Latest Conference Coverage

The pediatric neurologist and epilepsy specialist at Children’s Hospital Colorado spoke about the need to continue to research therapies once they’re approved to better understand their use, and how cannabidiol falls into this category.

The director of the Jefferson Comprehensive Epilepsy Center spoke about the improvements that have come along with some of the surgical advancements in the treatment of epilepsy, specifically with laser interstitial thermal ablation.

Stephen D. Silberstein, MD, past AHS president and Editor in Chief of NeurologyLive, provides a preview of premier sessions that will take place at the upcoming annual meeting.

The neurology resident at the University of California San Francisco discussed how new wearable technology and electronic diaries have helped improve the understanding of seizure rhythmicity, and ultimately, epilepsy care.

In order to improve patient care in epilepsy, physicians need a more consistent and cohesive method of recording patient seizure activity. As wearables get more sensitive and specific, using them in tandem with electronic seizure diaries may help address the challenge.

The staff neurologist at Cleveland Clinic’s Mellen Center for MS shared her insight into the use of telemedicine in an outpatient setting across a number of subspecialties in neurology and how it can supplement care going forward.

The MS neurologist at Cleveland Clinic’s Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health discussed the impact that propensity score has had on real-world data analysis, the use of additional outcome measures in trials, and the increasing understanding of progressive disease.

The head of neurology at the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre of the University of Toronto spoke about the limited available normative sleep data, and shared insight into the findings of the meta-analysis he and colleagues conducted of more than 150 studies.

The neurology resident at the University of California San Francisco spoke about the role that seizure diaries can play in a patient’s peace of mind, as well as in the understanding of that patient’s response to a given treatment.

Patients whose EEG changes were monitored prior to onset of clinical seizures and who were given preventive therapy demonstrated a lower risk of epilepsy overall, especially drug-refractory.

A trio of predictors may help inform which patients may be candidates for resective surgery, as well as improve the postsurgical consideration for re-operation on those who experience disabling seizure recurrence.

The professor of neurology at Cleveland Clinic’s epilepsy center discussed how algorithms can better influence the personalization of medicine, not just in the field of epilepsy, but in medicine as a whole.

Data suggest that rufinamide is capable of aiding in the control and reduction of seizures, as well as the possible achievement of seizure-freedom in pediatric patients with genetic/metabolic, hypoxic-ischemic, structural, and other intractable epilepsies.

The chief of neurology at Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology spoke about how to reassure patients with epilepsy who are planning for pregnancy and how to make treatment decisions with pregnant patients.

Investigators compared an intermittent low glycemic index therapy diet, a version of the ketogenic diet, to a daily version in pediatric patients with drug-refractory epilepsy.

Several poster presentations at IEC 2019 suggest that the incidence of comorbid sleep disorders in people with epilepsy is higher than estimated and have a detrimental impact on quality of life and social adjustment.

Patients with CLN2 disease have shown a maintained treatment benefit, high rate of response, and lowering rates of seizure occurrence over 3 years in an ongoing extension trial.

The professor of epilepsy and medical education at St. George’s University Hospital London spoke about the number of challenges plaguing epileptologists when treating patients who present with possible status epilepticus in the hospital.

The section chief of neurology at Nationwide Children's Hospital spoke about the role of wearable technology in pediatric epilepsy, an area that has the potential to make a major impact on treatment.

The podiatrist and chief executive officer of Naboso Technology spoke about the potential of textured insoles to help patients with multiple sclerosis improve gait, posture, and balance.

The GW Pharmaceuticals cannabidiol formulation, marketed as Epidiolex, did not show any evidence of clinically relevant drug-drug interactions when co-administered in patients with epilepsy.

While 65% of patients indicated that they no longer have epilepsy, only a quarter of the study population were actually completely free of seizures postoperatively.

The professor of neurology at Cleveland Clinic’s epilepsy center spoke about the limitations of individual physicians in making clinical decisions, and how utilizing algorithm data can help improve epilepsy interventions.

Overall, myoclonic and absence seizures worsened in 1.2% and 15.9% more patients in the placebo group, respectively, than those given perampanel. The reductions in seizure frequency and the increases in seizure-free days were also greater with the noncompetitive AMPA receptor antagonist.

An assessment of 230 poststroke patients determined that neurorehabilitation outcomes and length of stay did not differ between those with poststroke epileptic seizures and those without.

Over 57% of patients who received intranasal midazolam were responders, with status epilepticus ceasing within an average of 5:05 minutes.

Preliminary results from the 4 mg maintenance period of the FREEDOM study, the first in which perampanel has been examined as monotherapy, were presented at the 2019 International Epilepsy Congress in Bangkok.

In a retrospective study, 51.7% of patients achieved seizure freedom while receiving lacosamide, with seizure freedom rates going as high 88.9% for those who were administered the drug as monotherapy.