| Task Force On Classification
and Terminology Commission Members
Jerome Engel, Jr., Chair, Los Angeles, California, USA
Warren Blume, London, Ontario, Canada, Chair, Working Group on Glossary
of Descriptive Ictal Terminology
Peter Williamson, Lebanon, New Hampshire, USA, Chair, Working Group
on Seizures
Natalio Fejerman, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Chair, Working Group
on Syndromes and Diseases
John Chaplin, Lund, Sweden, Chair, Working Group on Impairment
Jean Aicardi - Paris, France
Frederick Andermann - Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Alexis Arzimanoglou - Paris, France
Giuliano Avanzini - Milan, Italy
Anne Berg - DeKalb, Illinois, USA
Samuel Berkovic - Melbourne, Australia
Carol Camfield - Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Bernardo Dalla Bernardina - Verona, Italy
Charlotte Dravet - Marseille, France
Francois Dubeau - Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Olivier Dulac - Paris, France
Orvar Eeg-Olofsson - Uppsala, Sweden
Robert Fraser - Seattle, Washington, USA
Renzo Guerrini - Pisa, Italy
Allen Hauser - New York, New York, USA
Matilde Leonardi - Geneva, Switzerland
Hans Lüders - Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Eli M. Mizrahi - Houston, Texas, USA
Jeffrey Noebels - Houston, Texas, USA
Perrine Plouin - Paris, France
Marieke Reuvekamp-Thuss - Groningen, Netherlands
Masakazu Seino - Shizuoka, Japan
Carlo Alberto Tassinari - Bologna, Italy
Rupprecht Thorbecke - Bielefeld, Germany
David Treiman - Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Walter van Emde Boas - Heemstede, Netherlands
Federico Vigevano - Rome, Italy
Heinz-Gregor Wieser - Zürich, Switzerland
Peter Wolf - Bielefeld, Germany
Benjamin Zifkin - Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Summary of Activities for 2002-2003
Following the commission report published in Epilepsia in 2001
proposing a diagnostic scheme for people with epileptic seizures
and with epilepsy, and the approval of this report by the General
Assembly in Buenos Aires, the Task Force has held several open meetings
at various regional and national epilepsy conferences to discuss
these concepts with our general membership. At the annual meeting
of the American Epilepsy Society in Seattle, December 2002, Frederick
Andermann and Peter Wolf debated whether there should continue to
be three syndromes of juvenile myoclonic epilepsy, juvenile absence
epilepsy, and epilepsy with generalized tonic clonic seizures only,
or whether these should be combined into a single syndrome of generalized
juvenile idiopathic epilepsy. A more formalized discussion of this
issue will be published soon in Epilepsia. Questionnaires continue
to come in commenting on this proposal and the material is included
on our Website www.epilepsy.org/ctf.
The 2001 proposal was for a diagnostic scheme, and not for a new
classification.
Consequently, the 1981 epileptic seizure classification and the
1989 epilepsy syndrome classification remain current. The Task Force
has been actively discussing, at meetings and by email, the appropriateness
of the list of epileptic seizure types and epilepsy syndromes included
in the 2001 proposal, and how these seizure types and syndromes
might be organised into one or more classifications. The debate
was formalized with a series of articles published in Epilepsia
intended to publicize the issues related to construction of a new
classification.
Fisher, RF. Editor's introduction: Cabbages and kings in the classification
of seizures and the epilepsies. Epilepsia 44:1, 2003.
Wolf P. Of cabbages and kings: Some considerations on classifications,
diagnostic schemes, semiology, and concepts. Epilepsia 44:1-4, 2003.
Engel, J Jr. Reply to Of cabbages and kings: Some considerations
on classifications, diagnostic schemes, semiology, and concepts.
Epilepsia 44:4-6, 2003.
Lüders H, Najm I, Wyllie E. Reply to Of cabbages and kings:
Some considerations on classifications, diagnostic schemes, semiology,
and concepts. Epilepsia 44:6-8, 2003.
Berg AT, Blackstone NW. Of cabbages and kings: Perspectives on
classification from the field of systematics. Epilepsia 44:8-12,
2003.
Avanzini G. Of cabbages and kings: Do we really need a systematic
classification of epilepsies? Epilepsia 44:12-13, 2003.
Anne Berg was added to the task force because of her expertise
in the concepts of biological classifications, and with her help,
a meeting of Core Task Force members to discuss strategy for creating
the new classification concepts was organised and will be held in
Los Angeles in August 2003.
Natalio Fejerman instigated a collaborative effort with the Commission
on Genetics to create a list of genetic defects associated with
the idiopathic epilepsies. Ruth Ottman has represented the Commission
on Genetics in this effort, and an extensive table has been constructed,
which is currently being reviewed by members of both committees
before submission to the Executive Committee for their approval
to publish it in Epilepsia.
John Chaplin has replaced Harry Meinardi as chair of the Working
Group on Impairment, which met in Holland in July 2002 to begin
work for the 2002-2003 fiscal year. Their strategy for adapting
the International Classification of Functioning and Disability (ICIDH-2)
of the World Health Organisation for epilepsy consists of developing
a subset of ICF codes relevant to epilepsy; a method to judge the
impact of seizures on ICF domains based on severity, duration, and
predictability; and a means to include an "episodic" modifier
to the ICF coding. The intention is to eventually create this into
an epilepsy-specific ICIDH booklet.
Date: 20 August 2003
Report by: Jerome Engel, Jr., Chair
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