LORETTA- TELL US ABOUT YOUR STORY.

DOCTOR, EXPLAIN WHY IT IS NOT A ONE SIZE FITS ALL SITUATION FOR TREATMENTS

DOCTOR- DO YOU HAVE HOPE THAT SCIENTISTS WILL FIND A CURE OR MORE EFFECTIVE TREATMENTS FOR EPILEPSY PATIENTS IN YOUR LIFETIME?

LORETTA – WHAT DO YOU WANT OTHER EPILEPSY PATIENTS AND PATIENT ADVOCATES TO KNOW?

LORETTA- WHAT PIECE OF ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO OTHERS WHO ARE DIAGNOSED WITH EPILEPSY OR HAVE A LOVED ONE WHO IS DIAGNOSED?

BIO: Dr. Henrik Klitgaard – Vice President and Fellow, UCB Medicines
Neuroscientist and epilepsy researcher
Henrik Klitgaard, PhD, is currently Vice President, UCB Fellow, Neurosciences Therapeutic Area and is located in Braine-l’Alleud, Belgium. He received a PhD in Human Physiology in 1989 at the August Krogh Institute at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. During his university career, Dr. Klitgaard worked at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, France, and at Harvard University, Boston, US.

Dr. Klitgaard has published around 100 peer-reviewed original papers, reviews and book chapters, and is a frequent speaker at neuroscience and epilepsy science meetings. His memberships and accolades include a position on the U.S. National Institute of Health’s epilepsy advisory committee and membership on the Neurobiology Committees of both the International League Against Epilepsy and American Epilepsy Society. In 2013 he was the recipient of the Lifetime Accelerator Award of the Epilepsy Therapy Project and Epilepsy Foundation for his contribution to the advancement of therapies for the treatment of epilepsy.

For more than 25 years, Dr. Klitgaard has conducted antiepileptic drug (AED) discovery in the pharmaceutical industry. He has contributed numerous publications on basic and applied aspects of epilepsy research and has frequently been an invited speaker at epilepsy congresses and meetings. During his career in the pharmaceutical industry, Dr. Klitgaard has been involved in the discovery and development of several AEDs at both Novo Nordisk A/S and at UCB, most notably Levetiracetam and Brivaracetam.
 
BIO: Loretta – Epilepsy Patient and Advocate
Loretta has a long history of living with epilepsy, from her older sister’s epilepsy to her own seizures as a teenager, to the epilepsy diagnoses of three of her sons. During her own seizures, Loretta struggled with feeling different. Even after she gained greater seizure control by getting serious about taking her various epilepsy medications as directed, something she continues to this day, the stigma lingered.
But the real challenges with epilepsy began when her son Daniel began having seizures as a toddler. The number of his daily seizures skyrocketed and the family had trouble keeping track of his seizures. Although Daniel was on medication, the seizures continued and he began having severe side effects that affected his behavior. Brain surgery and a VNS implant did little to lessen his seizures.
She didn’t give up on finding something that would help Daniel, and eventually worked with his doctor to add a new medication that would control his partial seizures. Today, they’ve found medication that works for Daniel and he is able to live and work more independently.
Despite SUDEP taking the lives of two of her three sons, Loretta has made peace with epilepsy being part of her life. As an Epilepsy Advocate, Loretta hopes sharing her personal experiences will build further awareness and understanding on living well with epilepsy.

The post SCIENTISTS RESPONSIBLE FOR CREATING CUTTING-EDGE ADVANCES IN MEDICINE THAT TREAT THEIR ILLNESS. appeared first on Good News!.

Welcome to Mila’s Fundraising Page

Mila is a 5 year old amazing bundle of awesomeness who kicks epilepsy’s butt daily!  On September 26th, 2011 Mila had her first seizure. After being put down for a nap Mila was found unresponsive and struggling to breathe. She was airlifted to the CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL OF LOS ANGELES where she was diagnosed with having a complex partial seizure. We were shocked to find out the episode was actually a seizure, we thought we knew what seizures looked like, needless to say we had no idea what complex partial seizures looked like.

Mila went on to have several large seizures which required emergency attention. When most people have a seizure the episode will end on it’s own, usually after a couple of seconds or minutes. After 9 minutes, oxygen delivery to the heart and brain are greatly reduced and the risk of suffocation is greatly increased. Mila’s seizures only ended once emergency meds were administered, her longest seizure lasted over 20 minutes! After several tests Mila was diagnosed with a cortical dysplasia, which we now know is the cause of her epilepsy. And thankfully, with the help of CHLA and daily medication, Mila keeps her seizures at bay.

Mila is a happy, energetic girl who loves making people laugh and smile, please help her do just that by helping spread awareness and raise funds for our Walk to End Epilepsy!  

Visit::                           Ellye Rashkin -Sharing a Link on Facebook

OR

Donate Online at:       www.end-epilepsy.org

Donate by Phone:        310.670.2870 ext.101

Payable to:                   Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Los Angeles

Mail to:                                    Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Los Angeles
5777 W. Century Blvd, Suite 820, Los Angeles, CA 90045

The post WALK TO END EPILEPSY – ROSE BOWL, PASADENA, CALIFORNIA-NOVEMBER 17, 2013 appeared first on Good News!.