August 31, 2007 - Action Medical Research has announced that a new MRI scanning technique could mean life-changing curative surgery for more people with epilepsy.
The technique helps to pin-point the exact source of seizures in the brain and where surgery is possible, the area may be removed. This can mean a future that is seizure free for those sufferers whose epilepsy cannot be controlled by drugs.
It has reportedly detected abnormalities in the brain that may give rise to epilepsy in 29 percent of patients whose brains appeared normal using conventional MRI scanning.
Action Medical Research has supported the work of Professor John Duncan, Professor of Neurology at University College London and Medical Director of the National Society for Epilepsy, for 16 years.
In this most recent research, the team has further advanced the MRI scanning methods to identify where seizures may be originating. They have also looked at the changes that happen in the brain immediately following an epileptic episode, to see whether it causes any damage.
When use of these exciting new scanning techniques becomes routine, it will help surgeons to operate on a backlog of around 1,000 patients in the UK, as well as 100 newly diagnosed patients each year.
For more information: www.action.org.uk
July 23, 2025 
