Preface

Abstract

The Asian Oceania Epilepsy Organization (AOEO) was founded at the 25th Annual Congress of the Japan Epilepsy Society (JES) with Dr. M. Seino as the President, following a symposium entitled “Epilepsy in Asia” held at the Congress. The first Asian Oceanian Epilepsy Congress (AOEC) was held in 1996 in Seoul, Korea, after the formation of AOEO. Subsequently, congresses have been held biennially in Taipei, Taiwan (1998), New Delhi, India (2000), and Karuizawa, Japan (2002). The Commission on Asian and Oceanian Affairs (CAOA) was founded by the ILAE in 1996 following the 1st AOEC with Dr. M. Seino as the first Chair. The objectives of both AOEO and CAOA were to promote the development of epileptology and improve epilepsy care in the Asian and Oceanian regions, with CAOA as the executive body and the AOEO as the overseeing board whose membership consisted of representations from the member countries. The 4th AOEC was held in collaboration with the 36th Annual Congress of the JES on September 11–14, 2002 in Karuizawa, Japan. It was an important milestone in the history of development of epileptology and epilepsy care in Asia in terms of the richness of its scientific program and the large number of participants. The scientific program consisted of one special lecture, four symposia, two workshops, eight didactic lectures, the ILAE/IBE/WHO Global Campaign Meeting, and 332 free papers. There were 870 participants. The Congress was indeed successful in fulfilling the objectives of AOEO and CAOA in promoting the development of epileptology and epilepsy care, as well as enhancing the friendship and solidarity of the epilepsy medical community in the region. This supplement consists of a collection of articles, short papers, and abstracts selected from the presentations at the 4th AOEC. It is grouped under the headings special lecture, symposium, workshop, global campaign meeting, neuroscience session, and selected papers. The publication of this supplement will further enhance the impact of the Congress by reaching the wide readership of Epilepsia.