Celebrating Independence Day

When we celebrate Independence Day on July 4, 2008, I wish we also could celebrate "freedom from seizures" this year. Despite having more than a dozen treatments available for epilepsy, too many people continue to have seizures. Even when seizures are stopped, many people have side effects. That’s why the mission of the Epilepsy Therapy Project is to support development of new therapies.

How are we accomplishing our mission?

We proudly announce the award of 3 translational research grants to develop new therapies. All are good examples of how a university scientist has linked with a small company to move the research forward toward reaching patients:

• Dr. P. Robinson and colleagues, working with Bio-link (Melbourne, Australia), are developing "dynamin" to reduce the amount of electrical discharges in the brain that lead to seizures.
• Dr. M. Rogawski, Davis, CA, working with MedGenesis, will use a technique to deliver anti-seizure toxins directly into the brain to stop seizures where they originate.
• Dr. M. Rogawski, Davis, CA, working with R. Murphy, Medkura, will develop a system to deliver a single dose of an anesthetic drug to stop clusters of seizures by inhaling it into the lungs.

What limits our mission?

We received 32 suggestions for research, selected 19 ideas for proposals, and received 18 full proposals. Almost all of the 18 proposals were very good, but we were able to provide financial support only for 3 studies. This is a dilemma because many others should have been funded, but we do not have enough money.

Selecting among proposals is a gamble because we don’t know which ones will work well enough for development into new therapies. It’s a long road from the scientific laboratory to the pharmacy. That’s why we invest in several different concepts every year.

What would improve our mission?

If you are reading this message, you have a vested interest in promoting new therapies. Can you help us by making a donation to support this goal? We need to raise $1million every year just to maintain the current pace. That translates to 100 donors giving $10,000 each, or 1,000 donors giving $1,000 each, or 10,000 donors giving $100 each. Please donate as much as you can so we can someday celebrate "Freedom from Seizures" Day.

How do we raise money to support Epilepsy Therapy Project?

People like you and me donate privately. Companies provide unrestricted grants for educational activities (conferences, website, etc.). Companies buy advertising on our website www.epilepsy.com. Accepting funds from companies does not mean that the website or other activities are influenced toward their products. Advertising, in particular, is an economic consideration: we need those funds to support the (costly) website. We do not charge for membership, we do not charge for information, we do not charge for the community discussions, groups, blogs, etc. Instead, we ask advertisers to support the website. We welcome all donations that allow us to continue to work toward our mission of new therapy development. If you have any questions about our policies or activities, please contact me.

I wish you "freedom from seizures" as soon as possible!

Joyce Cramer,
President
Epilepsy Therapy Project