A trainee City and Hackney psychiatrist has won a prize for his research into severely epileptic patients who have brain tissue removed in a bid to prevent seizures.
Dr Maurice Clancy studied severely epileptic patients whose condition does not respond to medication, who often undergo surgery to remove a small part of their brain tissue causing seizures.
In the past research has suggested symptoms of depression, anxiety or psychosis – which often go hand in hand with epilepsy - can be made worse by surgery.
However Dr Clancy’s assessment of the perceived quality of life of a group of epileptic patients before and after surgery discovered no increase in rates of depression or anxiety after surgery and also found a reduction in psychotic-type symptoms associated with epilepsy.
Dr Clancy who works at the City and Hackney Centre for Mental Health and St Bartholomew’s Hospital presented his research at a conference in Dublin and was chosen among the other five shortlisted doctors to win the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland Trainee Research Prize Oral 2013.
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