UCLA to lead study of epilepsy after traumatic brain injuries
The University of California’s international consortium of academic research institutions is hoping to find better ways of preventing epilepsy following traumatic brain injuries with its new study. The university was awarded a $21 million grant by the National Institutes of Health to conduct the study. According to a news release on the UCLA website, there […]
The University of California’s international consortium of academic research institutions is hoping to find better ways of preventing epilepsy following traumatic brain injuries with its new study.
The university was awarded a $21 million grant by the National Institutes of Health to conduct the study.
According to a news release on the UCLA website, there will be seven investigators to lead the grant at five separate institutions. The seven groups will collaborate in various fields of sciences to conduct the study.
“UCLA, which operates both the Seizure Disorder Center and the Brain Injury Research Center, will receive about $7.5 million of the five-year grant from the NIH’s National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke,” the news release reads.
The researchers will be looking to identify biomarkers that are associated with the development of epilepsy following traumatic brain injury. Once the biomarkers are identified, the researchers will then work to design therapies to prevent or modify the condition.
“They will also engage with people who have epilepsy and their families to help identify their most pressing needs and concerns, encourage them to participate in research, and provide educational resources,” the release reads.
The project, which has been dubbed the Epilepsy Bioinformatics Study for Antiepileptogenic Therapy, or EpiBioS4Rx, includes an international network of 13 centers for traumatic brain injuries and seven preclinical research centers.
Epilepsy is a broad term used for a brain disorder that causes seizures. About 2.9 million adults and children in the United States have active epilepsy, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Drugs do not adequately control about a third of those patients’ seizures. Traumatic brain injuries are the most significant cause of epilepsy in people ages 15 to 24. There is currently no cure for epilepsy.
