Clinical and basic research in paediatric epilepsy continues to have a direct impact on the diagnosis and treatment of children with seizures. In recent years, advances in molecular biology are beginning to unravel the molecular processes underlying childhood epilepsy, and there is increased understanding of the role of ion channels (and their interacting proteins) in the pathophysiology of epilepsy. Clinical trials and Cochrane reviews of diagnosis, treatment and outcome have also contributed to the management of paediatric epilepsy. This symposium provided an excellent forum for the presentation of such advances in the molecular pathogenesis, diagnosis and management of childhood epilepsies and related co-morbidities. Lectures were interspersed with interactive case presentations that illustrated contemporary approaches to paediatric epilepsy and allowed current controversies in this field to be debated.
Keywords Antiepileptic drugs, epilepsy syndromes, ion channels, paediatric epilepsy, seizures
Declaration of Interests No conflict of interests declared.
