The Purple Camp Makes Summer Fun for Kids Living with Epilepsy

Human nerves
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Granite Point Capital founder and CEO Warren Lammert is a strong supporter of organizations that assist people with epilepsy. The parent of a young woman who was diagnosed with a rare form of the condition as an infant, he has established nonprofits and research groups that investigate the causes of epilepsy and pioneer innovative treatments. These include the Epilepsy Therapy Project and Epilepsy.com, both which have since been folded into the Epilepsy Foundation, of which Warren Lammert is an immediate past chairman.

The Epilepsy Foundation’s numerous chapters educate, raise funds, and advocate at the local level, as well as operate programs and activities that cater to the particular needs of children with epilepsy and their families. The Epilepsy Foundation New England’s initiatives include The Purple Camp.

At the week-long sleepaway camp, children with epilepsy can enjoy their summers simply being kids. It provides a nurturing environment, designed with consideration for the health and safety needs of young people with epilepsy, where campers can go kayaking or boating, practice archery skills, scale climbing towers, and express their creativity through arts and theater projects.

The network of local camps that belong to The Purple Camp project also employ a staff of nurses and an on-call neurologist to ensure that campers have access to needed medical support throughout their stay.

November Marks National Epilepsy Awareness Month

Brain model Photo by
Robina Weermeijer on Unsplash

Having accumulated decades of experience in managing hedge funds, Warren Lammert now oversees some $250 million in assets under management at Granite Point Capital in Boston. The father of a daughter diagnosed in infancy with a devastating form of epilepsy, Warren Lammert is also known as a philanthropist who supports the Epilepsy Foundation and multiple other nonprofits committed to not only searching for innovative treatments, but also offering networking and support to families.

The Epilepsy Foundation notes that the disease is the fourth most common neurological disorder known to physicians, affecting approximately 3.4 million people in the United States alone. And every year, some 150,000 individuals are diagnosed with the condition for the first time.

In fact, the experts working with the foundation estimate that 1 out of every 26 Americans will develop epilepsy over the course of their lives.

Characterized by the sudden onset of neurological seizures prompted by changes in the brain’s electrical activity, epilepsy can affect different parts of the brain and body in different people. Epileptic seizures also vary in frequency and severity.

Worldwide, more than 60 million people have received a diagnosis of epilepsy. But for more than half of these individuals, the causes of their epilepsy are as yet undiagnosed.

For all these reasons, the Epilepsy Foundation continues its efforts to raise funds, support groundbreaking research, and help people connect with resources.

Sleeping Recommendations for People with Epilepsy

Financial services professional Warren Lammert serves as the CEO and chief investment officer of Boston-based Granite Point Capital, which he founded in 2004. Additionally, Warren Lammert is a dedicated philanthropist who serves on the boards of a variety of companies and nonprofit organizations that aim to advance epilepsy research.

Crucial to improving overall health and wellness among all people, sleep is particularly important for those living with epilepsy. Seizures are sensitive to sleep patterns, and a lack of good, regular sleep can trigger an increase in the frequency, intensity, and length of seizures. Some forms of epilepsy, such as autosomal dominant nocturnal frontal lobe epilepsy and benign rolandic epilepsy, are especially tied to sleeping patterns, as they generally involve seizures that occur at night. These types of epilepsy, in particular, can make it even harder to get a good night’s sleep and feel well-rested in the morning, which can result in worse seizures.

The Epilepsy Foundation recommends not only maintaining a realistic bedtime schedule, but also turning off all electronic devices at least an hour before going to sleep. Doing so ensures the proper production of melatonin, a sleep-inducing hormone that is also produced by exposure to sunlight. Other things to consider to ensure that you receive the proper amount of sleep at night include exercising regularly, taking a warm shower before bed, and limiting caffeine and alcohol consumption at night.

Amid Uncertain World Economic Climate, China Continues to Show Growth

Warren Lammert graduated with distinction from the London School of Economics and Political Science with an MS in economic history. He has since garnered substantial experience as a financial analyst and portfolio manager that has informed not only his leadership of Granite Point Capital as its CEO and chief investment officer, but also his insights into world economic patterns over time. Moreover, Warren Lammert speaks Chinese and maintains a particular interest in the economic history of China.

In January 2019, the International Monetary Fund held to its October 2018 projections for the continuing steady economic growth of China for 2019, even as it adjusted its overall forecast for global growth downward.

The IMF forecasts that China will grow its economy by more than 6 percent in 2019. Anticipated sustained consumer demand on the domestic side, as well as Chinese government policies designed to spur such demand, are leading factors supporting that conclusion.

Even so, such an optimistic projection comes after recent slower-than-usual performance. China’s overall industrial and export activity has moderated. This comes at a time of growing trade-related tensions, with the international trade pieces of the puzzle still unclear.

The CNBC news network reported in January 2019 that China’s economy grew by only 6.6 percent over the previous year, the slowest such pace on record for almost three decades, a finding anticipated by a range of economists.

Epilepsy Research Advocate Warren Lammert

Granite Point Capital founder, CEO, and chief investment officer Warren Lammert co-founded the community website Epilepsy.com and the nonprofit Epilepsy Therapy Project in the early 2000s after discovering that his daughter was living with a rare epileptic disorder known as Dravet syndrome. While the Epilepsy Therapy Project merged with the Epilepsy Foundation in 2013, Warren Lammert continues to pursue a cure for rare epileptic disorders through his entrepreneurial endeavors and involvement in the biomedical research sector.

In this regard, Warren Lammert serves as the chairman of the board of directors of Tevard Biosciences, a gene-therapy firm in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that he co-founded in 2017. He further engages in epilepsy research in his capacity as the chairman of the board of Colorado-based Cerebral Therapeutics, a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company focused on neurologically based illnesses. Mr. Lammert also serves on the board of directors of Engage Therapeutics, which developed Staccato Alprazolam, a handheld drug device that is being tested for use as a method of treating individual epileptic seizures as they occur.

Warren Lammert has been quoted on epilepsy research-related subjects on CBS Denver and MSNBC, as well as in The New York Times. Due to his longtime dedication to the cause, he was honored in 2007 by the NYU group Finding a Cure for Epilepsy and Seizures (FACES). Mr. Lammert’s work also earned him recognition as an honoree at the Epilepsy Foundation 2013 World Changers: Art of Innovation Gala and as a recipient of the Epilepsy New England Lifetime Achievement Award.