News Archive: January – June 2009
June 26, 2009
The ESA was saddened to learn of the recent passing of Dr Elizabeth Fagan, distinguished paediatric neurologist at the Children’s Hospital Westmead and long-standing member of the ESA. She will be sadly missed by her friends and colleagues in the Society. Our condolences go out to her family and close friends.
June 12, 2009
New statements on HLA testing for risk of SJS, and on AEDs and bone health have been uploaded in Resources > ESA Positions and Guidelines.
June 12, 2009
The ESA congratulates John Dunne on his election to the ILAE Commission on Asian and Oceanian Affairs (CAOA). John replaces David Reutens, who has been Secretary of the CAOA for the past four years. John joins Andrew Bleasel, Secretary of the Asian Epilepsy Academy (ASEPA), in representing Australia and our region in international matters relating to epilepsy care, training and research. The other members of the new ILAE CAOA are Byung-in Lee (Chair), Shih Hui Lim (Immediate Past-Chair), Chong Tin Tan (Past-Chair), Sunao Kaneko, Shichuo Li and Jin-Jane Tsai. The ESA thanks David Reutens for his work over the last four years and wishes John Dunne all the best with this new challenge.
May 29, 2009
Subscription renewal notices will be sent to members next month. Please let us know if your postal details have changed.
May 29, 2009
Don't forget! Nominations for the Peter Bladin Award and applications for the UCB Pharma Clinical Scholarship close in the next month! Please visit the above links for information on these awards, or go to the Scholarships & Awards section to find out about some of the other scholarships.
May 19, 2009
The ESA congratulates the following distinguished, international epileptologists on their election to the 2009-2013 ILAE Executive Committee, joining the Nico Moshe (President-elect): Sam Wiebe from Canada (Secretary-General elect), Emilio Perucca from Italy (Treasurer elect), Tatsuya Tanaka from Japan (First Vice President elect) and Michel Baulac from France (Second Vice President elect). An additional vice-president will be elected from the Latin American region.
April 30, 2009
Members should have received in the mail a first announcement and call for abstracts flyer for the 2009 ESA Annual Scientific Meeting. The flyer is also available for download under the "Call for Abstracts" page on the conference website.
April 30, 2009
Members will have recently received revised product information for several antiepileptic drugs which now include a warning about possible increased suicidal thoughts and behaviour. This warning stems from the FDA’s retrospective review of clinical trials of AEDs and the alert that they published last year, the Australian TGA seemingly echoing the FDA warning. The ESA and other professional epilepsy organizations have concerns about the quality of the data used by the FDA in their analysis, the conclusions drawn by the FDA from their review, the lack of consultation with the ESA by the TGA, and most importantly, the potential clinical implications of the warnings and regulatory recommendations. These concerns are summarized in the ESA’s position statement and are the basis of a formal submission from the ESA to the ADRAC and TGA.
April 30, 2009
The ESA Driving Subcommittee is currently reviewing the guidelines published in Austroad’s “Assessing Fitness To Drive”. These will be incorporated into the next edition of the national driving certification guidelines. More information about the issues, and a copy of the current guidelines, can be found under Resources > Driving and Epilepsy. Please forward any comments to your state representative or to the chair of the Subcommittee, A/Prof Ernie Somerville, or email the secretariat.
April 29, 2009
Another reminder that submission deadlines for some of the ESA Awards and Scholarships are coming up in the next few months. Nominations for the Peter Bladin Award and applications for the UCB Pharma Clinical Scholarship are the first to close, on June 30. Please visit the above links for information on these awards, or go to the Scholarships & Awards section to find out about some of the other scholarships.
April 21, 2009
The ILAE Commission on Classification and Terminology has proposed changes to the current classification of seizures and syndromes. The proposal can be viewed on its ILAE page and will be discussed at a session during the Budapest IEC.
April 15, 2009
The First Announcement brochure [PDF 1.46MB] for the 2010 AOEC is now available for download. More information is also now available on the conference website.
April 15, 2009
The ESA received a request for expressions of interest from centres wishing to participate in a randomised clinical trial on treatment of refractory status epilepticus. For more information please download this detailed document [PDF 393KB] or contact Andrea Rossetti [Andrea.Rossetti@chuv.ch].
April 8, 2009
The 3rd Beijing International Epilepsy Forum has now been moved from its original October date to November 12-15, 2009.
March 27, 2009
The ESA congratulates A/Prof Ernie Somerville on news that he will be awarded an IBE-ILAE Epilepsy Ambassador Award for his work in epilepsy care, teaching and training in Australia, East Timor and SE Asia more broadly. The Award, which recognises significant international contributions in the field of epilepsy, will be presented to Ernie at the International Epilepsy Congress in Budapest.
March 25, 2009
Just a reminder that submission deadlines for some of the ESA Awards and Scholarships are coming up in the next few months. Nominations for the Peter Bladin Award and applications for the UCB Pharma Clinical Scholarship are the first to close, on June 30. Please visit the above links for information on these awards, or go to the Scholarships & Awards section to find out about some of the other scholarships.
March 24, 2009
Peter Bergin and colleagues in New Zealand have been developing an online research tool to determine optimal treatment for patients with epilepsy. The next phase of the project requires clinicians from different countries to help test the user interface. Please download the explanatory letter from Peter Bergin [PDF 19KB] to learn more about the project and how you can help.
March 18, 2009
The 3rd Beijing International Epilepsy Forum to be held October 15-18 is currently calling for abstracts. Please download the call for abstracts flyer [PDF 22KB] for more information.
February 20, 2009
Following a meeting between the ESA and the National Prescribing Service (NPS), the NPS has issued advice to doctors and pharmacists to consider antiepileptic drugs as critical dose medications, being cautious in switching brands given the risk of seizures or side effects with significant consequences. The NPS also reminded pharmacists to follow the instruction from prescribing doctors to not substitute brands when clearly marked on prescriptions.
The NPS has published a media release on their website.
February 16, 2009
The ESA website is undergoing some renovations. If you have trouble finding anything, email us and we'll help you locate it.
February 6, 2009
Applications are now open for Pfizer Australia Neuroscience Research Grants. The Pfizer Neuroscience Research Grants program offers medically qualified researchers in the field of Pain Medicine, Psychiatry and Neurology the opportunity to obtain up to $44,000 in research funding for 2010. Medical graduates who are early in their research career having commenced research (or returned after an appropriate break) within the last five years or are currently in advanced training are eligible to apply.
For other details and information on how to apply, please visit the grant's website. Applications close April 14.