2026 Grant Recipient – Babitha Haridas

Improving the management of seizures in children with Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome

Johns Hopkins Medicine

 

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Highlights:

• Establishing a tailored approach to treating LGS children with prolonged seizures or status epilepticus.
• Identify factors triggering status epilepticus and refractory status epilepticus in patients with and without LGS.
• Characterize variables that impact the need for intensive care services in LGS patients as compared to controls.  
• Implement learnings from this study to reduce the need for and duration of emergency room (ER) visits and intensive care unit (ICU) stays.

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Results: Grant in Progress

Results will be shared when the grant is completed.

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Lay Abstract:

Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome (LGS) is a difficult-to-treat epilepsy syndrome characterized by numerous seizure types, intellectual disability, and specific EEG abnormalities. Children with LGS typically have high morbidity and mortality and often require frequent visits to the Emergency Room and Intensive Care Unit. Children with LGS are at high risk for developing status epilepticus, a condition presenting with prolonged seizures that may last for hours to days at a time. There is very little published on the management of status epilepticus in this group of children with frequent drug-resistant seizures. The last studies looking into status epilepticus in this cohort are well over 30 years old. Based on newer data since then, our overarching hypothesis is that we can shorten the duration of a hospital stay and improve outcomes in these children with LGS and prolonged seizures by using individualized treatment protocols. Within the Pediatric Status Epilepticus Research Group database and The Quality Improvement in Time to Treat Status Epilepticus database, I will identify patients with Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome, including common triggers and manifestations of SE in this patient population. Additionally, I will characterize the treatment protocol for these children and compare their treatment protocol and response rates with patients with status epilepticus without LGS. By identifying the presentation, common triggers and understanding the existing treatment patterns, I plan on equipping providers with up-to-date data to drive the early identification and treatment of SE in LGS, thereby reducing the need for and duration of ER visits and ICU stays. 

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Updated 08/13/26 (KK)