International League Against Epilepsy

Commission On Neurosurgery

Commission Members 2002

Christoph Baumgartner - Austria
Paul Boon - Belgium
Walter van Emde Boas - Netherlands
Jerome Engel, Jr. - USA
John Gates - USA
Magnus Olivecrona - Sweden
Cigdem Özkara - Turkey
Bertil Rydenhag - Sweden
Michael Sperling - USA
Heinz Gregor Wieser - Switzerland
Peter Williamson - USA
Tatsuya Tanaka - Japan (appointed, needs confirmation by Tanaka)

Others to be appointed

Subcommissions
Working Groups (Chaired by)
Subcommissions on Callosotomy (John Gates)
Subcommission on Vagal Nerve Stimulation (Paul Boon)
Subcommission on Multiple Subpial Transsection
Subcommission on Radiosurgery (Jean Regis)
Subcommission on Pediatric Epilepsy Surgery (Helen Cross)
Subcommission on Epilepsy Surgery in the Developing Countries (Jerome Engel, Jr.)
Working group on MEG (Christoph Baumgartner)
Working group on Deep Brain Stimulation

Members of one or more Subcommissions/Working Groups:
Christian Elger, Eleanor Ben Menachim, Susan Spencer, Jean Regis, Oskar Schröttner, Youssef Comair, Michael Sperling, Hermann Stefan, Johannes Schramm, Gary Mathern, Tatsuya Tanaka, and others (to be appointed)

Mission

To advise the ILAE executive with regard to epilepsy surgery
To improve epilepsy surgery around the world
To establish information on current and previous research in evaluating the effectiveness and value of various forms of surgical treatment, with particular emphasis on long-term outcome data and palliative as well as "experimental" procedures
To identify areas of research that should be addressed by the Commission
To assist the "Global Campaign"
To liaise with other ILAE Commissions
- with the ILAE Commissions on Therapeutic Strategies - Subcommission on Epilepsy Surgery [Topics: Minimal requirements for the evaluation of patients
  prior to specific therapeutic interventions; Distribution of AEDs in surgical samples]
- with the Burden of Epilepsy - Subcommission on Outcome Measures and Subcommission on Projects related to the Global Campaign
- with the Burden of Epilepsy - Subcommission on the implementation of adequate therapy, including neurosurgery in developing countries
- with the Commission on Pediatrics - Subcommission on Surgery and pre-surgical evaluation
- with the Commission on Psychobiology - Subcommission on Surgery.

Summary of Activities for 2000-2001
Meetings

The full commission met in May 2001 in Buenos Aires, Argentina during the 24th International Epilepsy Congress, and in October 2002 in Madrid (5th European Congress on Epileptology).

Interaction with Other Commissions

We interacted with the Commissions on Therapeutic Strategies, with the Burden of Epilepsy - Subcommission on Outcome Measures, with the Commission on Pediatrics - Subcommission on Surgery and pre-surgical evaluation, and with the Commission on Psychobiology - Subcommission on Surgery.

Interaction with other Organisations and ILAE Chapters

We interacted with the European Federation of Neurological Sciences (EFNS), with the Working Group on Presurgical Evaluation and Epilepsy Surgery of German Speaking Countries ("Arbeitsgemeinschaft Prächirurgische Diagnostik und operative Epilepsietherapie deutschsprachiger Länder") and with various other ILAE chapters in developed and developing countries.

International Workshops

On behalf of the ILAE Neurosurgery Commission, Cigdem Özkara organised a Meeting on "Mesial Temporal Lobe Epilepsy with Hippocampal Sclerosis" in Istanbul, May 2002.

On 8 October 2002 the summarized results of the Istanbul Meeting were presented in a discussion group session at the Madrid 5th European Congress on Epileptology.

Activities during the 24th International Epilepsy Congress in Buenos Aires: The Commission organised a plenary session and a post-plenary session on "Palliative Epilepsy Surgery and Radiosurgery for Epilepsy" discussing callosotomy, multiple subpial transsection (MST), radiosurgery and other experimental approaches.

