Sharp Waves: ILAE's epilepsy podcast

Send comments and feedback Could annual dramatic shifts in day/night patterns in the Arctic have an effect on seizures? One researcher went looking for answers – and found more than he bargained for. His research revealed a public health crisis in one of the wealthiest countries in the world, highlighting the needs of geographically isolated communities and Indigenous peoples. (He also found intri...

Send comments and feedback Anti-seizure medications are not a cure, and about 30% of people with epilepsy don't respond to them. How are new medications discovered, and what's on the horizon?  Dr. Patricia Grandizoli Saletti interviews Dr. Karen Wilcox about her work with the Anticonvulsive Drug Development Program. Only about two-thirds of people with epilepsy have their seizures contro...

Send comments and feedback Can electrical current stop seizures, or make seizures less severe? How does it work, and who can benefit?  Dr. Laurent Sheybani interviews Dr. Robert Fisher about deep-brain stimulation for epilepsy. Disclosure: Dr. Fisher is a consultant for Medtronic but receives no compensation for using its deep-brain stimulation devices. Deep-brain stimulation (DBS) is the newest o...

Send comments and feedback Someone who has persistent seizures that last more than 24 hours, despite treatment, is in super refractory status epilepticus, or SRSE. The condition is rare, but often results in death or disability. Bringing someone out of SRSE usually involves treatment with anti-seizure medications and anesthetics, but other therapies are beginning to gain attention. One of those th...

Send comments and feedback How can you describe your first seizures to a doctor if you don't remember them happening? What if your university professors don't believe you have epilepsy? How do you handle misinformation from family and friends about what epilepsy is? Bright M. Bwalya has had to answer each of these questions, and more. Diagnosed with epilepsy in 2016, Bright coupled his e...

Send comments and feedback Before 2018, epilepsy in Zambia was treated as a mental illness by the health care system,  though many people viewed it as a manifestation of demonic possession or witchcraft. Epilepsy education for the public was non-existent, and specialty care unheard of.  Now Zambia's first neurology training program, launched in 2018, is shifting an entire country's perce...