News
Do you have news? Please send your newsworthy items for listing on the ESA website to news@epilepsy-society.org.au.
December 22, 2008
The ESA joined the Australian Pregnancy Register and the George Institute (SEISMIC Project) as partners in their applications to the NHMRC for Partnership Grants. Applications will be reviewed and short listed early in 2009.
December 22, 2008
Those who attended the ASM in Sydney will recall Prof Ryvlin’s presentation on the Mortality in Epilepsy Monitoring Units Study (MORTEMUS). Prof Ryvlin is keen to obtain data from Australian epilepsy monitoring units about their monitoring practices and any deaths or near-deaths associated with video-EEG monitoring. Andrew Bleasel will coordinate this. If you would like to contribute to this study, or find out more about it, please download the information sheet and survey form [PDF 117KB].
December 5, 2008
The ESA was alarmed to learn that Eisai Pharma recently cancelled clinical trials of zonisamide, apparently due to poor recruitment. In addition to the termination of clinical trial experience of this new AED in Australia, Eisai’s decision raises important ethical issues for patients commenced on trial medications. If your site has been affected by this decision, the ESA would be interested to hear from you.
December 5, 2008
The 24th ESA Annual Scientific Meeting will be held at the Perth Convention Exhibition Centre from November 2-4, 2009. Dr Lakshmi Nagarajan is the Convenor of the meeting and the Chair of the current ASM Committee. If you have suggestions for speakers or sessions, the secretariat can pass them to the organising committee. SAPMEA will again be the meeting organisers. More details to come in the months ahead.
December 5, 2008
The ANZAN EEG Training guidelines are available online. Level 1 training and assessment have been underway for some time. The EEG Committees of the ESA and ANZAN are currently considering Level 2 training and hospital accreditation. The secretariat would be happy to pass on any comments to Andrew Bleasel and John Dunne.
December 5, 2008
After a long application and review process, the Medicare Services Advisory Committee recently rejected the ESA’s application for MBS item numbers for VNS procedures, to be used in patients with private health insurance. As a consequence of the MSAC rejection, VNS devices will be removed from the Australian Prosthesis List and private health insurers will no longer be obliged to reimburse insured patients. This decision has significant consequences for VNS Therapy in Australia, especially as most public hospitals and state health funding agencies do not provide adequate funding for VNS. The ESA and the non-medical epilepsy support organisations are considering a response to the Federal Government. The MSAC report can be found under Completed Assessments at http://www.msac.gov.au/.
November 28, 2008
Just a reminder that membership subscription renewals are now very overdue. If you still need to renew your membership, please do so as soon as possible. We will be cleaning up our membership list early in the new year. If you're not sure whether or not you're a current member, please email the secretariat.
November 24, 2008
The ILAE Presidential election process has concluded. Prof Solomon (Nico) Moshe has been elected as ILAE President for the term 2009-2013. The ESA congratulates Prof Moshe and looks forward to working with the new ILAE Executive team on international and regional epilepsy matters.
October 24, 2008
It has been decided that the 8th AOEC of the ILAE-IBE will be held in Melbourne from Oct 21-24, 2010. Preliminary planning has commenced but an official announcement won’t be made until the New Year. This will be a great opportunity for the ESA, JECA and their members to showcase Australia and our strengths in epilepsy care, research and training.
October 24, 2008
From November, the NSW RTA and VicRoads will trial the ESA-ANZAN decision tree model for determining fitness to drive. The trial will run in parallel with the old system, so that the results can be compared. NSW and Victorian neurologists will receive trial documents from the DLA to complete in conjunction with the standard forms. More details can be found on the driving committee news page.
October 24, 2008
Two position statements, on the switching of AED formulations and the FDA alert about increased suicidality with AEDS, have been added to the Guidelines & Resources section. Over the last 6 months, members of the ESA Committee and some subcommittees have been working on position statements, information statements and guidelines that reflect the ESA’s considered view on an important clinical issue, arrived at after carefully reviewing available evidence. Other statements in preparation include HLA testing for drug sensitivity, AEDs and bone health, and patient safety and monitoring in video-EEG monitoring units.
October 24, 2008
The ESA Committee has endorsed a proposal for Neuroscience Trials Australia to assist in the negotiation between sponsors, CROs and epileptologist investigators about new AED clinical trials. Details can be found on the NTA page in the Research section.
October 24, 2008
John Dunne’s presentation on driving at the ESA Master Class has been added to the Resources section of the Driving committee page.