Other Workshops

A Meeting of the "Arbeitsgemeinschaft Prächirurgische Diagnostik und operative Epilepsietherapie deutschsprachiger Länder" was organised by Wieser in Zurich (22-23 March 2002) and dealt with new therapeutic approaches in epilepsy surgery and magnetoencephalography.

Subcommissions

The following topics were dealt with by the ILAE-CN in subcommissions:

Callosotomy (J. Gates, P. Boon, and others)
Multiple subpial transsection (MST) (Susan Spencer, Johannes Schramm, and others)
Radiosurgery, i.e., Gamma-knife treatment (Jean Regis, Charles Polkey, and others)
Pediatric epilepsy surgery (Helen Cross, Hans Holthausen, and others)
New classification of outcome with respect to epileptic seizures following epilepsy surgery (Heinz Gregor Wieser, Jerome Engel, Hans Lüders, and others)
Epilepsy surgery in developing countries (Peter D. Williamson, D. Roberts, Heinz Gregor Wieser, Jerome Engel, and others)
Mesial temporal lobe epilepsy with hippocampal sclerosis (Cigdem Öezkara, Jerome Engel, Heinz Gregor Wieser, and others).

Plans for 2002-2003

The Commission started to reexamine their goals and should finish some projects.

A high priority will be assigned to explore the feasibility of a demonstration project for epilepsy surgery in developing countries. Pete Engel was appointed to lead this subcommission and will coordinate activities in close collaboration with the Global Campaign and WHO and with Peter Williamson, who is involved in several ongoing projects in South and Central America that should remain incorporated in the activities of the subcommission and linked to the proposed demonstration projects.

In May 2003 a Workshop on Magnetoencephalography is planned in Erlangen, Germany and will be organised by Hermann Stefan and Christoph Baumgartner under the auspices of the Commission.

The roles of radiosurgery for epilepsy and of deep brain stimulation will be studied with high priority, and workshops and meetings are planned or organised (Berlin, 5 April 2003 in conjunction with the Austrian, German and Swiss chapters Joint Annual Meeting) and in Lisbon (proposed).

Commission Members 2003

Christoph Baumgartner - Austria
Paul Boon - Belgium
Walter van Emde Boas - Netherlands
Helen Cross - U.K.
Jerome Engel, Jr. - USA
John Gates - USA
Gary W. Mathern - USA
Magnus Olivecrona - Sweden
Cigdem Özkara - Turkey
Bertil Rydenhag - Sweden
Michael Sperling - USA
Tatsuya Tanaka - Japan
Heinz Gregor Wieser - Switzerland
Peter Williamson - USA

Subcommissions
Working Groups (Chaired by)
Subcommissions on Callosotomy (John Gates)
Subcommission on Vagal Nerve Stimulation (Paul Boon)
Subcommission on Multiple Subpial Transsection
Subcommission on Radiosurgery (Jean Regis and Charles Polkey)
Subcommission on Pediatric Epilepsy surgery (Helen Cross)
Subcommission on Epilepsy Surgery in the Developing Countries (Jerome Engel, Jr.)
Working group on MEG (Christoph Baumgartner)
Working group Deep Brain Stimulation

Members of one or more Subcommissions/Working Groups
Christian Elger, Eleanor Ben Menachim, Susan Spencer, Jean Regis, Oskar Schröttner, Youssef Comair, Hermann Stefan, Johannes Schramm

Mission

To advise the ILAE executive with regard to epilepsy surgery
To improve epilepsy surgery around the world
To establish information on current and previous research in evaluating the effectiveness and value of various forms of surgical treatment, with particular emphasis on long-term outcome data and palliative as well as "experimental" procedures
To identify areas of research that should be addressed by the Commission
To assist the "Global Campaign"
To liaise with other ILAE Commissions

with the ILAE Commissions on Therapeutic Strategies - Subcommission Epilepsy Surgery [Topics: Minimal requirements for the evaluation of patients prior to specific therapeutic interventions; Distribution of AEDs in surgical samples]
with the Burden of Epilepsy - Subcommission on Outcome Measures and Subcommission on Projects related to the Global Campaign
with the Burden of Epilepsy - Subcommission on the implementation of adequate therapy, including neurosurgery, in developing countries
with the Commission on Pediatrics - Subcommission on Surgery and pre-surgical evaluation
with the Commission on Psychobiology - Subcommission on Surgery
with the Latin American Subcommission for Epilepsy Surgery.

