UK, 87 people are diagnosed with epilepsy, affecting over 600,000 people. Many people with a new diagnosis of epilepsy will experience memory and other cognitive problems. The cause of these problems is unknown.
Anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) are used to control seizures in people with epilepsy. However, up to 40% of people with epilepsy fail to have their seizures controlled by AEDs. It is currently impossible to predict which patients will have seizures controlled in the early stages of epilepsy.
Liverpool Epilepsy Research Group
Researchers from the University’s Institute of Translational Medicine, led by Dr Simon Keller, will use sophisticated brain imaging techniques to understand how the brain is affected in the early stages of epilepsy.
An important part of the research will be to follow patients up through the early stages of the disorder and to determine whether brain anatomy and physiology at the time of diagnosis can explain cognitive impairment and predict future treatment outcome.
