CONy 2020 Epilepsy Program
Section Heads:
*This program is subject to change
| Saturday, March 28, 2020 | |
| 08:30-10:10 | GENERAL EPILEPSY |
| 08:30-09:20 | Ambulatory video-EEG monitoring can replace in-hospital video-EEG. |
| Capsule: Outpatient ambulatory video-EEG devices are now widely available. Are they a reasonable substitute for inpatient monitoring? Can they provide the same information? Should this be done first before considering in hospital assessment? | |
| 08:30-08:40 | Host: Mark Richardson, UK |
| 08:40-08:55 | Yes: Antonio Gil-Nagel, Spain |
| 08:55-09:10 | No: Dana Ekstein, Israel |
| 09:10-09:20 | Discussion and rebuttals |
| 09:20-10:10 | Combination antiepileptic drug therapy should be offered after failure of a single antiepileptic drug. |
| Capsule: When combination therapy should be offered is a subject of debate. Though monotherapy has advantages, there is clear evidence from randomized trials that polytherapy affords improvement to many patients, and reduces mortality as well. If combination therapy is used, when should it be implemented? | |
| 09:20-09:30 | Host: Ivan Rektor, Czech Republic |
| 09:30-09:45 | Yes: Martin Brodie, UK |
| 09:45-10:00 | No: |
| 10:00-10:10 | Discussion and rebuttals |
| 10:10-10:25 | Coffee Break |
| 10:25-12:05 | PSYCHIATRY IN EPILEPSY |
| 10:25-11:15 | Antidepressant drugs should be avoided if possible in epilepsy |
| Capsule: Many antidepressant medications can provoke seizures in animals, and concerns have been raised that these drugs may trigger seizures in some patients. Is the efficacy of these agents sufficient to warrant their use, given potential risks? | |
| 10:25-10:35 | Host: Alla Guekht, Russia |
| 10:35-10:50 | Yes: Ilan Blatt, Israel |
| 10:50-11:05 | No: William Theodore, USA |
| 11:05-11:15 | Discussion and rebuttals |
| 11:15-12:05 | Psychotherapy improves outcome in psychogenic seizures |
| Capsule: Remission rates are quite high and patient adherence to therapy quite low in psychogenic seizures. Is there evidence that therapy provides long-term benefit? | |
| 11:15-11:25 | Host: Marco Mula, UK |
| 11:25-11:40 | Yes: William Curt LaFrance, USA |
| 11:40-11:55 | No: Christian Bien, Germany |
| 11:55-12:05 | Discussion and rebuttals |
| 12:15-13:15 | Industry Supported Symposium |
| 13:15-14:15 | Lunch Break |
| 13:15-14:15 | Meet the Expert |
| 14:15-15:45 | STATUS EPILEPTICUS |
| 14:15-14:55 | Combination therapy should be used as first line treatment for status epilepticus (SE). |
| Capsule: Success rates diminish for treating SE with failure of each successive drug that is administered. Furthermore, the longer seizures last, the harder it is to control them. Can we improve outcome by aggressively using polypharmacy as initial therapy in SE? | |
| 14:15-14:25 | Host: John Duncan, UK |
| 14:25-14:35 | Yes: Matthew Walker, UK |
| 14:35-14:45 | No: Alla Guekht, Russia |
| 14:45-14:55 | Discussion and rebuttals |
| 14:55-15:45 | Cryptogenic status epilepticus should be treated with immunomodulation as soon as it is diagnosed |
| Capsule: NORSE and FIRES are epilepsy syndromes resistant to treatment with conventional antiepileptic drugs, and may require immune modulation for cessation of seizures. Should patients be presumptively treated with immunosuppressive agents early in the course of illness when status epilepticus has no known cause? | |
| 14:55-15:05 | Host: Joanna Jedrzejczak, Poland |
| 15:05-15:20 | Yes: |
| 15:20-15:35 | No: Matthias Koepp, UK |
| 15:35-15:45 | Discussion and rebuttals |
| 15:45-16:00 | Coffee Break |
| 16:00-19:00 | EPILEPSY THERAPY |
| 16:00-16:50 | Should surgery to be offered to patients after failure of two antiepileptic drugs? |
| Capsule: The literature contains numerous reports of response to drug therapy in patients formerly considered drug resistant. On the other hand, epidemiological studies suggest that drug failure is quite likely once two agents have failed to control seizures. Are the ILAE guidelines supported by the evidence? | |
| 16:00-16:10 | Host: Manjari Tripathi, India |
| 16:10-16:25 | Yes: Zeljka Petelin Gadže, Croatia |
| 16:25-16:40 | No: Ettore Beghi, Italy |
| 16:40-16:50 | Discussion and rebuttals |
| 16:50-17:40 | The newer antiepileptic drugs are more effective than the established ones |
| Capsule: Over the past 20 years a number of new antiseizure drugs have been introduced around the world as adjunctive treatment and subsequently as monotherapy for pharmacoresistant and newly diagnosed epilepsy in children and adults. Have they improved overall outcomes in terms of seizure freedom and so proved value for money? | |
| 16:50-17:00 | Host: Michael Sperling, USA |
| 17:00-17:15 | Yes: Andreas Schulz-Bonhage, Germany |
| 17:15-17:30 | No: Martin Brodie, UK |
| 17:30-17:40 | Discussion and rebuttals |
| 17:40-19:00 | Epilepsy Cases – Challenging diagnostic and management cases will be presented to the faculty and audience for discussion. A lively debate is anticipated for each case. Michael Sperling, USA |