Summary of Activities for 2001-2002
Meetings

The full commission met on 9 October 2002 in Madrid during the 5th European Congress on Epileptology and 9 December 2002 in Seattle during the American Epilepsy Society Annual Meeting.

Interaction with Other Commissions

Interaction with Other Organisations and ILAE Chapters

International Workshops

On 8 October 2002 the results of the May 2002 Istanbul Meeting "Mesial Temporal Lobe Epilepsy with Hippocampal Sclerosis" have been summarized and presented in a discussion group session at the Madrid 5th European Congress on Epileptology.

The Working Group on Magnetoencephalography (Chair Christoph Baumgartner, Vienna and Herrmann Stefan, Erlangen) organised an International Meeting (MEG Workshop) with opinion leaders in MEG and epilepsy surgery on 2-3 May 2003 in Erlangen (Erlangen University, Germany) and discussed a consensus draft on the role of MEG in relation to epilepsy surgery.

The commission organised a parallel session on "New Radiological Approaches for Treatment of Epilepsy: State-of-the Art and Future Perspective" to take place at the 25th International Epilepsy Congress, Lisbon, 14 October 2003.
Other Workshops
A meeting of the "Arbeitsgemeinschaft Prächirurgische Diagnostik und operative Epilepsietherapie deutschsprachiger Länder" was organised by Wieser in Zurich (22-13 March 2002) and dealt with "New therapeutic approaches in epilepsy surgery" and "Magnetoencephalography."

The Subcommission on Vagus Nerve Stimulation (Paul Boon) organised a meeting (European opinion leaders in epilepsy surgery) on 14 March 2003 in Ghent (Ghent University, Belgium) and discussed an EU consensus draft on VNS.

A session on the role of palliative treatment options for intractable epilepsies was organised in Berlin, 5 April 2003 in conjunction with the Austrian, German, and Swiss chapters (Joint Annual Meeting).

Subcommissions

The following topics were dealt with by the ILAE-CN in subcommissions:

Callosotomy (J. Gates, P. Boon, and others)
Multiple subpial transsection (MST) (Susan Spencer, Johannes Schramm, and others)
Radiosurgery, i.e., Gamma-knife treatment (Jean Regis, Charles Polkey, and others)
Pediatric epilepsy surgery (Helen Cross and others)
Epilepsy surgery in developing countries (Peter D. Williamson, D. Roberts, H.G. Wieser, Jerome Engel, and others)
Preparation of the publication (summaries of mesial temporal lobe epilepsy with hippocampal sclerosis) (Cigdem Özkara, H.G. Wieser, and others)
Preparation and discussion of "Proposal of Minimum Requirements for Presurgical Evaluation in Temporal Lobe Epilepsy in Latin America" (Manuel G. Campos, Latin American Subcommission for Epilepsy Surgery).

Plans for 2002-2003

The Commission started to reexamine its goals and should finish some projects.

Publication of the summaries of the Istanbul Meeting on mesial temporal lobe epilepsy with hippocampal sclerosis.

Active participation in and support of the ILAE subcommission, paediatric epilepsy surgery guidelines meeting, 9-11 October 2003, Dordogne, France.

A high priority is assigned to explore the feasibility of a demonstration project for epilepsy surgery in developing countries. Pete Engel was appointed to lead this subcommission and will coordinate activities in close collaboration with the Global Campaign and WHO and with Peter Williamson, who is involved in several ongoing projects in South and Central America that should remain incorporated in the activities of the subcommission and linked to the proposed demonstration projects.

The roles of radiosurgery for epilepsy and of deep brain stimulation will be studied with high priority, and workshops and further meetings are planned.

Support of and participation in the ILAE Epilepsy Human Tissue Network (ILAE-EPITINET) see proposal of Roberto Spreafico, 10 February 2003.

Date: August 2003
Report by: Heinz Gregor Wieser, Chair

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