A webinar hosted by Epilepsy Ontario on Sept. 18 at 7 p.m. will examine issues surrounding female hormones and how they affect women living with a seizure disorder.
Epilepsy researcher Dr. Melanie Jeffrey will be leading the webinar, entitled Women, Hormones and Epilepsy. Throughout her presentation, Jeffrey will discuss the impact hormones have on seizure control in different life stages. She will also address reproductive health, birth control, pregnancy and bone health and discuss how these factors relate to epilepsy.
But you don’t need to be a health-care expert to attend. In fact, one group Jeffrey says she particularly wants to attract to the webinar is women who are living with epilepsy but don’t know much about how hormones can affect their condition.
“One of the things I will do is speak about hormones in a way that’s accessible and not too heavy on the science jargon,” Jeffrey tells Voices of Epilepsy.
Jeffrey says the webinar will also help people understand the role hormones play in epilepsy through visuals. She will also explain how women with epilepsy can track their menstrual cycle as well as how to create a seizure diary to record their seizure history.
While neurologists have long known about the correlation between seizures and hormones in females, women living with epilepsy and family doctors may not have the pertinent information, Jeffrey says.
“It’s commonly known in our research field . . . but unfortunately a lot of patients and a lot of family doctors don’t know about this,” she says.
“Women sometimes notice when their seizures are associated with their menstrual cycle. . . . A lot of women with epilepsy have these questions that I hope I can answer for them.”
And what does Jeffrey hope the No. 1 result will be from the webinar?
“I’d like people to feel a little more control of when they’re most vulnerable to seizures and why,” she says.
To register for the webinar, please email gula(at)epilepsyontario.org.
Click on the link below to join the webinar on Thursday September 18, 2014 at 7 pm EST:
http://ontariobraininstitute.adobeconnect.com/r224veiwb17 Select “Enter as a Guest”
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