Overviewing Cleveland Clinic’s International Epilepsy Summit: Imad Najm, MD

WATCH TIME: 5 minutes

"Gene therapy is where I think the more exciting part of epilepsy treatment lies, especially for patients with difficult-to-control seizures. Over the next five to ten years, we expect it to be more widely used and better validated."

As many as 30% of people with epilepsy followed in specialized clinics suffer from a drug-resistant disease. Despite the increased research in the safety and efficacy of epilepsy surgery, there is evidence that epilepsy surgery remains underutilized. There are several different types of epilepsy surgery, including resective surgery, laser interstitial thermal therapy, focal resection, corpus callosotomy, deep brain stimulation, and vagus nerve stimulation, among others. Epilepsy surgery is not considered a first line of treatment, but rather when a patient has gone through at least 2 antiseizure medications to try to control their seizures.

From September 11-15th in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, Cleveland Clinic will host its International Epilepsy Summit, a multi-day educational symposium that will overview those latest advancements in epilepsy surgery and stereoelectroencephalography (sEEG) on a global scale. The event is open to a wide range of healthcare professionals, including adult and pediatric neurologists, neurosurgeons, epilepsy fellows, physician assistants, molecular biologists, nurse practitioners, and others. Overall, the goal is to improve the outcomes of patients with epilepsy on both a medical and surgical level.

Prior to the event, neurologist and epilepsy expert Imad Najm, MD, sat down to give an overview of what clinicians can expect, and how the courses will line up with the latest updated research. Najm, director of Cleveland Clinic’s Epilepsy Center at the Cleveland Clinic Neurological Institute, covered the 3 main topics from the symposium, focusing in on sEEG, advancements in pre-surgical evaluation and surgical management, and future directions in epilepsy treatment, including new medications, genetics, and artificial-intelligence-driven data analysis. Furthermore, he provided context on the potential of gene therapy, and how this approach may impact patients with difficult-to-control seizures.

For more information about the Summit, including registration, click here.