North Shore-LIJ begins patient enrollment in epilepsy research study

In the United States, epilepsy affects nearly one million women of childbearing potential and whether there is increased infertility in women with epilepsy is presently unknown. People with epilepsy have been reported to have fewer children, however, the specific factors contributing to this lower birth rate are unknown. To try and get some answers, doctors at the North Shore-LIJ Health System's Comprehensive Epilepsy Care Institute have begun enrolling volunteers to participate in a research study that also involves New York University and Harvard University.

The study will examine the patterns of fertility among women with epilepsy, compared to an age matched group of women without epilepsy. The research is being funded by the Milken Family Foundation.

"While it has been reported that fertility is decreased in women with epilepsy, little is known as to why this happens," said Cynthia L. Harden, MD principal investigator of the study at North Shore-LIJ and chief of North Shore-LIJ's Comprehensive Epilepsy Care Institute, part of the Cushing Neuroscience Institutes. "Another issue is that during the course of pregnancy for those women with epilepsy who do become pregnant, seizure patterns may vary. Therefore in the study we will also compare seizure frequency during pre-conception to seizure frequency during pregnancy."