Leone Ridsdale is Professor of

Neurology Neurology (from , "string, nerve" and the suffix wikt:-logia, -logia, "study of") is the branch of specialty (medicine) , medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the nervous syst ...

and

General Practice General practice is personal, family, and community-orientated comprehensive primary care that includes diagnosis, continues over time and is anticipatory as well as responsive. Definitions A general practitioner (GP) is a doctor who is a consu ...

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

. Her research has focused on self-education and/or CBT therapy for people with

headache A headache, also known as cephalalgia, is the symptom of pain in the face, head, or neck. It can occur as a migraine, tension-type headache, or cluster headache. There is an increased risk of Depression (mood), depression in those with severe ...

chronic fatigue Fatigue is a state of tiredness (which is not sleepiness), exhaustion or loss of energy. It is a symptom of any of various diseases; it is not a disease in itself. Fatigue (in the medical sense) is sometimes associated with medical conditions ...

and

epilepsy Epilepsy is a group of Non-communicable disease, non-communicable Neurological disorder, neurological disorders characterized by a tendency for recurrent, unprovoked Seizure, seizures. A seizure is a sudden burst of abnormal electrical activit ...

. Her teaching focus was on developing education for medical students and graduates to improve neurology patient care in the community.

Training and interests

Ridsdale trained in

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

and

social policy Some professionals and universities consider social policy a subset of public policy, while other practitioners characterize social policy and public policy to be two separate, competing approaches for the same public interest (similar to MD a ...

at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

, specializing in education and medical care. After lecturing on health and social care at

Manchester University The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

, she studied

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

McMaster University Medical School The Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, known as the McMaster University School of Medicine prior to 2004, is the medical school of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It is operated by the McMaster Faculty of ...

in Canada. Her specialist training in medicine,

psychiatry Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of deleterious mental disorder, mental conditions. These include matters related to cognition, perceptions, Mood (psychology), mood, emotion, and behavior. ...

, and neurology was at

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

and the

Montreal Neurological Institute The McGill University Health Centre (MUHC; ) is one of two major healthcare networks in the city of Montreal, Quebec. It is affiliated with McGill University and one of the largest medical complexes in Montreal. It is the largest hospital system i ...

. She accredited as a neurologist in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and the US in 1980, and returned to the UK. Finding North American training was not recognised in the UK, Ridsdale trained and practiced as a GP. She then set up an MSc in General Practice at Guy's and St Thomas's Medical School. The course combined social science and medical care, and led her to publish books on evidence-based practice. Later, Ridsdale was accredited as a Neurologist in the UK, and appointed Director of medical student teaching in neurology at King's College London. She focused the curriculum on common neurology problems and core skills. Students subsequently reported more confidence and competence, and less 'neurophobia'.

Continuing Professional Development

Ridsdale did a master's degree in Life-Writing at Sussex University, and collaborated with KCL's English Department on Life-Writing research. She trained in CBT Therapy at Oxford University and continues in practice.

Research

Chronic Fatigue

Ridsdale did a GP cohort study of patients with chronic fatigue, leading to a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

. Poor recovery rates, led her onto three

trials In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal, wh ...

testing therapies including

counselling Counseling is the professional guidance of the individual by utilizing psychological methods especially in collecting case history data, using various techniques of the personal interview, and testing interests and aptitudes. This is a list of c ...

, cognitive-behaviour therapy (CBT) and graded-exercise.

Headache

Linking neurology and general practice, Ridsdale and colleagues described the commonness of patients presenting with headache in general practice, why they were referred to neurologists, whether this might be reduced by GP direct access to MRI, and the potential contribution of GPs with Special Interest and CBT.

Epilepsy

Ridsdale described the commonness and unmet needs for education among people with epilepsy, testing interventions by specially trained

nurses Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...

in three trials. Using general practice electronic records, Ridsdale and colleagues described risk factors for death in epilepsy, and the potential for identifying risks routinely, with step-up care aimed at reducing premature loss of life in epilepsy. Ridsdale was the Chief Investigator on a

National Institute for Health Research The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) is the British government's major funder of clinical, public health, social care and translational research. With a budget of over £1.2 billion in 2020–21, its mission is to "improv ...

(NIHR) funded trial which assessed the effectiveness of a course called "Self-Management education for adults with Epilepsy (SMILE-UK)" in helping those with poorly controlled epilepsy to manage.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ridsdale, Leone Living people Academics of King's College London Fellows of the Royal College of General Practitioners Year of birth missing (living people)