Epilepsy is the second most common neurological condition worldwide, after headaches.In Ontario, it affects 76,000 people.
The disorder causes seizures of varying kinds and intensity. But people with epilepsy must also live with other devastating results of their illness: the social stigma associated with seizures, difficulty finding employment, loss of driving privileges, cognitive decline and memory impairment, and higher mortality rates. The cost to society is also significant. A recent study estimated that the Ontario economy loses $319 million every year in lost productivity due to epilepsy.
The Ontario Brain Institute challenged neuroscientists across the province to come up with a new approach to addressing epilepsy, in the context of an Integrated Discovery program. “Integrated Discovery” is a unique template, developed by the OBI, that brings together researchers, clinicians, industry and patient advocates to maximize fresh insights and speed translation of those insights into better care.
THE EPILEPSY INTEGRATED DISCOVERY PROGRAM: EPLINK
The Epilepsy Discovery Program (EpLink) is a research-based innovative initiative designed to improve the care of epilepsy from diagnosis to treatment. The program’s mandate is to ensure that discoveries are transformed into new diagnostics, treatments and improved clinical practice. The emphasis is on translational science and involves a province-wide collaboration between Ontario’s world-class epilepsy researchers and clinicians, patient advocacy groups and the industrial sector. This collaborative initiative is bridging the translational gap and improving commercialization of innovations
Visit the EpLink Website:
Watch the EpLink video:
- Disruption of rolandic gamma-band functional connectivity by seizures is associated with motor impairments in children with epilepsy
- Altered rolandic gamma-band activation associated with motor impairment and icatal network desynchronization in childhood epilepsy