American Epilepsy Society Annual Research Articles

It’s About Time! Timing in Epilepsy Evaluation and Treatment

The 2023 American Epilepsy Society Annual Course “It’s About Time” addressed timing in epilepsy evaluation and treatment with respect to health disparity and vulnerable populations and diagnostic, clinical, and epilepsy surgery evaluation. This comprehensive course included topics on gaps in epilepsy care and optimization of behavioral health for patients with epilepsy. The summary details current knowledge in areas of seizure forecasting and epileptogenesis. Intricacies and controversies over timing were discussed for treatment of nonconvulsive seizures and ictal-interictal patterns, acute symptomatic seizures, neuromodulation versus surgery, and epilepsy surgery in status epilepticus. Timing regarding clinical care in autoimmune-associated epilepsy, developmental and epileptic encephalopathy, and dietary therapy were examined. Additionally, salient topics on using novel biomarkers and collaboration with neuropsychological outcomes were also tackled in this all-encompassing lecture series.

Hot Topics in Epilepsy—Highlights of the American Epilepsy Society Annual Meeting 2018

The American Epilepsy Society Annual Meeting is the largest gathering on epilepsy in the world. The 2018 meeting, which was held in New Orleans, Louisiana, from November 30–December 4, 2018, featured symposia, workshops, and lectures aimed at healthcare practitioners involved in all aspects of the care of patients with epilepsy. In a number of expert interviews conducted at the meeting, authors of key presentations shared their expertise and provided insights into some of the hottest topics in the field.

Genetics of Focal Epilepsies: What Do We Know and Where Are We Heading?

This article is based on a lecture delivered at the 2017 American Epilepsy Society Annual Meeting and provides an overview of the growing evidence supporting the strong genetic contribution to focal epilepsies. This also discusses how advances in the molecular genetics of focal epilepsies are rapidly translating to routine clinical care.

Epilepsy Treatment: A Futurist View.

Advances in epilepsy treatment are occurring at a rapid pace, and it is challenging for us to keep up with the latest in our field. As we struggle to keep up with the literature and concentrate on our own research and clinical work, we often fail to exercise our imagination and envision what our field will be like in future decades. This was the assignment to the speakers for the Presidential Symposium at the 2016 American Epilepsy Society Annual Meeting. I challenged the experts to step outside the frame of their usual daily work to imagine what epilepsy treatment would and should look like for the next generation of epilepsy specialists and their patients. As you will read in the following sections, the speakers truly stepped up to the challenge to look into the crystal ball. The following are summaries of each lecture that describe the current state, existing cutting edge ideas, and some surprising predictions for the future. I am grateful for the tremendous effort these experts put into this challenge and hope they stimulate your imagination so you will work to bring these advances to our patients.

News from the American Epilepsy Society Annual Meeting

News from the American Epilepsy Society Annual Meeting

News from the American Epilepsy Society Annual Meeting

News from the American Epilepsy Society Annual Meeting

News from the American Epilepsy Society Annual Meeting

News from the American Epilepsy Society Annual Meeting

When Should Genetic Testing Be Performed in Epilepsy Patients?

This review is a summary of a talk presented at the 2015 American Epilepsy Society Annual Meeting. Its purposes are 1) to review developments in epilepsy genetics, 2) to discuss which groups of patients with epilepsy might benefit from genetic testing, and 3) to present a rational approach to genetic testing in epilepsy in the rapidly evolving era of genomic medicine.

New Definition and Classifications of Epilepsy Among Highlights of the American Epilepsy Society Annual Meeting

More than 5 million children and adults suffer from epilepsy, but diagnosis and treatment remains challenging. A new classification system rolled out at the recent American Epilepsy Society annual meeting should help make diagnosis easier, ensuring earlier identification of epilepsy and more timely treatment. Other cutting-edge research, insights and best practices presented at the meeting focused on surgical and minimally invasive treatment options, the use of anti-epileptic drugs in pregnant women, the potential benefits of cannabidiol oil in patients refractory to standard treatment and the underdiagnosis of infantile spasms.

