Posted on May 30, 2001 at 10:20 a.m.
BIRMINGHAM, AL — The Epilepsy Foundation has awarded a research grant to University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) neuropsychologists Joseph D. Ackerson, Ph.D., assistant clinical professor in the Department of Pediatrics; and Roy C. Martin, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Neurology, for research on medical compliance and quality of life for adolescents with epilepsy.
The $50,000 award is associated with the Foundation’s special initiative to help teens and adolescents better manage the disorder. It is funded through a donation from Shire US Inc. based in Florence, Kentucky.
Epilepsy affects 50 million people worldwide, including 2.3 million in the United States. Non-compliance with medical therapy can lead to breakthrough seizures, risk of injury, avoidable emergency room visits, lower school performance, and increased individual and family stress.
Ackerson and Martin will conduct a series of controlled group therapy treatments for adolescents with epilepsy and their parents. The sessions will be structured to increase understanding of epilepsy, improve adherence to medical instructions, reduce stress and decrease seizure frequency. The project could lead to a treatment protocol for wider application in helping children who have seizures and their families cope more effectively with the disorder.
The award is the second in the Epilepsy Foundation’s recently established Targeted Research Program. The program was created to meet the specific interests of major donors and to support research with a high potential for producing near-term benefits for people with epilepsy. All applications undergo formal peer review by a committee of experts able to assess their scientific merit, modeled on standard procedures applied to research grant applications submitted to the National Institutes of Health.
The Epilepsy Foundation is a network of community-based, affiliated organizations that work to ensure that people with epilepsy are able to participate in all life experiences. The organization’s goals are to prevent, control and cure epilepsy through research, education, advocacy and services.