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65 MILLION people around the world live with epilepsy International Epilepsy Day will launch around the world on Monday 9 February 2015. Organised by the International Bureau for Epilepsy (IBE) and the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE), International Epilepsy Day will provide the platform for people with epilepsy to share their experiences and stories with a global audience and thereby to build a stronger epilepsy community. Developed in line with a strategy to advocate for appropriate legislation to guarantee human rights of people with epilepsy and to empower people with epilepsy to maximise their quality of life, International Epilepsy Day aims to highlight that: epilepsy still remains a hidden disease due to the stigma attached; it is treatable, yet 40% of people living with epilepsy in wealthier countries do not receive appropriate treatment. Over 70% of those living in low income countries cannot even access epilepsy medication regularly; lack of treatment imposes a huge financial burden on national health systems; research and legislation remain key issues in improving the quality of life of persons with epilepsy. Around the world, IBE and ILAE associations are holding events to highlight issues of particular relevance at national or regional level, while, internationally a series [...]

www.epilepsy.org IBE and ILAE are delighted to announce that the new website for International Epilepsy Day is launched. Events are taking place around the world to mark the first International Epilepsy Day. Visit the site to see just some of the events and activities that are taking place on 9th February 2015 VISIT THE WEBSITE - CLICK HERE Social Media - How YOU can help! Social media will play a huge role worldwide in getting the epilepsy awareness message out to the public. On February 9th there will be a worldwide effort to get #epilepsyday to trend on twitter and other social media sites. We're looking for all social media users to post a photo on the day using a sheet of paper to display the hashtag and your location. If you don't use social media, you can send us your photos and we will post them for you! Be part of the worldwide social media effort. We need you to get active on social media! Change your cover photo and profile picture to the International Epilepsy Day logo available on the download page Please share content and promote International Epilepsy Day using the hashtag #epilepsyday Take a "selfie" in a famous location in your country with #epilepsyday card. [...]

Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) 2 has just launched its 3rd call for proposals. The first topic on the call is titled RADAR: Remote Assessment of Disease and Relapse programme, which is exploring ways to ensure that the healthcare system moves from a ‘diagnose and treat’ stance to a ‘predict and pre-empt’ approach.     The first application will be in CNS and epilepsy is specifically mentioned as follows: Need and opportunity for public-private collaborative research The RADAR programme aims to test if new pre-emptive therapeutic strategies based on remote continuous monitoring are both scientifically feasible and also practically feasible as part of a wider healthcare system. Scientific feasibility will be performed via the individual topics of the RADAR programme to focus on the specifics of different disease areas. The first topic, detailed below, will study the fluctuation of the chronic diseases of depression, multiple sclerosis (MS) and epilepsy using remote monitoring technology to provide a foundation for developing a novel paradigm based on prediction and pre-emption. In the future, we intend to add other diseases to the CNS topic, such as pain and schizophrenia, and also add further topics in other disease areas such as airways disease and diabetes. Research in [...]

The Epilepsy Foundation supports a series of grants and fellowships to advance the understanding of epilepsy that will lead to better treatment, more effective prevention, and ultimately to a cure. Funding is available to researchers at all professional levels including students, junior investigators and established investigators.       The following opportunities are now available for Spring 2015 Epilepsy Foundation - New Therapy Commercialization Grants Program Epilepsy Innovation Seal of Excellence Award Targeted Research Initiative for Morbidity and Mortality For further information, PLEASE CLICK HERE

Do you have an innovative idea to help people with epilepsy and seizures?     Throw it to the sharks! The Epilepsy Foundation is inviting entries that represent the most innovative new ideas in epilepsy treatment and care for its fourth annual Shark Tank Competition. The winner(s) of the 2015 Shark Tank Competition will receive international recognition and compete for awards totaling $200,000 to support the development and commercialization of an important new product, technology or therapeutic concept to help people with epilepsy. The deadline for submitting a Letter of Intent (LOI) is Monday, February 16, 2015. For more information and entry details ... CLICK HERE  The Shark Tank review committee will select as many as six finalists. All finalists will be invited to present their product concepts or candidates at the 2015 Antiepileptic Drug and Device Trials XIII, scheduled from May 13-15, 2015, Turnberry Isle Resort, Aventura, Florida. The winning entry (or entries) will be selected through live voting by conference attendees, and a panel of judges (Sharks) representing physicians and scientists, corporate executives, leading industry investors, people with epilepsy, and advocates. The project(s) deemed to be the most innovative will be announced at the conference, and the winner(s) can [...]