News from the American Epilepsy Society Annual Meeting

News from the American Epilepsy Society Annual Meeting

News from the American Epilepsy Society Annual Meeting

News from the American Epilepsy Society Annual Meeting

News from the American Epilepsy Society Annual Meeting

News from the American Epilepsy Society Annual Meeting

Managing Common Complex Symptomatic Epilepsies: Tumors and Trauma

Head trauma and brain tumors are inextricably linked to epilepsy. Both traumatic brain injury and brain tumors are overrepresented in newly diagnosed patients with epilepsy, as well as in patients with drug-resistant focal epilepsy. Indeed, chronic seizures are the most cited problem associated with either of these conditions. However, managing complex cases of posttraumatic epilepsy or tumor-based epilepsy can be a challenge for many epilepsy specialists. Currently, there is no clear understanding of the basic science that underpins the mechanism for epileptogenesis in patients with tumors or trauma so at present one cannot identify appropriate targets that could help prevent seizures and epilepsy from occurring. Because of these challenges, complex lesional epilepsy was chosen as the theme for this year’s 2012 American Epilepsy Society Annual Course. The objectives for the course included understanding models for preventing epileptogenesis, creating best evidence algorithms that describe how to best manage patients with epilepsy related to brain tumors, including novel intraoperative monitoring techniques. Risk analyses were summarized to benefit treatment decisions regarding the prophylactic use of antiepileptic drugs in patients with CNS tumors or traumatic brain injury and to present the best management options with patients with metastatic brain tumors based on current knowledge. Throughout two half-day sessions, post-traumatic epilepsy and tumoral epilepsy were explored in detail. Each session was framed by clinical cases involving adults and children. Through a variety of learning methodologies that included lectures, debates, and panel sessions, clinical management was highlighted, illuminating basic science and practice gaps. This discussion summarizes the salient take-home points of the session that are clinically useful for the practicing clinician.

News from the American Epilepsy Society Annual Meeting: Can an Anti-Inflammatory Inhibit Partial-onset Seizures?

News from the American Epilepsy Society Annual Meeting: Can an Anti-Inflammatory Inhibit Partial-onset Seizures?

Introduction—Annual Course 2008: American Epilepsy Society

Introduction—Annual Course 2008: American Epilepsy Society

Pharmacoresistance: From Clinic to Mechanism Proceedings from the 25th Annual Merritt‐Putnam Symposium American Epilepsy Society Annual Meeting December 3, 2005

<i>Pharmacoresistance: From Clinic to Mechanism</i> Proceedings from the 25th Annual Merritt‐Putnam Symposium American Epilepsy Society Annual Meeting December 3, 2005

American Epilepsy Society Annual Course 2005 The Evidence for How We Diagnose and Treat Epilepsy Patients

American Epilepsy Society Annual Course 2005 The Evidence for How We Diagnose and Treat Epilepsy Patients

Editors' Remarks

Repeated publication of the same set of data or text, in different journals, is an unfortunately common practice. It is driven by several factors, including multiple requests for manuscripts based on symposia presentations that deal with a common theme. Most medical academics have engaged in this practice to some extent. Given that most copyright assignment forms allow the author(s) to continue to use published materials for personal and educational purposes, it may be unclear what is considered to be acceptable practice. “Self-duplication” may not appear to be as serious an issue as misappropriation of material by other authors (i.e., using work from other authors without permission and appropriate referencing). The American Medical Association Manual of Style, however, indicates that “duplicate publication or the submission of duplicate material is not necessarily unethical, but failure to disclose the existence of duplicate articles, manuscripts, or other material is unethical and may represent a violation of copyright law” (AMA Manual of Style, 9th Edition, 1998, p. 98). We were recently informed that the material contained in a paper published in Supplement 4 of the 2004 volume of Epilepsia (45 (Suppl.4): 41–42, 2004) was subsequently re-published in the Journal of Child Neurology (19:687–689, 2004). The Epilepsia paper was a case description based on the author's presentation at the 2003 American Epilepsy Society Annual Course. The J.Child.Neurol. paper was longer and involved additional material, but included the Epilepsia text almost word-for-word (>90% of the Epilepsia article was duplicated). Epilepsia Supplements, just as articles in the regular Journal pages, comprise peer-reviewed, Medline-indexed material, and should be handled with accepted scholarly standards. The Editors of Epilepsia urge our contributors to avoid extensive duplication of prior material in any work submitted to Epilepsia, or of any Epilepsia-published material in work submitted to other journals.

Spectrum of activity of new antiepileptic drugs

Long-term drug therapy is the most common method of treatment for controlling seizures in patients with epilepsy. In 1990, there were only 5 frequently used antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) being prescribed in the US. Now, that number has more than doubled and additional candidates are awaiting regulatory approval or are in the development pipeline. While the increase in the number of agents available has increased the treatment options for physicians and patients, it has also made appropriate drug selection for an individual patient more difficult. The spectrum of activity of new AEDs in the context of which patients will benefit from these drugs was reviewed at a symposium session of the American Epilepsy Society Annual Meeting [ Boston, US; December 1997 ].

1992 William Lennox Lecture American Epilepsy Society annual meeting. The premise, the promise, and the problems with basic research in epilepsy.

1992 William Lennox Lecture American Epilepsy Society annual meeting. The premise, the promise, and the problems with basic research in epilepsy.