December 5, 2008
Seattle, WA

• About the Lecture

  The sixth Judith Hoyer Lecture on Epilepsy, presented by invited lecturer Gregory L. Holmes, M.D., will be held on December 5, 2008, at the annual meeting of the American Epilepsy Society in Seattle, WA. The title of this year's NINDS-sponsored lecture is "Epilepsy in Children: Listening to Mothers."

  A seizure is one of the most common, yet frightening events to affect children. The unpredictability about when seizures will occur coupled with concerns about their consequences lead to substantial stress in parents. Over the course of time, parents, particularly mothers, have asked health care providers relevant and probing questions about their child's condition. These questions have spurred a wealth of clinical and animal studies that have provided insight into the causes and consequences of seizures and epilepsy during brain development.

  In his presentation, Dr. Holmes will review recent research that addresses an important question often raised by mothers - What are these seizures doing to my child's brain? It is now well recognized that the brains of children differ considerably from adults in both seizure susceptibility and consequences. Epilepsy is far more common, and often more devastating, in children than adults. Fortunately, most children with epilepsy have no long-term sequelae of the seizures and have excellent prognoses. However, animal and clinical studies indicate that prolonged or recurrent seizures in early childhood may alter many normal developmental processes. These seizure-induced changes can impair the way the brain receives, deciphers, and encodes information. Understanding how seizures adversely affect the developing brain will provide insights into strategies that can be used to prevent or reverse seizure-induced impairment.

  This Judith Hoyer Lecture on Epilepsy is the sixth in a series highlighting the promise of epilepsy research. It is held in memory of Mrs. Judith Hoyer, an active member of the Board of Directors of the Epilepsy Foundation and the late wife of Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD). Mrs. Hoyer spent her life both helping families cope with epilepsy and promoting research into a cure and a better quality of life for those with the disorder. The purpose of the lecture is to raise awareness of epilepsy among researchers and the public and provide intellectual stimulation that will encourage continuing progress toward finding a cure for epilepsy.

• Participant Bios

  Keynote Speaker, Gregory L. Holmes, M.D.

  Dr. Gregory L. Holmes is Professor of Neurology and Pediatrics and is Chairman of the Department of Neurology at Dartmouth Medical School. Dr. Holmes is also a pediatric neurologist who attended medical school at the University of Virginia, and completed residencies in pediatrics at the Yale University School of Medicine and in pediatric neurology at the University of Virginia. He did a research sabbatical with Professor Yezekiel Ben-Ari in the Unite de Neurobiologie et Physiopathologie du Developpement, in Paris in 1996.

  Dr. Holmes conducts both basic science and clinical research. His primary research areas of interest include the management of children with medically intractable epilepsy and the consequences of seizures and abnormal EEG patterns on the developing brain. He has over 300 peer-reviewed scientific papers dealing with both basic and clinical aspects of epilepsy. Dr. Holmes has been the recipient of a number of research awards including the Basic Science Investigator Award from the American Epilepsy Society/Milken Family Medical Foundation in 1989 and the Pierre Gloor Research Award from the American Clinical Neurophysiology Society in 2001. In 2007 he received the Ambassador for Epilepsy Award from the International League Against Epilepsy and the International Bureau for Epilepsy. He has received NIH (NINDS) research funding for over a quarter of a century. In addition, his research has been aided by funding from Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy (CURE) and the Epilepsy Foundation.

  Dr. Holmes was President of the American Epilepsy Society from 2005-2006 and has served on numerous NIH study sections and advisory boards for the NIH and the Food and Drug Administration.

• Past Lectures

  On November 30, 2007, Joan K. Austin, DNS, RN, FAAN, Distinguished Professor and Sally Reahard Chair in the School of Nursing at Indiana University, Indianapolis, presented the fifth Judith Hoyer Lecture on Epilepsy at the 2007 meeting of the American Epilepsy Society in Philadelphia, PA. The title of her NINDS-sponsored lecture was "Epilepsy Comorbidities: Lennox and Lessons Learned." In her lecture, Dr. Austin presented an overview of the comorbidities associated with epilepsy and its treatments - which include cognitive and memory dysfunction, depression, anxiety, and attention disorders. She reviewed early descriptions of mental health and cognitive problems that were written by key historical figures in epilepsy, and discussed some of the important lessons that we have learned from recent research as well as the challenges that lie ahead.

  On December 1, 2006, Daniel H. Lowenstein, MD, Professor and Vice Chairman in the Department of Neurology at the University of California, San Francisco, presented the fourth Judith Hoyer Lecture on Epilepsy at the 2006 meeting of the American Epilepsy Society in San Diego, California. The title of his NINDS-sponsored lecture was "Pathways to Discovery in Epilepsy Research: Rethinking the Quest for Cures." In his lecture, Dr. Lowenstein presented an overview of limitations of current therapies for epilepsy, reviewed accomplishments in the past 100 years of epilepsy research, and closed by discussing the importance of large, collaborative projects and advancing technology in solving many of the research questions that remain.
  
  On December 2, 2005, Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) opened the 2005 Hoyer Lecture at the AES annual meeting in Washington, DC, speaking to an audience of over 300 epilepsy researchers, caregivers, and patients. The keynote speaker, Jeffrey L. Noebels, M.D., Ph.D. (Baylor College of Medicine), presented "New Tools to Cure Epilepsy: Genes, Pixels, Patterns and Prevention.” The lecture focused on advances in science and technology that are beginning to change the way we think about why people develop epilepsy, when the precise causes can be pinpointed in the brain, and how we can more accurately personalize treatment for every patient.
  Transcripts available for download from ScienceDirect:
  • Opening Remarks (Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and Dr. Story Landis, Ph.D.)
  • Genes, Pixels, Patterns and Prevention (Keynote address from Jeffrey Noebels, M.D., Ph.D.)
  
  On December 3, 2004, Thomas P. Sutula, MD, PhD (University of Wisconsin - Madison Medical School), delivered the 2004 Hoyer Lecture at the AES annual meeting in New Orleans. Dr. Sutula's presentation, "Epilepsy After the Decade of the Brain: Misunderstandings, Challenges, and Opportunities," explored some of the reasons why epilepsy is challenging for healthcare professionals and scientists and how it is often misunderstood by the public.
  
  
  Dr. Sutula's remarks were published in the journal Epilepsy & Behavior, and are available to the public through a partnership between the journal and the Epilepsy Foundation. To download a copy of this article, please visit the Epilepsy & Behavior Content Preview section of the Epilepsy Foundation website.