Morphological and spectroscopic study of monozygotic twins discordant for epilepsy [ 2001 - 2002 ]

Research Grant

Researchers: Prof Samuel Berkovic (Principal investigator) ,  Prof David Reutens ,  Regula Briellmann

Brief description Understanding the causes of epilepsies is essential for treatment and prevention. In many people with epilepsy the cause is not obvious and is frequently attributed to events at birth or minor head injuries. It is clear that these factors are generally not important. There is increasing evidence that subtle changes in brain structure, reflecting developmental or maturational abnormalities, may be the cause of these epilepsies. Such subtle changes can be detected by novel magnetic resonance imaging strategies. However, due to individual differences of brain morphology, the significance of such subtle changes can be disputed. Monozygotic twins have an increased similarity of their brain morphology. Therefore, analysis of monozygotic twins where only one twin is affected with epilepy, is a powerful way to characterize significant brain abnormalities. This will provide novel information on the causes of epilepsy relevant to the general population.

Funding Amount $AUD 139,079.91

Funding Scheme NHMRC Project Grants

Notes Standard Project Grant