Kate Davis, MD, MSTR

“With all these new options that are available, my lab is really focused in on figuring out what the best therapy is for a given patient.”

At the American Epilepsy Society’s (AES) annual meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana, one of the main topics of conversation among epileptologists was the influx of therapies coming through the pipeline.

One of the hottest candidates to make it to market has been cannabidiol (Epidiolex, GW Pharmaceuticals), with much of the discussion surrounding how it should be utilized. Additionally, fenfluramine for the treatment of Dravet syndrome and cenobamate for generalized tonic-clonic seizures were also therapies of interest at AES 2018. On top of the pharmacologic treatments, a number of stimulation devices have piqued the interest of the epilepsy community.

To discuss all of these therapeutic options and how to determine their use, Kate Davis, MD, MSTR, an epileptologist at the University of Pennsylvania, sat with 

. She discussed how she and her colleagues are doing work at their lab to determine which option is best for a given individual, and how this is a vital need in the epilepsy space.

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The epileptologist at the University of Pennsylvania spoke about the multiple options for patients with epilepsy and the need for a better understanding of choosing from the options.

Kate Davis, MD, MSTR: Increasing Treatment Options for Epilepsy Patients

“The place where super-specialists, like an epileptologist in a university setting, can play the most impactful role is if neurologists in the community refer patients that fit into that drug-resistant epilepsy group.”

Often, patients with epilepsy will fail to respond to a number of therapies intent on helping control their seizure activity, known as drug-resistant or refractory epilepsy. Current estimates place the number of patients with this form of the condition between 80,000 and 160,000—roughly 20% to 40% of all patients with epilepsy.

Many of these patients may already be seeing a specialist, but many of them will need to face the challenge of failing therapy prior to being referred to an epileptologist, making their assessment by a general neurologist or a primary care physician all the more essential.

Kate Davis, MD, MSTR, is an epileptologist and assistant professor of neurology at the University of Pennsylvania, and she is all too familiar with this group of patients. In order to ensure they get the care they need, the relationship between a specialist like herself and the general neurology community is incredibly important. 

At the American Neurological Association’s 143rd annual meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, Davis sat with 

 to discuss this challenge, and to share her thoughts on how to maintain this communication.

The epileptologist discussed this challenge, and shared her thoughts on how to maintain this communication.

Kate Davis, MD, MSTR: Referring Patients to An Epileptologist

“One of the biggest complaints that patients report are memory difficulties—difficulty with work, difficulty with remembering simple items sometimes, unfortunately, and sometimes more significant cognitive impacts.”

Although the most well-known impact of epilepsy are the seizures that it causes, the additional effects of the disease can be just as debilitating to a patient’s quality of life.

For Kate Davis, MD, MSTR, these symptoms of the disease are equally important and equally as present in the clinic. As an assistant professor of neurology at the University of Pennsylvania and an epileptologist, she encounters these patients on a daily basis. 

She said that these issues can be caused by a number of factors, including the seizures themselves, the medications being used, and possible comorbidities that are coupled with the condition—all of which complicate the clinician’s ability to treat patients. To address this, there are several interventions that can be utilized, some of which are surgical.

At the American Neurological Association’s 143rd Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, Davis sat with 

 to discuss the complication of cognitive issues faced by patients with epilepsy, and how these are being addressed in the clinic.

The assistant professor of neurology at the University of Pennsylvania discussed the complication of cognitive issues faced by patients with epilepsy, and how these are being addressed in the clinic.

Kate Davis, MD, MSTR

Articles

Kate Davis, MD, MSTR: Increasing Treatment Options for Epilepsy Patients

Kate Davis, MD, MSTR: Referring Patients to An Epileptologist

Kate Davis, MD, MSTR: Cognitive Issues In Epilepsy