Mind the Treatment Gap

Vicious epilepsy loop: comorbidities and quality of life

On average, around 20% of people with epilepsy reported living with depression.
Approximately one in six (15%) people with epilepsy reported living with anxiety disorder.
Around 62% of people with epilepsy reported stress as the primary trigger for their seizures.
Over half (55%) of people with epilepsy also reported sleep deprivation and exhaustion among the top causes for seizures.
Over half (51%) of people with epilepsy reported living with low-to-average quality of life.

BetterConsult survey (2024-2025). Epilepsy. Data on file, Epilepsy Action Australia

Get the full picture – download the infographic to find out more

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.

Why the treatment gap needs to be closed

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.