Sharp Waves: ILAE's epilepsy podcast

Send comments and feedback What is the Human Brain Project and how might it advance epilepsy research? Dr. Maryam Nouri speaks with Dr. Philippe Ryvlin about the project in terms of the Human Intracerebral EEG Platform and how compiling these unique data from around the world could lead to new breakthroughs and understanding of epilepsy. The Human Intracerebral EEG Platform is an open-source platf...

Send comments and feedback Counseling of teens and young adults with epilepsy about reproductive issues is not happening often enough. Conversations about pregnancy are almost non existent. Sharp Waves spoke with authors of a recent paper that details these findings and discusses possible solutions. Read the study: A retrospective textual analysis of sexual and reproductive health counseling for a...

Send comments and feedback People with epilepsy don't always know when they have had a seizure - and yet establishing seizure frequency is a key part of epilepsy management. When Dr. Mark Cook's father was diagnosed with epilepsy, Dr. Cook realized that a system to identify and predict seizures could improve care and change people's lives. Dr. Parthvi Ravat talks with him about entr...

Send comments and feedback Is surgery for pediatric epilepsy "worth it"? What factors determine quality of life in families with a child who has epilepsy? Dr. Kette Valente talks with Dr. Mary Lou Smith, whose work has implications for clinical treatment decisions, as well as expectations for the impact of treatments in children with epilepsy. Sharp Waves episodes are meant for informati...

Send comments and feedback EEG training varies within countries as well as between them; in many countries, there is no training available. Dr. Bruna Nucera talks with Dr. Sandor Beniczky about the present and future of clinical neurophysiology training, including a recent review that calls for harmonizing this type of training across the globe. Sharp Waves episodes are meant for informational pur...

Send comments and feedback Seizures are common in neonates, but there is substantial management variability. The Neonatal Task Force of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) developed evidence-based recommendations about anti-seizure medication management in neonates in accordance with ILAE standards. Dr. Emma Carter speaks with first author Dr. Ronit Pressler about the guidelines and r...

Send comments and feedback In the 1990s, there was more funding for leprosy research in the United Kingdom than for epilepsy research. It was around that time that Dr. Edward (Ted) Reynolds, then president of ILAE, recognized that as a global problem, epilepsy required global solutions. His idea blossomed into the Global Campaign Against Epilepsy and established a partnership among ILAE, the World...

Send comments and feedback For her podcast, Epilepsy Sparks Insights , Torie Robinson interviews epilepsy clinicians and scientists from around the world. Diagnosed with epilepsy at age 10, Torie is working to share knowledge with people with epilepsy, their families, and the public. Her episode topics range widely, from the biochemistry of epilepsy, to the importance of epilepsy nurses, to epilep...

Send comments and feedback Dr. Luis Oliviera is parent to a son with an ultra-rare developmental and epileptic encephalopathy.  He's also a researcher with the Michael J. Fox Foundation.  He created an organization bringing parents and researchers together to better understand his son's disorder, which is part of a  group of disorders caused by rare mutations in v-ATPase genes. Dr. Olivi...

Send comments and feedback The Idea of Epilepsy , published in 2023, covers the history of epilepsy from multiple perspectives over the past 160 years. It ends with a tantalizing question: Does epilepsy actually exist? Dr. Phillip Pearl interviews author Dr. Simon Shorvon about why and how he wrote the book and what it has to offer clinicians, researchers, and non-scientists alike. More about The...

Send comments and feedback Are people who have their first seizure during sleep at greater or lesser risk for future seizures, compared with people who have their first seizure when they're awake? Dr. Laurent Sheybani interviews Dr. Elaine Pang, author of a 2023 paper in Epilepsia that analyzed data from 1,312 adults visiting a first-seizure clinic. This episode also discusses a 2015 evidence...

Send comments and feedback Dr. Raphael Mechoulam was an organic chemist at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and the father of cannabis research. His team was the first to elucidate the structure of cannabidiol, or CBD.  Dr. Mechoulam passed away in March 2023. This episode is a remastering of a conversation between Dr. Mechoulam and Dr. Meir Bialer, held in 2018 at the 13th European Congress on...

Send comments and feedback Nearly one-third of people with autism also have epilepsy. Researchers aren't sure why.  For people on the spectrum, epilepsy can prompt unique challenges. Seizure symptoms can be misinterpreted as common autistic behaviors. Treatment may also be difficult due to the stress of a clinical setting, or the impact of anti-seizure medications on autism symptoms. Currentl...

