Chapter Name: Liga Uruguaya contra la Epilepsia (LUCE)
Report By: Andrea Rey

Publications:

Revista Uruguaya de Epilepsia (RUE)- Vol 26 No.1 and 26 No.2 (Aug/Dec 2018)

Summary of Activities:

Annual scientific meeting 2018- Invited conference at the University Hospital, on Seizure semiology in children and adults, by Alexis Arzimanoglou, followed by case discussions.

Participation/support to local academic activities:

1. Support to the Uruguayan Congress of Neurology, held Nov 11-13, 2017 (Minas). Invited speakers: Fernando Cendes, Silvia Kochen. Topics: neural networks, structural and functional neuroimaging, invasive EEG recording.

2. Participation in the Uruguayan Congress of Pediatric Neurology, held Aug 29-Sep1, 2018 (Montevideo). Conference: Experience on children with refractory epilepsy in the Epilepsy Surgery Program of Montevideo (Andrea Rey).
Support to regional academic activities- active support/participation, either by LUCE as organization or by some of its members, in the online course for primary care in Latin America (ILAE Education Commission), Latin American Summer School on Epilepsy, Epilepsy Week in Bolivia; during 2018 also participating in the ILAE-IBE Meeting in Asunción (Paraguay)

Advocacy and public outreach:

• Self-aid groups: free meetings every other week, under the guidance of a psychologist provided by LUCE. Separate groups for patients and relatives.
• LUCE as mediator and promoting actor in the development of an institutional agreement between some academic services at the University Hospital and the National School for Police Education. Starting on 2017, this agreement allowed for the development of training courses on basic epilepsy management (among other topics).
• Latin American Epilepsy Day 2018: journey with educational material in the Rodó Park.
• Educational activity for teachers at a public primary school in Montevideo (Nov 2018)
• Educational activity In Paraguay (with Paraguay Chapter, LUCE and UCLE)

Government liasons:
Resuming negotiations with delegates in the Parliament regarding a Law for Epilepsy patients (LE Rodríguez).

Challenges:

Improvement of financial performance

Development of institutional website

Sustainability of our institutional Journal (2 issues per year)

Future Plans:

To promote an active discussion, leading to the approval of a Law on Epilepsy.

Working close to the IBE chapter and the existing Association of parents of children with epilepsy, to achieve common goals.

To increase the visibility of the League, improving and extending our activities devoted to the whole community.

Officer Election Date: November 12, 2017.