Around 70,000 people in Austria suffer from epilepsy, and there are an estimated 50 million sufferers worldwide. The problem, however, is that, despite the best possible medical treatment, a third of all people with epilepsy suffer fits, often with considerable psycho-social consequences as a result. There is now a new and highly promising treatment option available for these people that aims to alleviate their symptoms.
Patients with difficult to treat epilepsy will be offered a palliative option involving deep brain stimulation (DBS) as part of an interdisciplinary collaboration between the University Departments of Neurology and Neurosurgery at the MedUni Vienna. Ekatarina Pataraia from the University Department of Neurology at the MedUni Vienna explains how it works: “Electrodes are implanted in a part of the brain known as the thalamus. The permanent stimulation of these structures can interrupt the propagation of epileptiform activity and accordingly significantly reduce the frequency and severity of fits.” The method is also already being used in the MedUni Vienna’s university departments to treat other conditions (such as Parkinson’s disease) very successfully.
People with epilepsy have less promising job prospects
Just how important it is to treat epilepsy is being demonstrated this year by a study being carried out at the MedUni Vienna’s University Department of Neurology. Study principal Ekaterina Pataraia explains: “Only very few people with epilepsy go on to complete vocational training after compulsory education. As a result, these people have significantly poorer prospects on the jobs market.” University or college courses are only very rarely completed too. Added to this is the continued problem of the stigma attached to epilepsy and the psycho-social stress that this can cause. For the healthcare system, this also means a considerable financial burden resulting directly from costs associated with managing the condition – such as drug costs and treatment by doctors, hospital stays and emergency admissions – on the one hand, and indirectly through other costs (such as inability to work, pension payments, care costs, etc.).
World Congress of Neurology in Vienna from 21st to 26th September 2013
At the end of September (21 to 26 September 2013), the international research elite will be converging on Vienna for the 21st World Congress of Neurology. The world’s largest specialist conference on the subject of neurology will this year be inspired by the motto of “Neurology in the age of globalisation”, and is being organised jointly by the WFN (World Federation of Neurology) and the ÖGN (Austrian Neurology Society) with the collaboration of the EFNS (European Federation of Neurological Societies). President of the congress is Eduard Auff, Head of the University Department of Neurology at the MedUni Vienna. More information on the World Congress of Neurology can be found at: www.wcn-neurology.org
Neurosciences – one of the five research clusters at the MedUni Vienna
The “Neurosciences” research cluster is one of the five clusters at the MedUni Vienna which are increasingly focusing on fundamental and clinical research. The other four research clusters are cancer research / oncology, vascular / cardiac medicine, allergology / immunology / infectiology, and imaging.