{"id":56619,"date":"2026-04-08T08:44:42","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T07:44:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/?p=56619"},"modified":"2026-04-08T08:44:42","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T07:44:42","slug":"investment-of-around-e1-5-million-to-strengthen-epilepsy-treatments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/08\/investment-of-around-e1-5-million-to-strengthen-epilepsy-treatments\/","title":{"rendered":"Investment of around \u20ac1.5 million to strengthen epilepsy treatments"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"HwtZe\" lang=\"en\"><span class=\"jCAhz ChMk0b\"><span class=\"ryNqvb\">Minister for Health and Active Ageing Jo Etienne Abela announced that over 4,000 people will benefit from an investment of \u20ac1.5 million in free epilepsy medicines.<\/span><\/span><span class=\"jCAhz\"><span class=\"ryNqvb\"> It was explained that drug-resistant epilepsy is a condition where epileptic seizures persist despite adequate treatment with medicinal therapies.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"HwtZe\" lang=\"en\"><span class=\"jCAhz\"><span class=\"ryNqvb\">This situation often leads to frequent and unpredictable seizures, with a significant impact on the daily functioning, education, employment and quality of life of patients and their families.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><span class=\"HwtZe\" lang=\"en\"><span class=\"jCAhz\"><span class=\"ryNqvb\">The condition is also associated with an increased risk of injuries, hospitalisations and long-term complications.<\/span><\/span><span class=\"jCAhz\"><span class=\"ryNqvb\"> These medicines will be available in both tablet and syrup form.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"HwtZe\" lang=\"en\"><span class=\"jCAhz ChMk0b\"><span class=\"ryNqvb\">Minister Jo Etienne Abela said that with this investment the Government is making a strong and concrete financial commitment, in order to continue to strengthen access to modern and effective treatments for patients with epilepsy.<\/span><\/span> <span class=\"jCAhz\"><span class=\"ryNqvb\">\u201cThis step reflects the Government\u2019s determination to continue investing in a way that gives direct value to Maltese and Gozitan families, with stronger health services closer to the needs of the people\u201d, said Dr Abela.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"HwtZe\" lang=\"en\"><span class=\"jCAhz\"><span class=\"ryNqvb\"> Minister Abela said that with this investment, the Government Formulary will be increased by approximately 15 new medicines for the treatment of epilepsy.<\/span><\/span> <span class=\"jCAhz\"><span class=\"ryNqvb\">Access to these medicines is expected to improve seizure control, reduce pressure on acute services, and enhance quality of life.<\/span><\/span><span class=\"jCAhz ChMk0b\"><span class=\"ryNqvb\"> &#8220;The introduction of these medicines is another step towards fairer access to care and improving the quality of life of epilepsy patients and their families. With this expansion in the Government Formulary, the message is clear. Essential treatment should no longer depend on an exception, but should be an integral part of the standards of the health system&#8221;, concluded Dr Abela.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"pvc_stats_56619\" class=\"pvc_stats all  \" data-element-id=\"56619\" style=\"\"><i class=\"pvc-stats-icon medium\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" version=\"1.0\" viewBox=\"0 0 502 315\" preserveAspectRatio=\"xMidYMid meet\"><g transform=\"translate(0,332) scale(0.1,-0.1)\" fill=\"\" stroke=\"none\"><path d=\"M2394 3279 l-29 -30 -3 -207 c-2 -182 0 -211 15 -242 39 -76 157 -76 196 0 15 31 17 60 15 243 l-3 209 -33 29 c-26 23 -41 29 -80 29 -41 0 -53 -5 -78 -31z\"\/><path d=\"M3085 3251 c-45 -19 -58 -50 -96 -229 -47 -217 -49 -260 -13 -295 52 -53 146 -42 177 20 16 31 87 366 87 410 0 70 -86 122 -155 94z\"\/><path d=\"M1751 3234 c-13 -9 -29 -31 -37 -50 -12 -29 -10 -49 21 -204 19 -94 39 -189 45 -210 14 -50 54 -80 110 -80 34 0 48 6 76 34 21 21 34 44 34 59 0 14 -18 113 -40 219 -37 178 -43 195 -70 221 -36 32 -101 37 -139 11z\"\/><path d=\"M1163 3073 c-36 -7 -73 -59 -73 -102 0 -56 133 -378 171 -413 34 -32 83 -37 129 -13 70 36 67 87 -16 290 -86 209 -89 214 -129 231 -35 14 -42 15 -82 7z\"\/><path d=\"M3689 3066 c-15 -9 -33 -30 -42 -48 -48 -103 -147 -355 -147 -375 0 -98 131 -148 192 -74 13 15 57 108 97 206 80 196 84 226 37 273 -30 30 -99 39 -137 18z\"\/><path d=\"M583 2784 c-38 -19 -67 -74 -58 -113 9 -42 211 -354 242 -373 16 -10 45 -18 66 -18 51 0 107 52 107 100 0 39 -1 41 -124 234 -80 126 -108 162 -133 173 -41 17 -61 16 -100 -3z\"\/><path d=\"M4250 2784 c-14 -9 -74 -91 -133 -183 -95 -150 -107 -173 -107 -213 0 -55 33 -94 87 -104 67 -13 90 8 211 198 130 202 137 225 78 284 -27 27 -42 34 -72 34 -22 0 -50 -8 -64 -16z\"\/><path d=\"M2275 2693 c-553 -48 -1095 -270 -1585 -649 -135 -104 -459 -423 -483 -476 -23 -49 -22 -139 2 -186 73 -142 361 -457 571 -626 285 -228 642 -407 990 -497 242 -63 336 -73 660 -74 310 0 370 5 595 52 535 111 1045 392 1455 803 122 121 250 273 275 326 19 41 19 137 0 174 -41 79 -309 363 -465 492 -447 370 -946 591 -1479 653 -113 14 -422 18 -536 8z m395 -428 c171 -34 330 -124 456 -258 112 -119 167 -219 211 -378 27 -96 24 -300 -5 -401 -72 -255 -236 -447 -474 -557 -132 -62 -201 -76 -368 -76 -167 0 -236 14 -368 76 -213 98 -373 271 -451 485 -162 444 86 934 547 1084 153 49 292 57 452 25z m909 -232 c222 -123 408 -262 593 -441 76 -74 138 -139 138 -144 0 -16 -233 -242 -330 -319 -155 -123 -309 -223 -461 -299 l-81 -41 32 46 c18 26 49 83 70 128 143 306 141 649 -6 957 -25 52 -61 116 -79 142 l-34 47 45 -20 c26 -10 76 -36 113 -56z m-2057 25 c-40 -58 -105 -190 -130 -263 -110 -324 -59 -707 132 -981 25 -35 42 -64 37 -64 -19 0 -241 119 -326 174 -188 122 -406 314 -532 468 