Decoding Dravet Blog

Receiving a diagnosis of Dravet syndrome is devastating. All the dreams and hopes you have for your child and family are suddenly turned upside down, leaving you with uncertainty and fear of the unknown. Once things begin to settle after diagnosis, we frequently hear from parents that they feel that they are often the expert […]

Our caregiver community has been anxious to learn about the experiences of patients with Dravet syndrome who have received the COVID-19 vaccination. Our friends at Dravet Syndrome UK (DSUK) recently surveyed their community to gather information on the patient experience after vaccination. They have been kind enough to share this with us in the guest

While three new medications have come to market for Dravet syndrome in the past several years, only a portion of patients achieve adequate seizure control. Even for those who experience longer periods of seizure-freedom, the other comorbidities of Dravet syndrome greatly impact quality of life for individuals as well as their families. Therapeutically targeting the

Dr. Danielle Andrade, an adult neurologist who is an expert in Dravet syndrome (DS), is currently conducting a study of adults with DS to improve the understanding of seizures, symptoms, comorbidities, and daily life as patients age. Part of the study is examining patients that visit Dr. Andrade’s clinic at the University of Toronto, but

As a Dravet parent or caregiver, have you ever thought about the term “reframing?”  This week’s guest blog post comes from Barbara Swoyer, who recently wrote about the concept of reframing for the latest issue of NIH MedLine Plus magazine.  In this piece, Barbara incorporated the thoughts of others in the Dravet community about what reframing

On February 1, 2020, the Seizure Action Plan (SAP) Coalition launched its new website at www.seizureactionplans.org. This new website offers information and resources for for patients, professionals, and advocacy organizations to learn about and spread awareness of: what a Seizure Action Plan (SAP) is the importance of a SAP in the health management of those

Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) is a topic that brings up difficult and complex emotions, and, as such, it often goes undiscussed. However, talking about SUDEP can empower families with awareness and preventative strategies, literally helping to save lives. Additionally, increased education surrounding SUDEP lends itself to advocacy efforts to advance research and end

With so many clinical trials for Dravet syndrome actively enrolling, it is an important time to consider the impacts that talking about experiences in an ongoing trial can have on the outcomes. If you are participating in a clinical trial and observing particularly profound changes following treatment, it can be quite tempting to share that

As we roll into 2021, I wanted to remind our community of the many important resources that DSF offers to help patient families on this complex medical journey. We recognize that you deal with a lot each day and DSF is here to help. Brief overviews on each program can be found below or you

On January 5-7, 2021, the NIH/NINDS (National Institute of Health/ National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) held the“Curing the Epilepsies 2021: Setting Research Priorities” conference in a virtual format. The goal of the conference was to guide updates to the current Epilepsy Research Benchmarks and Transformative Research Priorities with collaborative feedback from all the