11th Baltic Sea Summer School on Epilepsy (BSSSE 11)

Tartu, Estonia

6 - 11 August 2017

The 11th annual BSSSE took place in the beautiful old university town of Tartu, Estonia, on August 6 - 11, 2017. Our local host was the Estonian League against Epilepsy.

The course was attended by 41 participants from 15 countries: Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Georgia, Germany, Israel, Kyrgysztan, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Portugal, Romania, Surinam, Turkey and Uzbekistan. The average age of the participants was 32.9 years, which reflects well the primary target group of this summer school, young post-graduates and PhD students.

The faculty consisted of 14 teachers: four from Germany (Köh¬ling, Rostasy, Stephani, Wellmer), three each from Denmark (Beniczky, Nikanorova, Wolf) and Estonia (Haldre, Reimand, Vaher), two from Norway (Johannessen, Johannessen Landmark), and one each from Lithuania (Mameniškienė) and Sweden (Ben-Menachem). They covered the following topics:

Clinical epileptology

  • Autoimmune encephalitis
  • Non-epileptic paroxysmal conditions
  • Neonatal seizures
  • System epilepsies
  • Genetic epilepsies
  • Neurocutaneous disorders and epilepsy
  • Status epilepticus
  • Seizure semiology
  • Function-structure relationships in autonomous seizure components
  • Remission of epilepsy
  • Ethical aspects of epilepsy

Diagnostics and clinical research

  • Diagnosis of epileptic seizures and epilepsy
  • Standards for presurgical evaluation
  • Acting epileptic seizures
  • Neuroimaging in epilepsy (with exercises)

Therapy

  • When and how to start treatment
  • Treatment of epilepsy syndromes
  • Principles of pharmacokinetic interactions of AEDs
  • Pharmacology of cannabinoids in epilepsy
  • Present state of cannabinoids in epilepsy
  • Intractability – have new AEDs made an impact?

Basic aspects

  • Basic mechanisms of autoimmunity
  • Termination of seizures
  • Introductory early morning seminars

EEG

  • Neuroimaging
  • Semiology
  • Pharmacotherapy.

Interactive study

The study methods at the BSSSE are strongly interactive with only 2, maximum 3 frontal lectures per day and otherwise tutorials (including journal clubs), case-oriented study and discussion of submitted own cases in variable small groups. Eight participants presented their own research for peer discussion in the plenary.

The course evaluation confirms once again the students’ high appreciation of the interactive methods, where case-oriented study and the early morning seminars received the highest marks.

The participation of course attendants was made possible by full or shared bursaries, for which the organisers are very grateful to

  • Commission of European Affairs of the ILAE
  • Danish Epilepsy Society
  • Estonian League Against Epilepsy
  • German Society for Epileptology
  • Lithuanian Society for Epileptology
  • Norwegian Epilepsy Society
  • Peter & Jytte Wolf Foundation for Epilepsy
  • GW Pharma
  • Livanova
  • Desitin Arzneimittel GmbH

BSSSE 12 with a different programme will take place in Vilnius (Lithuania), with the Lithuanian Society for Epileptology as hosts, and Rūta Mameniškienė and Peter Wolf as Co-Directors.

Rūta Mameniškienė
Ulvi Vaher
Peter Wolf

Co-Directors

 

Announcement | Contact: Petra Novotny