Chapter Name: Thailand Epilepsy Society (EST)
Report By: Kamornwan Katanyuwong M.D.

Publications:

• Thai Official Educational Bulletin - Epilepsy Digest: 3 issues in 2017 and 2 issues in 2018. This bulletin can be accessed via EST’s official website. www.thaiepilepsysociety.com
• The guideline for HLAB*-1502 screening in Thai epileptic patient, published in 2018.

Summary of Activities:

From July 2017, the 10th Executive Board has commenced administrative roles for a two-year term.

1. Annual Meetings
• 2017: 21st Annual Scientific Meeting Theme: Epilepsy and its Pathologies, July 20 -21. International guest speakers were Prof. Emilio Perucca (Italy) and Prof. Helen Cross (UK).
• 2018: Pre-congress Conference including: EEG monitoring; SEEG; fundamental neuroimaging; voxel-based morphometry; EEG/FMRI, July 18.
• 2018: 22nd Annual Scientific Meeting Theme: Implementing Good Practice in Epilepsy Care, July 19 -20. International guest speakers were Prof. Akio Ikeda (Japan) and Prof. Lakshmi Nagarajan (Australia).

2. Educational Activities
• A two-day epilepsy educational course, free-of-charge, was conducted for pediatric neurology fellows and senior neurology residents, August 8, 2017 and September 9, 2018.
• The Inter-hospital Epilepsy Surgery Conference including: case discussion; topic review and EEG/MRI quiz, held 4 times per year.
• Advanced EEG Workshop for Practitioners, November 24, 2017.
• EST’s committee members participated as speakers in different scientific meetings e.g. Annual Meeting of the Neurology Association of Thailand (NAT) and the Regional Meetings NAT, 3-4 times per year.

3. Bursary Support
• Grants to pediatric neurology fellows, neurology residents and young neurologists for the International Congress.

4. Activities in relation to the Epilepsy Association of Thailand (EAT)
• Epilepsy camps were held for epileptic patients in the Chiang Mai regional area on March 26, 2017 and March 17, 2018.
• Bangkok also held an epilepsy camp for epileptic patients on November 25, 2018.
• Campaigns were organized for public education and awareness of epilepsy, for International Epilepsy Day and Purple Day, 2017 and 2018. University hospitals and major government hospitals around the country participated.
• Social media i.e. Facebook, YouTube, broadcast communication and news were utilized to increase awareness of epilepsy.
• Fund raising included a Running Day for epileptic patients. This was commenced in 2017.
• EAT members were assisted financially to attend the International Epilepsy Meeting.

Challenges:

• The Thai Government is currently developing a policy which allows for cannabidiol products to be used legally for specific medical conditions. The EST Committee has provided information to assist this process and has delivered recommendations around patient suitability.
• The EST has been involved in the process of developing guidelines for new laws for epileptic drivers.

Future Plans:

• The EST is honored to be the local host of the 33rd International Epilepsy Congress in Bangkok Thailand, June 22-26, 2019.
• To encourage the Thai government to consider integrating epilepsy into the Government-support Service Plan.

Officer Election Date: June 2019