l-58 71 108 103 c185 178 428 349 672 473 66 33 121 60 123 61 2 0 -10 -19 -26 -42z\"\/><path d=\"M2375 1950 c-198 -44 -350 -190 -395 -379 -18 -76 -8 -221 19 -290 114 -284 457 -406 731 -260 98 52 188 154 231 260 27 69 37 214 19 290 -38 163 -166 304 -326 360 -67 23 -215 33 -279 19z\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/i> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" alt=\"Loading\" src=\"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/page-views-count\/ajax-loader-2x.gif\" border=0 \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Minister for Health and Active Ageing Jo Etienne Abela announced that over 4,000 people will benefit from an investment of \u20ac1.5 million in free epilepsy medicines. It was explained that drug-resistant epilepsy is a condition where epileptic seizures persist despite adequate treatment with medicinal therapies. This situation often leads to frequent and unpredictable seizures, with [&hellip;]<\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"pvc_stats_56619\" class=\"pvc_stats all  \" data-element-id=\"56619\" style=\"\"><i class=\"pvc-stats-icon medium\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" version=\"1.0\" viewBox=\"0 0 502 315\" preserveAspectRatio=\"xMidYMid meet\"><g transform=\"translate(0,332) scale(0.1,-0.1)\" fill=\"\" stroke=\"none\"><path d=\"M2394 3279 l-29 -30 -3 -207 c-2 -182 0 -211 15 -242 39 -76 157 -76 196 0 15 31 17 60 15 243 l-3 209 -33 29 c-26 23 -41 29 -80 29 -41 0 -53 -5 -78 -31z\"\/><path d=\"M3085 3251 c-45 -19 -58 -50 -96 -229 -47 -217 -49 -260 -13 -295 52 -53 146 -42 177 20 16 31 87 366 87 410 0 70 -86 122 -155 94z\"\/><path d=\"M1751 3234 c-13 -9 -29 -31 -37 -50 -12 -29 -10 -49 21 -204 19 -94 39 -189 45 -210 14 -50 54 -80 110 -80 34 0 48 6 76 34 21 21 34 44 34 59 0 14 -18 113 -40 219 -37 178 -43 195 -70 221 -36 32 -101 37 -139 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decoding=\"async\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" alt=\"Loading\" src=\"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/page-views-count\/ajax-loader-2x.gif\" border=0 \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":56620,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-56619","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-local-news"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/PR260563a.jpeg",432,300,false],"thumbnail":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/PR260563a-150x104.jpeg",150,104,true],"medium":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/PR260563a-300x208.jpeg",300,208,true],"medium_large":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/PR260563a.jpeg",432,300,false],"large":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/PR260563a.jpeg",432,300,false],"1536x1536":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/PR260563a.jpeg",432,300,false],"2048x2048":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/PR260563a.jpeg",432,300,false],"td_0x420":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/PR260563a.jpeg",432,300,false],"td_80x60":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/PR260563a-80x60.jpeg",80,60,true],"td_218x150":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/PR260563a-218x150.jpeg",218,150,true],"td_324x400":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/PR260563a-324x300.jpeg",324,300,true],"td_696x0":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/PR260563a.jpeg",432,300,false],"td_1068x0":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/PR260563a.jpeg",432,300,false],"td_100x70":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/PR260563a-100x70.jpeg",100,70,true],"td_265x198":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/PR260563a-265x198.jpeg",265,198,true],"td_324x160":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/PR260563a-324x160.jpeg",324,160,true],"td_324x235":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/PR260563a-324x235.jpeg",324,235,true],"td_356x220":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/PR260563a-356x220.jpeg",356,220,true],"td_356x364":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/PR260563a-356x300.jpeg",356,300,true],"td_533x261":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/PR260563a-432x261.jpeg",432,261,true],"td_534x462":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/PR260563a.jpeg",432,300,false],"td_696x385":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/PR260563a.jpeg",432,300,false],"td_741x486":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/PR260563a.jpeg",432,300,false],"td_1068x580":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/PR260563a.jpeg",432,300,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Bernard Lynch","author_link":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/author\/bernardlynch\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Minister for Health and Active Ageing Jo Etienne Abela announced that over 4,000 people will benefit from an investment of \u20ac1.5 million in free epilepsy medicines. It was explained that drug-resistant epilepsy is a condition where epileptic seizures persist despite adequate treatment with medicinal therapies. This situation often leads to frequent and unpredictable seizures, with&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56619","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56619"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56619\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56621,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56619\/revisions\/56621"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56620"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56619"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56619"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56619"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}