January 23, 2001
Free workshop for parents of children with epilepsy
Parents of children with epilepsy are invited to attend a free Pediatric Epilepsy Public Forum from 4:30 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 7, at The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture at the University of Washington, Seattle. The forum is sponsored by the UW Pediatric Epilepsy Research Center.
This event will provide an opportunity for parents and others concerned about children with epilepsy to meet and talk with the area’s leading pediatric epilepsy physicians and researchers. In addition to the workshops offered, parents are invited to enjoy a buffet dinner and conversation with other attendees.
Topics will include discussion of the ketogenic diet, current treatments, and psychosocial issues in childhood epilepsy.
The featured speaker, discussing the ketogenic diet, will be Dr. John Freeman, director of the Pediatric
Epilepsy Center and professor of pediatrics and neurology at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md. He will speak on “The Ketogenic Diet: New Insights from an Old Treatment.” The ketogenic diet — a high-fat/low-carbohydrate diet — reduces frequency of seizures in some children with medically intractable epilepsy.
Pre-registration is appreciated, but not required. For more information, call 206-221-5364 or email perc@u.washington.edu.
The UW Pediatric Epilepsy Research Center (PERC) was established through joint efforts of the UW School of Medicine and parents of children with epilepsy. It draws on multidisciplinary expertise in neurosciences at the UW and Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center. Its goal is to advance the understanding and treatment of pediatric epilepsies through basic laboratory and clinical research.
Approximately one out of 100 people suffers from epilepsy. Epilepsy is a disorder consisting of chronically recurring seizures: sudden and unpredictable alterations of brain function associated with aberrant electrical activity. Seizures can result in uncontrollable movements, changes in memory, alterations in thinking and reasoning, and/or changes in consciousness.
Available medications provide significant seizure relief for 50 to 70 percent of people with epilepsy. However, many drugs have significant undesirable side effects. Surgery can help only a small fraction of individuals with medically intractable seizures. Basic research is the best hope for developing new and better approaches to prevent, treat, and cure epilepsy.
