News

Irish public express overwhelming support for two epilepsy advocacy issues

Newly released figures by Epilepsy Ireland have outlined overwhelming public support for action on two key advocacy issues facing people with epilepsy in Ireland.

National Epilepsy Week takes place next week and for the week, we will be highlighting key advocacy issues which are facing people with epilepsy and their families.

A new programme being led by our colleagues in the RCSI and FutureNeuro has been awarded €4.7m from the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) COFUND.

A new study from the United States has provided vital new insights into Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP).

The study was conducted by researchers from the University of Virginia School of Medicine and was recently featured in leading medical journal Epilepsia.

At the most recent meeting of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, local councillors supported a motion on the issue of Free Travel for people with epilepsy and the issue of reasonable accommodations for students during state exams.

The motion was brought forward by Cllr. Séafra Ó Faoláin with the motion receiving unanimous support.

The passing of this motion follows similar decisions from Louth, Wexford & Donegal County Councils earlier this year.

A two year open-label study from the USA on the use of Epidyolex in treatment resistant epilepsy has reported positive findings.

In advance of their annual conference which is taking place today, the Irish Epilepsy League ran a competition for health science students to write a creative essay in prose/ poetry about epilepsy. The competition was open-ended and could be based on an experience in real-life; an experience through their training; or fictional stories from the patient's perspective.

While the evenings are getting longer and the sun a bit brighter, we still need to continue to #HoldFirm with measures to combat COVID-19. While the extension of boundaries to beyond 5km has allowed us all to try different walking routes etc, we are aware that there are still many of our members, followers and supporters who are looking to keep their minds busy during these continuing strange times.

At the meetng of Donegal County Council earlier this week, Councillors supported a motion on the issue of Free Travel for People with epilepsy.

The motion was brought forward by Cllr. Jimmy Kavanagh. Cllr. Kavanagh will be bringing forward a motion on the issue of Reasonable Accommodations for students with epilepsy who may have a seizure during state examinations at a future sitting of the council