Scientist raises hope of epilepsy breakthrough

GROUNDBREAKING genetic research by an Irish neuroscientist may hold the key to a new treatment to reduce brain injury associated with epilepsy.

Dr David Henshall, a senior lecturer at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), presented key findings on how the brain responds to seizures at the first Neuroscience Ireland meeting which is being held in University College Cork.

Around 35,000 people in Ireland suffer from epilepsy, and while seizures can be controlled with drugs, some continue to have seizures that can damage the brain.