Epilepsy: taming seizures and dispelling mythsEpilepsy: taming seizures and dispelling myths
All In The Mind
Until the 18th century, epilepsy was associated with the supernatural or seen as the work of the Devil, and it continues to be surrounded by social stigma. There's still a hard core of sufferers who aren't helped by medication - despite the plethora of new drugs under development. Meet a brave young girl who turned to brain surgery after years of daily, debilitating seizures, a woman whose life has been transformed by a nerve stimulator implanted in her chest, and a geneticist who gives us hope for the future.
30:16•30 Dec 2006
Epilepsy, Brain Storms and New Hope: Surgery, Implants and Genetics
Episode Overview
- Epilepsy is common and often treatable with medication, but a significant minority continue to have seizures despite multiple drugs.
- Seizures can range from brief absences to dramatic tonic-clonic events and may start with an aura that reflects the specific brain area involved.
- For carefully selected patients, epilepsy surgery can remove seizure-generating tissue and, as in Gail’s case, may lead to seizure freedom but with adjustment challenges.
- Vagus nerve stimulation offers some people partial seizure control and a sense of agency, though it is costly and not universally effective.
- Genetic research is clarifying how epilepsy runs in families and may guide future treatments, including understanding why drugs help some people but not others.
“You can always fulfil your dreams and don't ever let anyone hold you back, even though you have the condition.”
How do people find hope in the darkest times? This episode of All In The Mind zeroes in on epilepsy — from terrifying seizures to cutting-edge treatments and genetic breakthroughs — with a mix of science, personal stories and practical reality.
You’ll hear neurologists and researchers unpack what actually happens during a seizure, why someone might see flashing lights, strange smells or even a comforting “fit man” or “fit lady” before blacking out, and why epilepsy has carried such a stubborn cloud of stigma for centuries.
Professor Sam Berkovic, Dr Annie Bai, Dr Ernie Somerville and Dr Andrew Bleezel explain different seizure types, the limits of current medications, and why some people are still left in that frustrating “hard core” group that drugs don’t help. Teenager Gail Williams’ story adds real emotional weight. From seizures every ten minutes as a child to multiple daily seizures as a teen, she describes feeling like a “walking zombie” on high-dose medication.
Brain surgery sounded terrifying, but after a tough recovery and a grieving period for the “safe place” her seizures had become, Gail hasn’t had a single seizure since. For Valerie Dredge, whose epilepsy couldn’t be controlled by drugs or surgery, a vagus nerve stimulator implanted in her chest has reduced seizures and given her “a better quality of life”. Her magnet trick to short-circuit an oncoming seizure adds a surprisingly practical touch to what might sound like science fiction.
Threaded through the episode is the promise of genetics. Berkovic outlines how gene discoveries are reshaping diagnosis, family counselling and the hunt for better treatments, including work on sodium channels and why some people respond to drugs and others don’t. Anyone curious about how brain storms affect mood, memory, identity and everyday life — especially those living with chronic conditions or supporting loved ones — will find both realism and hope here.
What beliefs about epilepsy might you be ready to leave behind after hearing this?
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