Pre-Congress Symposium

Tuesday, 20 June 2023 | Panorama Hall, Prague Congress Centre

Dear members and friends of the European Paediatric Neurology Society
Dear colleagues and distinguished guests

It is with great pleasure that we invite you to the EPNS Pre-Congress Symposium entitled “Drug-resistant epilepsy in the 21st century: From molecular mechanisms to precision therapies” which will take place on Tuesday, 20 June 2023 in Prague, Czech Republic.

This exciting and unique one-day meeting will introduce and discuss in detail all the major developments including current clinical indications for Drug-resistant epilepsy in the 21st century. A broad faculty of international experts will bring you up-to-date with the history, practice and future developments in the rapidly developing field of drug-resistant epilepsy.

The concept of drug-resistant epilepsy is in motion. What started as a simple definition of medically intractable seizure disorder has morphed into a mosaic of conditions with various ages at onset, clinical presentations, genetic etiologies and increasingly of therapeutic options.

Drug-resistant epilepsy is no more a single disorder but a multitude thereof. The originally clear-cut boundaries between “genetic” and “structural” epilepsy dissolve and re-organize themselves around specific genes and genetic variants that participate in the formation of structural and functional abnormalities of brain cortex.

The symposium preceding EPNS Congress 2023 in Prague will guide you through the complex phenotypes and clinical presentations of patients with drug-resistant epilepsy. You will see how patient-derived genomic and phenotypic data contribute to the formation of relevant pre-clinical models that enable us to analyze the pathophysiological mechanisms of drug-resistant epilepsy. Through the improved understanding of epilepsy pathogenesis we will introduce novel approaches to the individualized targeted therapy of drug-resistant epilepsy and the new vistas for patient care and management.

This symposium is suitable for neurologists, paediatric neurologists, epileptologists, neuophysiologists, neuroscientists, radiologists, neurosurgeons, allied health professionals, medical and allied health students.

I will be delighted to welcome you in Prague!

Pavel Kršek & Epilepsy Research Centre (EpiReC) Prague
Organiser

Programme Faculty Industry Registration

Programme

  • 08:45-09:00

    Drug-resistant epilepsy: State of the art

    J. Helen Cross, ILAE President

  • 09:00-10:30

    Session 1: Current challenges in the diagnostics and treatment of patients with drug-resistant epilepsy

    • Challenges in the treatment of structural epilepsies (Alexis Arzimanoglou)
    • Opportunities for the therapy of genetic epilepsies (Jo Wilmshurst)
    • The unresolved mysteries of epileptogenesis (Přemysl Jiruška)

  • 10:30-11:00

    Coffee break

  • 11:00-12:30

    Session 2: Mechanisms of drug-resistant epilepsy and novel therapeutic targets I.

    • Genetic epilepsies: from genes to neuronal and network dysfunction (Jeffrey L. Noebels)
    • The role of epigenetic mechanisms in the pathogenesis of DRE (Katja Kobow)
    • The significance of glial abnormalities in epilepsy (Helena Pivoňková)

  • 12:30-14:00

    Lunch break

  • 14:00-15:30

    Session 3: Mechanisms of drug-resistant epilepsy and novel therapeutic targets II.

    • Understanding the complex nature of epileptogenesis for the development of disease-modifying therapy for DRE (Eleonora Aronica)
    • Pathophysiological mechanisms responsible for the endogenous epileptogenicity of epilepsy due to the malformations of cortical development (Nadia Bahi-Buisson)
    • Novel experimental models and research tools to explore the mechanisms of DRE (Ondřej Novák)

  • 15:30-16:00

    Coffee break

  • 16:00-18:00

    Session 4: Prospects in the treatment of drug-resistant epilepsy

    • Future of drug development in the treatment of DRE (Christian Wolff)
    • Gene therapy and gene modulation of DRE (Gabriele Lignani)
    • Future directions of epilepsy surgery for DRE (Kees Braun)
    • Neurostimulation as a future tool to treat DRE (Robrecht Raedt)

  • 18:00

    End of the Symposium

  • 19:00

    Opening ceremony of the 15th EPNS Congress

Faculty

Eleonora Aronica, The Netherlands
Alexis Arzimanoglou, France
Nadja Bahi-Buisson, France
Kees Braun, Netherlands
Helen Cross, United Kingdom
Přemysl Jiruška, Czech Republic
Katja Kobow, Germany

Gabriele Lignani, United Kingdom
Jeffrey L. Noebels, United States of America
Ondřej Novák, Czech Republic
Helena Pivoňková, Czech Republic
Robrecht Raedt, Belgium
Jo Wilmshurst, South Africa
Christian Wolff, Germany

Industry

Be part of the Pre-congress symposium – one of the highlights preceding the EPNS congress itself!

Approx. 150 medical experts in the field Drug-resistant epilepsy from all over the world are expected to participate in Prague, Czech Republic. The corresponding exhibition takes place on Tuesday, 20 June 2023. It offers many opportunities to interact with all present medical professionals.

The Pre-Congress symposium is the ideal forum to present your company and latest products to international experts.

Are you interested in participating? Please contact us!