This joint iniativate of the IBE and the ILAE will be a major event celebrated across the globe in the 138 of countries in which IBE and ILAE are represented. With both IBE and ILAE in official working relations with the WHO, and with IBE in Special Consultative Status in the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations, this will make International Epilepsy Day the most prestigious epilepsy event in the world. The first International Epilepsy Day will take place on Monday, 9th February 2015. Following on from this, the official day will be the second Monday of February each year. This world day for epilepsy will be a major step in improving epilepsy awareness in every region of the world, and will also highlight the urgent need for increased research into epilepsy. Recognising regional diversity, IBE’s members are grouped within seven regional structures following the WHO regional boundaries: Africa, Eastern Mediterranean, Europe, Latin America, North America, South East Asia and Western Pacific.  IBE currently has 135 members in 104 countries. ILAE  currently has 115 chapters in 127 countries.

The Winning Entry! We are delighted to announce the winner of our competition to find a logo for International Epilepsy Day. Launched in September, the competition attracted a large number of entries with some excellent designs. In the end, the logo that stood out as having best met the competition brief was a design submitted by a young man from Indonesia. The logo will now be made available to IBE and ILAE member associations and to all others, on request, who wish to use it in association with an event to celebrate International Epilepsy Day in a positive and inspiring way. We asked the designer, Masgustian, to tell us a little about himself, and his thoughts behind the design, and this is what he told us: [table id=67 /]  

IBE and ILAE Presidents take the Ice Bucket challenge for Epilepsy

IBE welcomed the Association for Supporting Children with Special Needs (Moldova) as a Full Member in March 2014.  Epilepsy Awareness The organization was founded in 2001 by a group of parents whose children had been diagnosed with epilepsy. Initially the organization was named called The Association for Supporting Children with Epilepsy. For the first 10 years of activity, the list of beneficiaries included children with a range of different disabilities. In 2011 it was renamed as the Association for Supporting Children with Special Needs (ASCSN) and its range of activities was expanded. The Association for Supporting Children with Special Needs was sponsored and supported by the Star of Hope International in Sweden, Finland, and Romania and developed programs to address the problems of children with special needs in the Republic of Moldova. Due to the partnership and sponsorship with the above mentioned organizations the association succeeded in opening the ‘New Hope’ Rehabilitation Centre of Habilitation and Resources. Summer Camps for Children and Parents. ASCSN promotes the observance of children's rights, of young people with special needs and their families in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Moldova and the United Nations Convention on the Children’s Rights. Vision: All children and youth with epilepsy and other disabilities will have [...]

The therapeutic potential of medical marijuana and pure cannabidiol (CBD), an active substance in the cannabis plant, for neurologic conditions is highly debated. A series of articles published in Epilepsia, a journal of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE), examine the potential use of medical marijuana and CBD in treating severe forms of epilepsy such as Dravet syndrome. In a case study, Dr. Edward Maa, Chief of the Comprehensive Epilepsy Program at Denver Health in Denver, Colo., details one mother’s experience of providing medical marijuana to her child with Dravet syndrome. The adjunct therapy, a strain of cannabis high in CBD and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) known as Charlotte’s Web, was given in conjunction with the patient’s antiepileptic drug regimen. The child’s seizure frequency was reduced from 50 convulsions per day to 2 to 3 nighttime convulsions per month. “Colorado is “ground zero” of the medical marijuana debate,” says Dr. Maa. “As medical professionals it is important that we further the evidence of whether CBD in cannabis is an effective antiepileptic therapy.” Currently, 21 states and the District of Columbia (DC) have legalized marijuana for medical purposes according to GOVERNING magazine. A counter-point article summarizes current scientific evidence of CBD use in epilepsy [...]