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Email AlertsJoin our email group to receive updated information on this topic. How Can I Help Research on Epilepsy?
There are many ways that people with epilepsy and their families can help with research on this disorder. Pregnant women with epilepsy who are taking antiepileptic drugs can help researchers learn how these drugs affect unborn children by participating in the Antiepileptic Drug Pregnancy Registry, which is maintained by the Genetics and Teratology Unit of Massachusetts General Hospital (see section on Pregnancy and Motherhood). People with epilepsy that may be hereditary can aid research by participating in the Epilepsy Gene Discovery Project, which is supported by the Epilepsy Foundation. This project helps to educate people with epilepsy about new genetic research on the disorder and enlists families with hereditary epilepsy for participation in gene research. People who enroll in this project are asked to create a family tree showing which people in their family have or have had epilepsy. Researchers then examine this information to determine if the epilepsy is in fact hereditary, and they may invite participants to enroll in genetic research studies. In many cases, identifying the gene defect responsible for epilepsy in an individual family leads researchers to new clues about how epilepsy develops. It also can provide opportunities for early diagnosis and genetic screening of individuals in the family. People with epilepsy can help researchers test new medications, surgical techniques, and other treatments by enrolling in clinical trials. Information on clinical trials can be obtained from the NINDS as well as many private pharmaceutical and biotech companies, universities, and other organizations. A person who wishes to participate in a clinical trial must ask his or her regular physician to refer him or her to the doctor in charge of that trial and to forward all necessary medical records. While experimental therapies may benefit those who participate in clinical trials, patients and their families should remember that all clinical trials also involve some risks. Therapies being tested in clinical trials may not work, and in some cases doctors may not yet be certain that the therapies are safe. Patients should be certain they understand the risks before agreeing to participate in a clinical trial. NINDS supports a number of Epilepsy Research Centers that perform a broad spectrum of clinical research on epilepsy. Some of the studies require patient volunteers. A list of these centers is available from the NIH Neurological Institute, which can be reached at the address and phone number found on the Information Resources card in the back pocket of this brochure. Patients and their families also can help epilepsy research by donating their brain to a brain bank after death. Brain banks supply researchers with tissue they can use to study epilepsy and other disorders. Below are some brain banks that accept tissue from patients with epilepsy: Brain and Tissue Bank for Neurological Disorders (tissue from children only)| (tissue from adults only) National Disease Research Interchange National Neurological Research Specimen Bank Source: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke |
