The American Epilepsy Society is pleased to announce that Debra L. Gist, MPH, FACEHP will be joining the organization as Director of Education and Professional Development.
American Epilepsy Society (AES) opens registration for its 69th Annual Meeting, December 4-8, 2015, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia.
The American Epilepsy Society (AES) is pleased to announce that Keri Kramer has joined AES as the new Director of Member Engagement. In this role Keri will be responsible for overseeing all areas of membership growth and programs designed to increase member engagement with the Society.
Epilepsy Currents is a literature surveillance publication, including brief expert commentary on abstracts in selected basic science and clinical topics selected by the editorial board.
The American Epilepsy Society (AES) announced Alan B. McMillan, Ph.D., Principal Investigator in the Department of Radiology at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, as the recipient of a 2015 AES Seed Grant. Dr. McMillan’s winning proposal seeks to obtain early preliminary data of neurodegeneration in chronic epilepsy using simultaneous Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and Magnetic Resonance (MR) imaging.
Today the American Epilepsy Society (AES) announced Anis Contractor, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Physiology at Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, as the recipient of a 2015 AES Seed Grant. Dr. Contractor’s proposed research seeks to address a fundamental question about cellular and circuit level excitability in the mouse model of Dravet Syndrome.
Leigh N. Sepeta, Ph.D., Children’s National Health System, was awarded the Susan S. Spencer Clinical Research Training Fellowship for her work in temporal lobe epilepsy in pediatric patients. Dr. Sepeta will receive this distinguished honor at an award ceremony to take place during the American Academy of Neurology’s (AAN) Annual Meeting later this month. Dr. Sepeta was also recognized for this award during the American Epilepsy Society Annual Meeting.
Epilepsy affects nearly 30 percent of all people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a neurobehavioral condition marked by impaired social and language development. Conversely, many patients with epilepsy display ASD-like behavior. Recent studies suggest that epileptic seizures impair the neural pathways needed for socialization, but the details of this process remain unclear.
New trends and cutting-edge research in epilepsy will be highlighted in an Invited Science Session on April 23 from 1:00 – 2:45 p.m. at the American Academy of Neurology’s 2015 Annual Meeting in Washington, DC.
The Invited Science Session will feature 20-minute platform presentations from authors of five groundbreaking studies presented at the American Epilepsy Society’s recent Annual Meeting.
The American Epilepsy Society (AES) has announced that abstract submissions for the 2015 Annual Meeting are now open. This year the AES 69th Annual Meeting will be held in Philadelphia, PA at the Pennsylvania Convention Center from December 4-8, 2015. The event is expected to draw more than 5,000 of the world’s leading epilepsy professionals to learn about the most recent clinical and basic research, technology and treatment developments and to exchange new ideas.
The American Epilepsy Society (AES) has released its list of new fellowship awardees, naming 14 recipients for the organization’s early-career awards. The fellowship recipients come from academic institutions and medical schools throughout the U.S. and include clinicians and basic scientists who are focused on many different components of epilepsy treatment and research. The winners were selected from a competitive pool of applicants. This year’s winners will receive funding for one year.
The American Epilepsy Society (AES) the U.S. branch of the International League Against Epilepsy, joins epilepsy professionals around the globe in recognizing International Epilepsy Day and calling for more investment in epilepsy research.
New research presented at the American Epilepsy Society's (AES) 68th Annual Meeting explores the complex emotional, behavioral and intellectual disabilities associated with childhood epilepsy and their effect on development.
Three studies exploring the efficacy and safety in the development of a purified and formulated form of cannabis called Epidiolex will be presented at the American Epilepsy Society's (AES) 68th Annual Meeting.
A pair of studies presented at the American Epilepsy Society's (AES) 68th Annual Meeting will offer insights into the therapeutic effects of specialized diets in adults with epilepsy.
Three studies to be presented at the American Epilepsy Society's (AES) 68th Annual Meeting in December aim to improve communication around SUDEP by re-evaluating how death certificates are coded, and by promoting the accessibility and distribution of SUDEP-related information.
Three studies to be presented at the American Epilepsy Society's (AES) 68th Annual Meeting analyze potential factors that impair driving in people with epilepsy and in people who experience "seizure-like" non-epileptic events.
In a pair of studies to be featured at the American Epilepsy Society's (AES) 68th Annual Meeting, researchers describe innovative models for predicting seizure occurrence in critically ill children.
New findings from a phase 3 clinical trial to be unveiled at the American Epilepsy Society's (AES) 68th Annual Meeting suggest an additional therapeutic option may be coming down the pike.
Two studies to be presented at the American Epilepsy Society's (AES) 68th Annual Meeting explore the outcomes of brain surgery for children with severe epilepsy.
A pair of studies to be presented at the American Epilepsy Society’s (AES) 68th Annual Meeting provides innovative insights into the genetic underpinnings of childhood epilepsies.
A new study that will be featured at the American Epilepsy Society’s (AES) 68th Annual Meeting examines the reliability of optogenetics as a method of intervention of temporal lobe seizures, and the role the cerebellum may play in hippocampal function and seizure reduction.
Groundbreaking findings describing the link between cardiac abnormalities and sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) will be presented at the American Epilepsy Society’s (AES) 68th Annual Meeting.
An international competition using the wisdom of crowds has developed computer algorithms to detect, predict, and ultimately prevent epileptic seizures. A total of five-hundred and four teams competed in two challenges, one for Seizure Detection and a second for Seizure Prediction.
While current epilepsy research may seem like it’s ripped from the pages of a science fiction novel, it’s real—and even pretty cool. Epilepsy provides researchers with unparalleled avenues to discover how the brain is structured and how it functions: a true ‘window on the brain.’ In recognition of Epilepsy Awareness Month the American Epilepsy Society (AES) is highlighting just a few of the groundbreaking scientific developments made within the last 10-50 years.
In advance of the American Epilepsy Society’s (AES) Annual Meeting in December, the organization has offered highlights of groundbreaking research being studied at a number of institutions regarding the effectiveness of cannibidiol (CBD) and its derivatives as a viable treatment for people with epilepsy.
Today the American Epilepsy Society (AES) awarded a new seed grant for a collaborative project between Dr. Michal Hetman, MD, PhD, and Dr. Steven Danzer, PhD.
The American Epilepsy Society is proud to announce an increase in Impact Factor for its literature surveillance publication, Epilepsy Currents. For the 2013 year Epilepsy Currents received 2.952 a substantial increase from the 2012 Impact Factor of 2.333.
The American Epilepsy Society (AES) is pleased to announce that it has received $60,000 in grants from Upsher-Smith, the pharmaceutical company. The funds will help support three major AES programs: the AES Fellows Program, the Self Assessment in Epilepsy (SAE) and the Seed Grant Program.
One in 26 Americans will develop epilepsy over the course of a lifetime leading to nearly three million Americans now living with epilepsy. For nearly one-third of them, their seizures are uncontrolled by medicine and other common forms of treatment. People who have uncontrolled seizures are at heightened risk for Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP), which takes more lives annually in the United States than fires and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) combined.
A researcher from the University of Calgary is receiving $130,000 to develop clinical decision tools to aid a physician’s understanding of how a patient will respond to different treatments. Colin Josephson, MD, MSc, a clinical and research fellow in epilepsy, was awarded the Susan S. Spencer Clinical Research Training Fellowship for his work in developing a clinical decision tool that is aimed at improving quality of patient care and helping ensure cost-effective use of healthcare resources.
Today, the American Epilepsy Society (AES) released its list of new fellowship awardees, naming 15 recipients for the organization’s early-career awards. The fellowship recipients come from academic institutions and medical schools throughout the U.S. and include clinicians and basic scientists who are focused on many different components of epilepsy treatment and research. The winners were selected from a competitive pool of applicants and they will receive funding for one year.
Medications remain the mainstay of epilepsy treatment, and to date there are no FDA-approved devices that provide an accurate means of detection for generalized tonic-clonic seizures (GTCS), or convulsions, during activities of daily living. Two new studies presented at the American Epilepsy Society’s 67th Annual Meeting in Washington D.C. provide data that warrants the development of non-invasive devices with the capability to signal the onset of an epileptic seizure and could be crucial to optimal patient dosing.
WASHINGTON DC, December 9, 2013 – New research pertaining to the latest findings on the effects of epilepsy on both the mother and child were presented at the American Epilepsy Society’s 67th Annual Meeting in Washington DC. These studies explore folic acid use, the effect of surgery with intractable focal epilepsy, and antiepileptic drug exposure during breastfeeding.
Three studies coming out of the American Epilepsy Society’s 67th Annual Meeting in Washington DC expose the high prevalence of epilepsy and other neurological disorders in US Veterans who served in Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn. The research conducted from these studies indicate that veterans are at a particularly high risk for traumatic brain injury (TBI), post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), psychological non-epileptic seizures (PNES) and epileptic seizure diagnoses.
