National Epilepsy Month — November 2013

November is National Epilepsy Awareness Month. Epilepsy is a brain disorder characterized by recurrent seizures; it affects approximately 2.3 million adults in the United States (1).

The CDC Prevention Research Centers' Managing Epilepsy Well (MEW) Network includes U.S. universities, the Epilepsy Foundation, and other epilepsy groups (2). The MEW Network works to develop and test programs that improve self-management and quality of life for persons with epilepsy.

Several MEW Network programs are available. WebEase is an Internet-based program (https://www.epilepsyfoundation.org/livingwithepilepsy/webease/index.cfm) shown to improve some epilepsy self-management outcomes (3). UPLIFT is an Internet and telephone-based program to treat depression in adults with epilepsy (4), with training for health-care providers available at http://www.sph.emory.edu/ManagingEpilepsyWell/UPLIFT. PEARLS is a collaborative-care depression treatment program for adults with epilepsy (5) with training for health-care providers available at http://www.pearlsprogram.org. Additional information regarding the MEW Network and related resources (such as webinars and podcasts) is available at http://www.cdc.gov/epilepsy and @mewnetwork on Twitter.

References

1. CDC. Epilepsy in adults and access to care—United States, 2010. MMWR 2012;61:909–13.

2. DiIorio C, Bamps Y, Edwards AL, et al. The Prevention Research Centers' Managing Epilepsy Well Network. Epilepsy Behav 2010;19:218–24.

3. DiIorio C, Bamps Y, Walker ER, Escoffery C. Results of a research study evaluating WebEase, an online epilepsy self-management program. Epilepsy Behav 2011;22:469–74.

4. Thompson NJ, Walker ER, Obolensky N, et al. Distance delivery of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression: Project UPLIFT. Epilepsy Behav 2010;19:247–54.

5. Chaytor N, Ciechanowski P, Miller JW, et al. Long-term outcomes from the PEARLS randomized trial for the treatment of depression in patients with epilepsy. Epilepsy Behav 2011;20:545–9.