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New Epilepsy Research Could Lead To Targeted Treatments

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Tracy Dixon-Salazar, right, with her daughter Savannah, who suffers from Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome, a childhood epilepsy. (Courtesy of the family)
Tracy Dixon-Salazar, right, with her daughter Savannah, who suffers from Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome, a childhood epilepsy. (Courtesy of the family)

New genetic research could provide life-changing treatments for the approximately 50 million people with epilepsy worldwide.

A study in the journal Nature has identified two genes and 25 mutations associated with the most serious forms of epilepsy.

By identifying these genes, doctors can develop targeted treatments.

Dr. David Goldstein, director of the Duke Center for Human Genome Variation, and Tracy Dixon-Salazar, a neurobiologist who is associate research director for Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy, join Here & Now to discuss the new research.

Dixon-Salazar started studying neurobiology when her daughter Savannah was diagnosed with a childhood epilepsy.

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This segment aired on August 12, 2013.

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