Blog

Robert Renner is 89 years old, but you wouldn’t know that by talking to him. Nor would you know he spent his early years suffering from debilitating epilepsy, causing him to regularly suffer grand mal seizures—the worst kind which typically leave a person unconscious with uncontrollable muscle contractions. In 1947,... read more →

Seizures used to rule Cheryl Castle's life, striking up to 42 times in three hours and leaving the once-active mother of three essentially housebound. But a new device recently implanted in her skull has reduced the frequency and severity of her seizures by half, she and her University of Kentucky... read more →

After nine years of epileptic seizures and no success stopping them, Sheri Finstad was ready to try an experiment. In October, she came to Rochester, where Mayo Clinic doctors implanted a device in her brain designed to deliver mild electrical pulses and record the brain's reaction. It's a stimulation therapy... read more →

Dana Ulrich feels conflicted about her status as an outspoken advocate for medical marijuana. Lorelei, her 7-year-old daughter, suffers from 700 seizures every day, down from 1,400 thanks to a battery of medication. The one saving grace is that her other diagnoses — including autism and sensory processing disorder —... read more →

Ireland rugby coach Joe Schmidt wants everyone to know how to help someone having an epileptic seizure. Epilepsy Ireland has launched a new ad that features the New Zealander. "It is so encouraging to see so many people with epilepsy of all ages from right across the country participating in... read more →

The mother of a 4-year-old Kalamazoo Township girl is crediting her with saving her life and the life of her unborn child. Centerria Manning has had epilepsy since she was young girl. Wednesday Centerria began to seize, her 4-year-old daughter Calise Manning was the only one home with her. Centerria... read more →

Andrea Saretti's son Sam starts the day each morning by putting on a special helmet and medical bracelet to protect him in case he falls to the ground with a seizure. Sam, 9, was diagnosed with epilepsy last year and has encountered seizures that have not stopped despite multiple medications and... read more →

The Bortells rushed to a nearby hospital, and doctors eventually diagnosed Alexis with epilepsy. Dean says the prescribed medication Carbatrol was "like throwing gasoline on a fire." "It was terrible. Her seizures went from mainly at night to around the clock," said Bortell. Even more frustrating, Bortell says the next... read more →

Sara Eve Fermin, a 33-year-old poet from Union City, New Jersey, remembers the first time she had a seizure. She was shopping at Gap when she suddenly felt her legs buckle. She tried to cry out, but her vocal cords were frozen. Her eyes flooded with color, and then everything... read more →

Smartwatches on the market today offer limited capabilities, but one company aims to change that and actually work to help patients living with epilepsy. Embrace, a smartwatch created by an MIT Media Lab team that can measure changes on the surface of the skin to detect seizures, has already raised nearly $500,000... read more →