Janani (Jay) Kassiri

Our research interests include understanding the pathophysiology and treatment side effects of seizures in children and adolescent females. Prolonged seizures, or status epilepticus, is the most common neurological emergency in children and may lead to significant long-term neurological abnormalities, likely due to interrupted brain development. Therefore, we are studying the etiology, management, and neurological outcomes of children who live in Alberta and suffer from first-time prolonged seizures. Adolescent females with seizures are another unique population as they are affected by hormonal changes, menstrual cycles, and pregnancy. In our experience, many young women who visit our epilepsy clinic suffer from menorrhagia and hormonal abnormalities. However, this population has never been systematically evaluated, with insufficient literature to inform providers about the risks/benefits of each epilepsy medication in this patient population. In addition, their choice of anti-seizure medications are limited, and the side-effect profiles are under-studied. These are some of the critical questions that our current research projects are focusing to address.