CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cleveland Clinic announced Friday that it has received a $ 15.5 million donation to strengthen epilepsy research and help build a new building for the Department of Neurology.
The Cincinnati-based Charles L. Shor Foundation for Epilepsy Research provides $ 10 million to build the new building. The other $ 5.5 million will fund an epilepsy study focusing on the link between stress and seizures, the health system said in a news release. The president and CEO of Cleveland Clinic, Dr. Tomislav Mihaljevic, announced the donation during the Clinic’s Founders Day live stream in celebration of 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. According to the news release, Shor was diagnosed with epilepsy and had his first attack at the age of 25.
“Neurological conditions, and specifically epilepsy, are affecting so many people in the prime of their lives,” Shor said in the news release. “By directing these resources to the extraordinary team of physicians and researchers at Cleveland Clinic, I believe I can help make a significant difference for people living with these diseases.”
The new neurological institute, announced in 2019, will bring all the clinical neurological care to the main campus in Cleveland. This will help the clinic change its approach to neurological care, said dr. Andre Machado, president of the Neurological Institute, and the Charles and Christine Carroll Family Gifted Chair for Functional Neurosurgery said.
‘[Shor’s] ‘Support for this modern condition will enable us to centralize and promote the care we provide in an environment specifically designed to meet the unique needs of people with neurological conditions,’ ‘Machado said in the news release.
The new building will feature state-of-the-art technology, such as digitized patient evaluations, imaging, neurosimulation training, infusion therapy, neurodiagnostics and brain card suites. Files specializing in different areas of neuroscience will help the clinic tailor individual treatment plans for each patient, according to the news release.
Donations will cover 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 epilepsy study will examine methods to control seizures without the use of medication. The aim is to determine whether interventions such as stress relief can reduce seizures and prevent a decrease in memory function in patients with epilepsy. Stress has been identified as a major risk factor for recurrent seizures and declining memory function, the news release said.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at least 3.4 million people nationwide live with epilepsy. Existing treatments are only effective for combating seizures in 46% of adults, and an excessive number of epilepsy patients see a faster decline in memory function.
The research team will be led by dr. Imad Najm, the director of the Charles Shor Epilepsy Center and the vice chair of strategy and development for the Neurological Institute.
“The purpose of our new building for the Neurological Institute is to have the infrastructure in place to not only prevent disease progression, but also prevent neurological disorders from occurring,” Najm said in the news release. “The building will enable a digital infrastructure where medical teams and caregivers have the ability to communicate with the patient as soon as they walk in the door.”