For several years, epilepsy practitioners have questioned the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) definition of bioequivalence as it applies to narrow therapeutic index (NTI) drugs, such as those used for epilepsy. In response to these concerns, the FDA has sponsored 3 studies of antiepileptic drugs and also convened an advisory board to help determine which drugs are NTI. The new NTI definition and new bioequivalence guidelines and their impact will be a major point of discussion during a town hall session held with leaders from the FDA during the American Epilepsy Society's 67th annual meeting in Washington DC.
Patients with epilepsy and, in particular, those with severe syndromic forms of the disorder, harbor a risk of sudden unexplained death in epilepsy, or SUDEP. Cardiac arrhythmias are a proposed cause. In a test of this theory, researchers have demonstrated that mice harboring a human SCN1A gene mutation that results in Dravet Syndrome (DS), a severe and intractable genetic epilepsy, have electrical disturbances in the heart that culminate in ventricular fibrillation and sudden cardiac death. Their findings, reported today at the American Epilepsy Society (AES) 67th annual meeting, suggest there may be novel strategies aimed at preventing SUDEP (Platform C.02 / abstract 1751046 – Heart Rate Variability Analysis Reveals Altered Autonomic Tone in Mouse Model of Dravet Syndrome).
Epilepsy patients with complex partial seizures have impaired consciousness during seizure episodes and typically have no memory of the event. However, the mechanisms of seizure unconsciousness are unclear. Research reported today at the American Epilepsy Society (AES) 67th Annual Meeting suggests that the mechanism underlying loss of awareness during complex partial seizures is likely the same as that involved in slow wave or deep sleep.
Washington, D.C., December 8, 2013 – Receiving specialized care in a timely manner plays a significant role in the progression and impact of epilepsy on someone’s life. Multiple organizations across the global epilepsy community have collaborated on “My Seizure, Know More” a web-based tool that empowers people with epilepsy and their families to seek specialized care.
A long-standing hypothesis holds that prolonged febrile (fever induced) seizures (PFS), the most common form of childhood convulsive status epilepticus (CSE), cause mesial temporal sclerosis (MTS). CSE is a single seizure, or to or more seizures between which consciousness is not regained, lasting for more than 30 minutes. In MTS there is a loss of neurons and scarring of a key brain structure called the hippocampus. Whether prolonged convulsions lead to long-term damage to hippocampus or MTS is uncertain. A team of investigators from the United Kingdom and United States looking into this question has found that a subgroup, and not all, children who experience CSE have impaired hippocampal growth years after the prolonged seizure.
Washington, DC, December 8, 2013 - The management of refractory convulsive status epilepticus (RCSE) varies at different medical centers and from patient to patient. Rapid success in aborting these non-stop seizures is crucial as the risk of neurological damage is high and, though rare, may result in death depending on seizure duration. By pooling data and analyzing current RCSE management practices, researchers representing a multicenter network of tertiary referral hospitals in the U.S. conducted a study that could lead to improved treatment outcomes for potentially life-threatening seizures.
Resective surgery is an effective treatment for drug-resistant epilepsy. To investigate the effect of epilepsy surgery on patients lives, researchers from the Comprehensive Epilepsy Program at the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit conducted a long-term retrospective follow up of surgical patients and correlated post-surgical psychosocial outcomes with seizure outcome and brain area surgically treated.
Washington, DC, December 8 - Children with epilepsy are at high risk for depression, anxiety, and behavioral functioning disorders. Mood and behavior are known to change or improve in children following epilepsy surgery, but research is inconsistent concerning the extent of the change.
Washington, DC, December 8 - Resective surgery is seldom used in epilepsy patients aged 60 and older despite its potential to offer seizure freedom. Older age may deter referrals to specialized epilepsy centers given concern of increased surgical risk due to age and presence of other health problems common in the elderly.
Seizures in people with epilepsy are commonly treated with anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) but 30-40 percent do not achieve adequate seizure control, predisposing them to severe health risks, impaired quality of life and higher healthcare costs.
Scientists screening the DNA of large cohorts for known and suspected epilepsy associated genes are finding that, while some genes are implicated in discrete phenotypes or forms of epilepsy, other genes are implicated in a wider range of phenotypes. Although ion channel genes are a common cause of epilepsy, the researchers also report a significant number of epilepsy patients with mutations in non-ion channel genes. The studies have important implications for treatment, prognosis and risk counseling.