October 22, 2008
From November, the NSW RTA and VicRoads will trial our decision tree model for determining fitness to drive. The trial will run in parallel with the old system, so that the results can be compared. The RTA and VicRoads will send an explanatory letter to the patient, asking them to present the trial documents to the doctor, along with the standard Medical Report Form for completion. The trial documents include a covering letter to the doctor signed jointly by the RTA/Vicroads and the ESA-ANZAN, the trial Epilepsy Questionnaire Form to complete about the patient's epilepsy, and a feedback form, all of which are to be returned to the DLA. The standard Medical Report Form or medical letter are to be given to the patient or returned to the DLA as normal. The data from the Epilepsy Questionnaire Form will be entered into the computerised algorithm that we have developed, with the data stored in a database that can be queried. The data received and the algorithm output will be evaluated as a potential alternative to the standard Medical Report Form but at this stage will not be used to determine fitness to drive. This project is a joint effort of Austroads, the ANZAN and the ESA, and is supported by the AMA. Participation in the trial is voluntary but the ESA hopes that neurologists will do so and provide feedback about the process.
October 17, 2008
Congratulations to the recipient of this year's Molly McDonnell Foundation Scholarship, Dr Sandra Petty. Dr Petty will be using the scholarship to build upon her doctoral work on AEDs and bone health.
October 16, 2008
Members should have received by today an email with details for the ESA Annual General Meeting to be held on November 6, 2008 at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre. If you are a member and did not receive a copy, please email the secretariat.
August 27, 2008
Applications for the Molly McDonnell Foundation Scholarship close on Sunday August 31. For eligibility criteria and application details, visit Awards & Fellowships > Molly McDonnell Foundation Scholarship.
August 27, 2008
Congratulations to the recipient of this year’s UCB ESA Clinical Scholarship, Dr Kee Meng Tan. Dr Tan will spend 2009 working with Terry O’Brien and his team at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, before returning to epileptology practice in Brisbane.
August 27, 2008
A reminder that the deadline for ESA Travel Scholarships this quarter is September 30. Members who wish to apply for funding to attend the 2008 American Epilepsy Society's Annual Meeting should submit their applications before this deadline.
August 22, 2008
Epilepsy Action, Australia is currently accepting registrations for the national Epilepsy: Top of Mind symposium to be held in Sydney on 8 November 2008. The event will include major presentations on new medications and treatment options, community attitudes to epilepsy, employment, the latest research and more. Plus specialised streams for parents of children with epilepsy, adults living with epilepsy, professional carers and an interactive stream for adolescents.
There will also be an exhibition area to showcase products and services of benefit to people living with epilepsy and carers. If you would like more information, please visit the conference website.
August 22, 2008
Epilepsy Action, Australia announces the commencement of Sydney Epilepsy Incidence Study to Measure Illness Consequences (SEISMIC), a collaborative study with The George Institute for International Health aimed at identifying modifiable factors that enhance resilience or reduce vulnerability to the socioeconomic impact of epilepsy in an Australian population.
SEISMIC is a population-based, prospective, incidence and outcome study of the psychosocial, educational and economic sequelae of newly diagnosed epilepsy. The three-year study will recruit participants over a two year period with a 12 month follow up.
For more information on SEISMIC, read the
cover story of the June 2008 edition of
Epilepsy360° magazine.
August 20, 2008
The third ESA Epilepsy Master Class was held on Saturday August 16, sponsored by UCB Pharma. The Master Class was organized by Sam Berkovic, Ernie Somerville and Gina Drake (UCB Pharma), with the international guest moderator being Prof David Chadwick. About 70 neurologists and trainees attended from around Australia and New Zealand, and were treated to challenging case presentations and discussions from local epileptologists and Prof Chadwick. The ESA thanks the organizers and presenters for their hard work. If neurologist members find the subject matter and educational format helpful, we will plan for another Master Class in 2010.
July 30, 2008
All ESA members should have last week received notice of a Special General Meeting to be held during the lunch break of the ESA Master Class on August 16. You can download a copy of the notice here [PDF 79KB].
July 30, 2008
We are currently accepting applications for the Molly McDonnell Foundation scholarship. Applications close August 31. For more information about this research scholarship, visit the Awards & Fellowships > Molly McDonnell Foundation Scholarship section.
July 25, 2008
The abstract submission deadline for the 2008 ESA ASM has been extended to Friday August 8. Please submit your abstracts online at the conference organiser's website under the "Call for Abstracts" link in the menu on the left of the page.
July 25, 2008
The program for the 2008 ESA ASM is now available on the conference organiser's website under the "Program" link in the menu.
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