Online Group May Help People Manage Epilepsy

Taking part in an online community may help people with epilepsy to manage their disease, a small study suggests. The study included 92 people with epilepsy. This disease causes seizures. People filled out questionnaires about their symptoms and how they managed their disease. Then they registered for an online community of people with epilepsy on the website PatientsLikeMe.com. They took part in the community for 6 weeks. They had access to digital tracking tools as well as the support of the group. Then they filled out the questionnaires again. They showed improvements in managing their disease, such as tracking seizures and medicine side effects. They reported taking better care of themselves than they did before they joined the community. They got more sleep and were better able to avoid seizure triggers. They also felt more confident about managing their disease.