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Headlines 11 Epilepsy in Māori children Professor Lynette Sadleir is a physician scientist with expertise in epilepsy and is the director of the Epilepsy Research Group at the University of Otago, Wellington. In 2019, Lynette and her team were awarded a project grant to research epilepsy in Māori children. Epilepsy is the most common serious neurological disorder of childhood. The study’s purpose is to identify the causes of epilepsy in Māori children, particularly preventable causes, and to establish any patterns of other associated diseases (comorbidities). Overall, the study aims to gather data that will help develop health initiatives aimed at reducing the prevalence of epilepsy, as well as improving the quality of life for those with the condition. Preliminary results have been promising, showing that Māori children are 2.6 times more likely to have a preventable cause of epilepsy than non-Māori children. At the end of 2020, Dr Ngaire Keenan was awarded a HRC (Health Research Council) Clinical Research Training Fellowship to expand the project to identify any differences in the service provision and management of epilepsy between Māori and non-Māori children. The increase in data collection required for this expansion, as well as the knock-on effects of COVID-19 lockdowns, has meant that the project has been delayed. They aim to have their data analysis completed and published within the next 6 months. Epilepsy, sex hormones, and the female brain Dr Rachael Sumner is a postdoctoral research fellow with a PhD in Pharmacy from the University of Auckland. She has a special interest in women’s neuroendocrinological health and disease. Catamenial epilepsy affects around 40% of females with epilepsy, where the number of seizures doubles at certain points of a female’s menstrual cycle. Catamenial seizures often don’t respond to typical antiseizure drug treatment and regulating hormone changes with the combined-oral contraceptive pill also doesn’t treat the condition – even though hormone changes are thought to be the main cause of catamenial seizures. In 2019, Rachael was awarded a small project grant to investigate physiological changes in the human female brain over each monthly cycle, even when the contraceptive pill is suppressing hormone changes. The research aimed to reveal the brain mechanisms that may underlie catamenial epilepsy which aren’t simply due to hormone changes. After COVID-19 disruptions, results did indeed indicate the brain changes as if there is a menstrual cycle even when hormones in the blood don’t, and in 2021, Rachael was awarded a First Fellowship to further these investigations. Using EEG (a test that detects electrical activity in your brain), she is now exploring the changes in the brain throughout the menstrual cycle of women with epilepsy to provide another piece of the puzzle on what makes the brain of people with catamenial epilepsy different from those without. A better understanding of the cause of catamenial seizures will direct the search for effective treatments. For more about Rachael's research, her 2020 Discovery Sessions lecture can be viewed in our lecture library: neurological.org.nz/lecture-library Epilepsy is themost common serious neurological disorder of childhood.