The Liverpool Epilepsy Research Group performs cutting-edge research in children and adults with epilepsy.
Clinically-orientated research in patients with paediatric epilepsy is done in collaboration with Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust and in patients with adult epilepsy in collaboration with the Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust.
An important focus of research is the identification of biomarkers in epilepsy. A biomarker is a biological property that can be used to predict a future pathological event, physiological event or a treatment outcome. Current biomarker research involving trustees of the MREA in context of their work at the University of Liverpool include:
- Predicting which patients will experience a recurring seizure after presentation of a first seizure.
- Predicting which patients will develop treatment-resistant seizures from the point of epilepsy diagnosis.
- Understanding why some patients develop cognitive (e.g. memory) problems.
- Predicting which patients will and won’t be seizure free after epilepsy surgery.
This work is ongoing and uses a collection of different biomarkers and research techniques, including specialised MRI scans, EEG scans, cognitive testing and analysis of blood samples.
Updates on this work can be found on the Liverpool Brain Research using Advanced Imaging in Neurology (BRAIN) lab website and the twitter feeds for @BrainImagingUoL and @epilepsy_liv.
