Michael Prize 1999

IBE/ILAE Awards: 1999 Michael Prize Winners

This prize was created to stimulate epilepsy research among young scientists (under 40 years of age) in Germany. It is now an international award for the best scientific and clinical research promoting the further development in epileptology. The prize is awarded biannually and consists of DM 20.000 and is presented during the International Epilepsy Congress following the election.

Istvan Mody, USA: His scientific efforts are primarily devoted to the role synaptic inhibition in epileptogenesis. Using a combined anatomical and electro-physiological approach, it was demonstrated, for the first time, that the number of synaptic GABA-A receptors is significantly increased in an experimental model of temporal lobe epilepsy. This finding favours a much more complex scenario of epileptogenesis than previously thought from animal studies with blockers of inhibition. There are already some strong hints about how neuronal synchrony can be generated by more GABA-A receptors at synapses.