Mind the Treatment Gap

Did you know?

Six in ten (60%) Australians are not aware of drug-resistant epilepsy
Only 42% of Australians are aware of at least one alternative treatment (surgery, diet, VNS Therapy™, and other treatments)
32% of Australians had tried three or more treatments without success in achieving seizure freedom.
In 2023, only about 0.5% of eligible people have been treated with VNS Therapy™ in Australia.

_{YouGov. (2023). LivaNova Epilepsy Consumer Research Survey. [data on file]}

Why the treatment gap needs to be closed

Mind the Treatment Gap is an awareness campaign focused on helping Australians living with drug-resistant epilepsy to better understand and sooner access available treatment options.

It can take time for people to recieve a drug-resistant epilepsy diagnosis as they can often spend time cycling on various anti-seizure medications. This campaign aims to bridge this gap by educating on the importance of early referrals to comprehensive epilepsy centres, driving understanding of alternative treatment options for people with drug-resistant epilepsy and building confidence in having proactive conversations to reduce the timeline from diagnosis to seizure control.

The aim is to encourage meaningful conversations about alternative treatment pathways to anti-seizure medications to help Australians living with DRE achieve seizure control and improve quality of life.

VNS Therapy™ Safety Profile

The most common side effects of VNS Therapy™ include:

Hoarseness
Shortness of breath
Sore throat
Coughing

These side effects generally only occur during stimulation and usually decrease over time. The most common side effect of the surgical procedure is infection.

Talk to your physician about warnings, precautions, side effects, and hazards. Ask about risks that you should know about as well as any other issues that might be appropriate to discuss, such as status epilepticus and sudden unexpected death in epilepsy. You can find more safety information here.

Did you know?

Why the treatment gap needs to be closed

Read more about the campaign here

Watch Shaun's Story

How can you show your support?

Sign up to receive future updates.

VNS Therapy™ Safety Profile

Choose a country

For ALL other countries, please click here.