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University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers study new drug for epilepsy

When Lily Giroux tries to go off her medications, her eyes roll and she slumps over for seconds at a time.

Grace Penwell shakes uncontrollably for about two minutes at least once a week, despite drugs and surgery.

Lily, 13, and Grace, 10, have epilepsy, a brain disorder marked by seizures.

Their parents, frustrated with the limits of treatments for the disease, are banking on an experimental approach at UW-Madison: a drug that mimics the low-sugar diets some people with epilepsy have tried since Biblical times.