Send comments and feedback Dravet syndrome is a rare, severe epilepsy caused by changes in a gene called SCN1A . The changes cause the gene to stop functioning normally. But not everyone with this type of genetic change develops Dravet syndrome, and people with Dravet also have a wide range of clinical characteristics, which can't be fully explained by these changes. What else is going on? We...

Send comments and feedback Sara Staggs was a civil rights attorney and pregnant with her second child when her doctors told her to stop practicing law: her seizures had become too frequent. Staggs' 2023 novel, Uncontrollable , fictionalizes her experiences with epilepsy and provides insight into how epilepsy affects families, careers, and relationships.  Staggs talked with Dr. Alina Ivaniuk a...

Send comments and feedback We'll frame today's talk around a paper recently published in the European Journal of Neurology:   " The incidence and risk factors associated with seizures in cerebral amyloid angiopathy ." With us today is the first author of the article, Dr. Brin Freund.  Sharp Waves episodes are meant for informational purposes only, and not as clinical or medical...

Send comments and feedback Diet treatments are often used with the aim of reducing seizure frequency and severity — but they may have other benefits as well. Findings from a recent study conducted in Norway suggest that dietary treatments may normalize emotional symptoms and that health-related quality of life (HRQOL) might be an indicator of successful diet treatment in the future. Joy Mazur spok...

Send comments and feedback Some published data suggest that besides their effect on cholesterol, statins also may play a neuroprotective role in some neurological disorders, including epilepsy. Dr. Bruna Nucera interviews Dr. Anthony Marson and Dr. Emilio Russo about whether and how to test statins as potential anti-epileptogenic drugs. Sharp Waves episodes are meant for informational purposes onl...

Send comments and feedback Functional seizures, also known as psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES), resemble epileptic seizures. Unlike epilepsy, they are not prompted by any electrical activity in the brain. People with functional seizures live with stigma, stress, and emotional and financial burden — and so do their care partners. Joy Mazur spoke with Shannon Guinard, who cares for her husba...

Send comments and feedback Do seizures have daily, weekly, monthly, or other rhythms? In Part 2 of our two-part series on circadian rhythms, Dr. Laurent Sheybani talks with Dr. Maxime Baud about the latest research on circadian and multidien rhythms in epilepsy. Selected publications: Seizure cycles in focal epilepsy - MG Leguia, et al. (2021) JAMA Neurology Endogenous multidien rhythm of epilepsy...

Send comments and feedback  The cyclic properties of seizures have been known for more than 100 years, but does everyone with epilepsy have a seizure pattern? What can be learned from seizure diaries, RNS data, and animal models, and how can this information guide further research and clinical care? Dr. Laurent Sheybani talks with Dr. Mark Quigg about circadian rhythms in epilepsy. Selected public...

Send comments and feedback Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP) affects about one out of every 1.000 people with epilepsy.  Despite its rarity, SUDEP is important to discuss, but some physicians are wary of having the conversations. Dr. Emma Carter spoke with Dr. Suvasini Sharma about SUDEP, why it's important to inform patients and families about it, and how to manage risk factors. Th...

Send comments and feedback Discussions of artificial intelligence and ChatGPT are everywhere. How will this technology affect epilepsy research and care? What are the dangers and pitfalls, and what do we need to know when designing research studies that use AI technology? Dr. Alina Ivaniuk interviewed Dr. Christian Bosselmann, an epilepsy precision medicine research fellow at the Cleveland Clinic,...

Send comments and feedback Neurocysticercosis - an infection of the brain by a pork tapeworm ( Taenia solium ) – is one of the most common causes of seizures worldwide. People with neurocysticercosis have incidentally ingested tapeworm eggs, which are found in the feces of people who have tapeworms in their digestive systems (a condition called taeniasis). The eggs can migrate to any organ and for...

Send comments and feedback Most people with epilepsy have difficulty always taking their medications as prescribed. How can clinicians and patients talk about the issue and find solutions? Sharp Waves spoke with Dr. Avani Modi and Dr. Desiree Williford, authors of a recent study on pediatric adherence in epilepsy . During the episode, Dr. Modi mentions online resources that can help individuals an...