International Epilepsy Congress Research Articles

All eyes on the pros and cons of vigabatrin

Vigabatrin is an effective drug for the treatment of epilepsy and has been available to clinicians for several years. However, long term experience with the drug has identified a disturbing and relatively common adverse event: visual field defects occur in approximately one third of patients treated with vigabatrin. The 23rd International Epilepsy Congress [Prague, Czech Republic; September 1999] provided an opportunity for clinicians to talk about the visual field defect issue in detail and discuss whether the benefits of vigabatrin therapy still outweigh the risks.

23rd IEC Proceedings

EpilepsiaVolume 40, Issue s2 p. 3-302 Free Access 23rd IEC Proceedings 23rd International Epilepsy Congress Prague, Czech Republic, September 12–17, 1999 First published: 02 August 2005 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1528-1157.1999.tb01725.xCitations: 1AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume40, Issues2February 1999Pages 3-302 RelatedInformation

Book Reviews

Books reviewed in this article: Cerebrovascular Disease. H. Hunt Batjer, Louis R. Caplan, Lars Friberg, Ralph G. Greenlee, Jr., Thomas A Kopitnik, Jr., William L. Young, eds.. Economic Evaluation of Epilepsy Management. Proceedings of the Symposium on Economic Aspects of Epilepsy at the 21st International Epilepsy Congress in Sydney in 1995. Christoph Pachlatko and Roy G. Beran, eds.. Behavioral Neurology and the Legacy of Norman Geschwind. Steven C. Schachter and Orrin Devinski, eds.

Current View of Advances in Epilepsy

A NEW ERA in the treatment of epilepsy has been ushered in with approval by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the first implantable medical device to reduce the number of seizures, development of a plethora of new antiepileptic drugs (AEDs), and advances in surgery, imaging techniques, and genetics research. At the 22nd International Epilepsy Congress, held this summer in Dublin, Ireland, more than 5000 neurologists, neurosurgeons, primary care physicians, and allied health professionals from more than 70 countries heard presentations that reflected the spectrum of change in the diagnosis and treatment of the disorder. The number of options that have become available to physicians and patients is enormous, said David W. Chadwick, MD, professor of neurology at the University of Liverpool, in Liverpool, England. Once, you could teach medical students all they needed to know about the management of epilepsy, fairly confident that the information about

Epilepsy: clinical questions and clinical outcomes

What outcomes of epilepsy treatment are important to patients and how can these be measured by objective means? What makes epilepsy drug-resistant and how should intractable epilepsy be treated? These and other questions were raised at the 22nd International Epilepsy Congress [Dublin, Ireland; July 1997].

Professional privilege, driving and epilepsy, the doctor's responsibility.

Privacy and professional privilege between doctor and patient were reviewed at the 21st International Epilepsy Congress and at the First Academic Seminar of the Australian College of Legal Medicine (ACLM). A survey was conducted at the ACLM to review the attitudes of a group of doctors who were also trained within the law, regarding professional privilege in general and the responsibilities and liabilities of doctors when dealing with non-compliant patients who have uncontrolled epilepsy and continue to drive motor vehicles. Most responders (17/19) felt that there should be professional privilege between doctor and patient, although only one respondent felt that such privilege should be absolute. Fourteen out of 19 respondents felt that doctors had a duty to report those patients who posed a risk, with 4/19 denying such duty and one respondent being undecided. Inconsistencies emerged when all respondents felt that a doctor should report a non-compliant, dangerous patient, as presented within the scenario and 4/19 of respondents attributed legal liability to the doctor for loss of income by the family of the victim of a traffic accident, resultant from failure to disclose. The study concluded that it was safer for the doctor to report patients seen as posing a foreseeable risk, unless such reporting contravened legislative restriction as may exist in such jurisdictions as in France.

New targets exploited by novel anticonvulsants

Johnson & Johnson’s topiramate has just received approval in the UK as a treatment for refractory epilepsy. Now, the task is to determine the best use of this new agent, considering the considerable number of anticonvulsants already available. Other pharmaceutical companies are also pursuing new anticonvulsants, which, interestingly, have quite diverse mechanisms of action. Reports on their activity were presented at the 21st International Epilepsy Congress [Sydney, Australia; September 1995].

Choosing between anticonvulsant drugs

In most countries, there is now a choice of nearly 20 anticonvulsants for treating patients with epilepsy. Thus, physicians need to be well informed on how to choose between treatments, particularly in view of the recent shift from poly- to monotherapy. Unfortunately, there is little in the way of hard evidence on the subject of optimal treatment selection. According to speakers at the 21st International Epilepsy Congress [Sydney, Australia; September 1995], choices are currently based on familiarity with agents and keeping costs down. In this report, data and opinions reported at the conference are brought together to provide an up-to-date perspective on the best therapeutic options in epilepsy.

Genetic studies of epilepsy - a pathway to new treatments?

This year has seen several significant advances in genetic research relating to inherited forms of epilepsy. Gene linkage has been established for several epileptic syndromes, and a new mouse model that provides a more accurate reflection of human epilepsy has been developed. In a presentation at the 21st International Epilepsy Congress [Sydney, Australia; September 1995], Dr James O McNamara from Duke University Medical Center, North Carolina, US, outlined how this research may eventually be translated into new treatments for patients with this condition.

To not be afraid

The psychological aspects of epilepsy are lifelong. To maximize a healthy life, it is critical that the patient with epilepsy not view such illness as a stigma. During the Twentieth International Epilepsy Congress, the author presented an autobiographical poem entitled: ‘Life with epilepsy: 1960–1992' 1 . The following poem represents his feelings following the presentation, and his underlying fear of rejection even by educated colleagues.

21st IEC Proceedings

EpilepsiaVolume 36, Issue s3 p. S1-S275 21st IEC Proceedings 21 st International Epilepsy Congress Sydney, Australia, September 3–8, 1995 First published: March 1995 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1528-1157.1995.tb01719.xCitations: 1AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume36, Issues3March 1995Pages S1-S275 RelatedInformation

20th International Epilepsy Congress. Oslo, Norway, July 3-8, 1993. Abstracts.

EpilepsiaVolume 34, Issue s2 p. 1-196 20th IEC Proceedings 20th International Epilepsy Congress Oslo, Norway, July 3–8, 1993 First published: March 1993 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1528-1157.1993.tb01717.xCitations: 8AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onEmailFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume34, Issues2March 1993Pages 1-196 RelatedInformation

Abstracts from the 19th International Epilepsy Congress Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, October 14–19, 1991

EpilepsiaVolume 32, Issue s1 p. 1-119 Abstracts from the 19th International Epilepsy Congress Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, October 14–19, 1991 First published: March 1991 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1528-1157.1991.tb05875.xAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Volume32, Issues1March 1991Pages 1-119 RelatedInformation

18th International Epilepsy congress: 17–22 October 1989, New Delhi, India

18th International Epilepsy congress: 17–22 October 1989, New Delhi, India