Event details: Monday 23 September (18.30-20.00), Hall B

Please visit www.eisaiepilepsysymposia.eu to fill in a short questionnaire which covers your personal experience in epilepsy management and also some of the issues that will be discussed during the session, you can also post questions to the faculty. Post-event, this site will host footage of the symposium.

The Eisai-sponsored symposium at the XXI World Congress of Neurology in September, entitled ‘Under the Spotlight: Epilepsy management – are we on the right track?’, will take an innovative approach to highlight the key issues in epilepsy management today.

Hosted by television health correspondent, Sue Saville, and involving an interactive panel discussion of international epilepsy experts, the symposium will address current ‘hot topics’ in the treatment and management of epilepsy.

Professor Michel Baulac (Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France) will focus on the issues involved in the management of individuals with newly diagnosed epilepsy, such as the importance of correctly diagnosing the patient’s seizure type and getting the initial treatment correct in order to ensure long-term positive outcomes, highlighting important considerations when selecting and initiating the most appropriate antiepileptic drug (AED) for monotherapy.

Professor Elinor Ben-Menachem (Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden) will then cover key challenges involved in the decision-making process for patients who are refractory to monotherapy and require adjunctive treatment with other AEDs, including the crucial importance of individualising treatment for each patient’s particular needs.

Dr Manny Bagary (University Hospital Birmingham NHS Trust, UK) will further expand on the need for a patient-focussed approach to epilepsy management that looks beyond just controlling seizures and addresses the overall quality of life of the patient, including the identification and management of side effects and comorbidities, such as depression and anxiety.

Professor Eugen Trinka (Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria) will then discuss the direction of epilepsy management in the future, including the need for AEDs with unique mechanisms of action and other important issues that are likely to impact the daily clinical practice of delegates.

Covering the spectrum of epilepsy management, the interactive session promises to be stimulating, though provoking and informative for delegates, providing practical advice which they can take home and apply to their current daily practices.

This symposium is sponsored by Eisai Europe Ltd

Date of preparation: August 2013
EpiGen-EU0048c