CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cleveland Clinic announced on Friday that it had received a $ 15.5 million grant to support epilepsy research and help construct a new Neurological Institute building.
The Charles L. Shor Foundation for Epilepsy Research, based in Cincinnati, is providing $ 10 million for the construction of the new building. The other $ 5.5 million will fund an epilepsy study focused on the link between stress and seizures, the health system said in a press release. Cleveland Clinic President and CEO Dr. Tomislav Mihaljevic announced the donation during the live broadcast of the Clinic’s Founders Day, celebrating its 100th anniversary.
The Clinic will name the new building the Charles Shor Epilepsy Center in honor of the philanthropist and former president and CEO of Duro Bag Manufacturing. Shor is diagnosed with epilepsy and had his first seizure at age 25, according to the press release.
“Neurological conditions, specifically epilepsy, affect many people early in their lives,” said Shor in the press release. “By directing these resources to the Cleveland Clinic’s extraordinary team of doctors and researchers, I believe I can help make a significant difference for people living with these diseases.”
The new Neurological Institute building, announced in 2019, will bring all outpatient neurological care from the Clinic to the main campus of the healthcare system in Cleveland. This will help the Clinic transform its approach to neurological care, said Dr. Andre Machado, president of the Neurological Institute and the Charles and Christine Carroll Family Endowed Chair in Functional Neurosurgery.
“[Shor’s] supporting this state-of-the-art facility will allow us to centralize and improve the service we offer in an environment specifically designed to meet the unique needs of people with neurological problems, ”said Machado in the press release.
The new building will feature advanced technology, such as digitalized patient assessments, images, neuro simulation training, infusion therapy, neurodiagnosis and brain mapping suites. Teams of doctors specializing in various areas of neuroscience will help the Clinic to define individual treatment plans for each patient, according to the statement.
Donations will finance most of the cost of the new building, the clinic said. The design process is underway and construction is expected to begin in 2022.
The study of epilepsy will explore methods to control seizures without the use of drugs. The goal is to determine whether interventions such as stress relief can reduce seizures and prevent a decline in memory function in patients with epilepsy. Stress has been identified as an important risk factor for recurrent attacks and a declining memory function, the press release says.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that at least 3.4 million people live with epilepsy across the country. Existing treatments are effective only in controlling seizures in 46% of adults, and a disproportionate number of patients with epilepsy see a faster decline in memory function.
The research team will be led by Dr. Imad Najm, director of the Charles Shor Epilepsy Center and vice president of strategy and development at the Neurological Institute.
“The goal for our new Neurological Institute building is to have the infrastructure in place not only to prevent the progress of diseases, but also to prevent the occurrence of neurological disorders,” said Najm in the press release. “The building will allow for a digital infrastructure where medical teams and caregivers will have the ability to interact with the patient as soon as they enter the door.”