World-first Brisbane epilepsy study reveals game-changing discovery

Brisbane scientists have launched the world's largest epilepsy study, recruiting thousands of Australians to unlock new treatments for the quarter-million sufferers nationwide.

Aidan Shirley underwent radical surgery for his epilepsy. Picture: Annette Dew

In a world-leading study Brisbane researchers will study thousands of Australians with epilepsy to better diagnose and treat the millions of people around the globe who suffer from the debilitating disease.

More than 250,000 Australians currently live with epilepsy and close to 13,000 more are diagnosed each year.

Up to 4000 people with epilepsy are being recruited and 1,000 people without epilepsy are also needed as a ‘control’ group for the Australian Epilepsy Project (AEP) led by Professor Graeme Jackson Chief Investigator (AEP) at The Florey in Melbourne, with Mater Research as a key partner in Queensland.

Volunteers from across the country will undergo an advanced 90-minute MRI while completing cognitive tests focusing on language and memory.

The five year project is one of the world’s largest and most comprehensive epilepsy studies being conducted in Australia and is funded by a $30 million grant from the Medical Research Future Fund’s Frontier program.

Professor Aileen McGonigal, Clinical Director of the Mater Epilepsy Unit based at South Brisbane and research group leader, is one of the project’s investigators.

“We want to better understand the different subtypes of epilepsy and develop more precise ways to diagnose and treat different forms of epilepsy,” Prof McGonigal said.

“Right now, no other country is studying such a large group of people with epilepsy in this level of detail. This project reflects Australia’s role at the forefront of global epilepsy research, and we expect our findings to not only help Australians but also shape how epilepsy is understood and treated around the world.”

The project builds on Mater’s longstanding commitment to epilepsy and neurological research, including pioneering surgical procedures that have helped patients live seizure-free, such as laser-guided brain surgery.

And in 2023, a groundbreaking study was launched by Prof McGonigal to investigate the power of smartwatches to detect seizures, which in the future could enable patients to monitor their seizure risk by detecting stress-related signals.

With medications, around two in three people can become seizure-free, but a third continue to have seizures and are considered to have ‘drug resistant epilepsy.’

Aidan Shirley, 26, suffered his first seizure at 20 while sitting in a class at university and continued to have up to 100 seizures a year for four years.

“I felt broken, I felt like my body was betraying me, epilepsy derailed my life,” Mr Shirley said.

“I tried eight different medications, and they didn’t work, and then I started to give up, before having life changing surgery at Mater Private Hospital Brisbane.”

In December 2023, after extensive work-up in the Mater Epilepsy Unit, Mr Shirley underwent a right temporal lobectomy at Mater, which involves removing a portion of the brain where seizures originate.

“I’ve been seizure-free since then, it’s been amazing, I’ve got my life back,” he said.

“I graduated university with a business degree this week and also got married a year ago.”

Mr Shirley hopes the research will provide much needed answers for many people living with the debilitating disease.

MRI scans are available at seven sites across Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, New South Wales and Victoria and will help inform neurologists if a person is a candidate for brain surgery.

To be involved in Mater’s epilepsy research visit here.

Originally published as World-first Brisbane epilepsy study reveals game-changing discovery