POST MAIN SESSIONS

Social Issues
Prahlad Sethi (India) & Hideomoto Kubota (Japan)

The Impact of Epilepsy on Family and Relationship
Prahlad Sethi (India)

The Effect of Epilepsy on Work and Leisure
Hideomoto Kubota (Japan)

Sports and Safety in Epilepsy
Khen-Seang Lim (Malaysia)

Overcoming the Prejudices
Zhen Hong (China)

Therapeutic Issues in Paediatric Epileptology
Lai-Choo Ong (Malaysia) & Anannit Visudtibhan (Thailand)

Controversies in Management of Infantile Spasms
Nico Moshe (USA)

New AEDs for Children
Anannit Visudtibhan (Thailand)

Seizures Exacerbated by AEDs in Children
Lai-Choo Ong (Malaysia)

Pharmaco-economic Considerations in Treating Children with Partial Onset Seizures in the Asian Oceanian Region
Nandan Yardi (India)

Childhood onset epilepsy is distinctly different from adult epilepsy, with epilepsy syndromes that are unique to the paediatric population. The response and adverse effects of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) may also differ in children. Yet the antiepileptic drugs currently available had been developed with the adult population in mind; only in recent years have there been some studies looking at the paediatric epilepsy syndromes, mainly with the newer AEDs. In this session, controversies in the management of infantile spasms and the use of the newer AEDs in childhood epilepsy will be discussed. The issues of seizures exacerbation by AEDs in children and the pharmaco-economic considerations in treating childhood epilepsy in the Asian-Oceanian region will also be covered.

Neurosurgical Treatment of Paediatric Epilepsy
Tai-Tong Wong (Taiwan) & Dong-Seok Kim (Korea)

Lesionectomy with and without Mapping and Removal of Epileptogenic Zone
Bomin Sun (China)

Callosotomy versus Vagus Nerve Stimulation
Tai-Tong Wong (Taiwan)

Resective Surgery for Symptomatic Epilepsies in Children - Surgical Indication and Prognosis
Otsuki Taisuke (Japan)

Comparative Surgical Strategies of Hypothalamic Hamartoma
Dong-Seok Kim (Korea)

Intractable epilepsy occurred in more than 10% of children in reported literatures. Among them, the majority was the patients of non-idiopathic localization-related epilepsy or cryptogenic/symptomatic generalized syndromes. Drug resistant epilepsy is often catastrophic in children. The managements include new antiepileptic drugs, ketogenic diet and neurosurgical treatment.

For surgical treatment of intractable epilepsy in children, one approach is resective surgery for lesional partial epilepsy when the epileptogenic tissue/region is localized and is resectable. The related etiologies include hemispheric or cortical dysplasia of brain, hypothalamic hamartoma, tumours, vascular malformations, Sturge-Weber syndrome, tuberous sclerosis complex, Rasmussen encephalitis, focal encephalomalacia and others. Extends of resection for an epileptogenic area varies from lesionectomy, corticectomy, lobectomy, to hemispherectomy. Recently, hemispherotomy is an alternative substitute to hemispherecotmy. The other approach is palliative epilepsy surgery for children of resistant epilepsy without an identifiable epileptogenic lesion or for patients who are unsuitable for resective surgery because of diffuse/multifocal/bihemispheric malformation of cortical development (MCD). Etiologies include cryptogenic and remote symptomatic causations. The symptomatic causes are perinatal hypoxic/ischemic insults, meningitis/encephalitis, brain malformations, cerebral trauma and others. Types and syndromes of epilepsy encountered for palliative surgery are mainly LGS, infantile spasms/WS, SE-MISF, HHE syndrome, and other symptomatic partial epilepsies and secondary generalized epilepsy. Corpus callosotomy, VNS and DBS are the palliative surgeries for this purpose.

In the post main session, the focus will be on the updating of “Neurosurgical Treatment of Paediatric Epilepsy”. The four speakers from Asian Countries are: Dr. Bomin Sun (China), Dr. Taisuke Otsuki (Japan), Dr. Dong-Seok Kim (Korea), and Dr. Tai-Tong Wong (Taiwan); each will sum up the most up-to-date information of epilepsy surgery in children on lesionectomy, hemispherectomy/hemispherotomy, comparative surgical strategies of hypothalamic harmatoma and the applicability of collosotomy versus VNS as palliative surgery in children in Asia.

Epilepsy Genetics: Everything you wanted to know but were afraid to ask
Shinichi Hirose (Japan) & Nigel Tan (Singapore)

The ABC of Genetics - How to Interpret Genetic Tests
Nigel Tan (Singapore)

Genetics in Epilepsy- What it Can and Cannot do
Yuwu Jiang (China)

Ethics in the Genetics of Epilepsy: What are the Pros and Cons?
Satish Jain (India)

The Application of Genetic Tests for Epilepsy - are there Guidelines for Clinicians?
Shinichi Hirose (Japan)

Genetics is increasingly prominent in the field of medicine, yet most clinicians still find the topic intimidating and irrelevant to daily clinical practice. The session is targeted at the practising clinician. The aim is to illustrate how recent advances in genetics can be applied judiciously in clinical practice; we will do so without going into details of molecular biology. Speakers will touch on interpretation of genetic tests, and also what these tests can and cannot do. We will also delve into the ethics of genetic testing, and whether there are guidelines for practising clinicians. We hope that the session will make genetics accessible and practical for the clinician.

Highlights Session
Shih Hui Lim (Singapore) & Liwen Wu (China)
In the Highlights Session which will be held at the end of the Congress, Co-Chairs for the 5 Main sessions will summarize interesting and important presentations in their respective Main and Post Main sessions.