Yale Receives Funding for Epilepsy Research

A Yale researcher studying the use of electrical stimulation to control brain excitability in patients with epilepsy has received one of the first New Therapy Grants Program awards from The Epilepsy Project.

The researcher, Idil Cavus, M.D., assistant professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Neurosurgery at Yale School of Medicine, has preliminary findings showing that seizure suppression is correlated to the frequency of the electrical stimulation: low frequency (1 Hz) and high frequency (130-133 Hz) appear safe and efficacious, mid-range frequency is not.

Currently available implantable stimulation devices are successful at treating movement disorders, but have been ineffective at controlling many types of epileptic seizures. The results of this study will determine if stimulation frequency is a factor in efficacy. It also will serve as a guide for further comprehensive studies involving other stimulation sites, excitability measures, duration of stimulus, repetitive stimulation, and other possible endpoints.

The Epilepsy Project is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of epilepsy patients. Cavus is one of three inaugural grant recipients of the New Therapy Grants Program, which is the organization’s joint translational research initiative with the Epilepsy Foundation. A total of $300,000 was awarded. Grant recipients were chosen based on evidence of a clear translational pathway to bring in new therapies to patients with epilepsy and on the quality, mission, and practical application of the proposed research.

“Our mission is to condense the time it takes to develop and commercialize new epilepsy therapies by identifying and supporting cutting-edge scientific research in this field,” said May Liang, executive director of The Epilepsy Project. “The Epilepsy Research Foundation, our joint venture with the Epilepsy Foundation, is an avenue for us to provide philanthropic funding to advance pioneering translational research projects in epilepsy through our collaborative New Therapy Grants Program.”