[PS5-1A-K] Management of Childhood Epilepsy: Present & Future
Epilepsy is one of the common neurological illnesses in all age-groups. Management of childhood epilepsy in children is challenging. The ultimate goal of treatment of this illness is to make each patient cured from epilepsy without any medication. However, in reality it is not possible for every patient. To control or to minimize the seizures and to provide the appropriate care of the coexisting morbidities are the physicians’ aims in management in these patients. There has been enormous development on management of childhood epilepsy since the invention of new generation of antiepileptic drugs in 1990. However, there are still a number of patients who are refractory to the available antiepileptic drugs. They are in needs of other modalities to relieve their burden from epilepsy. In this session, the advance on the medical treatment and the non-medical treatment for epilepsy in children, emphasizing on refractory-to-treat epilepsy, will be discussed. For medical treatment, the potential roles of antiepileptic drugs with new mechanisms of actions, neurosteroids, immunosuppressive agents and cannabis derivatives would be addressed. For non-medical treatment; the application of diet therapy, the current roles of surgical treatment, and the possibility of the deployment of deep brain stimulation and magnetic stimulation would be raised. In addition, other possible options to be considered in epilepsy including meditation would be covered during this session.