Perturbations in Epilepsy 2023

Perturbations in Epilepsy is a hot-topics workshop series organized by the Center for Systems Modelling and Quantitative Biomedicine (SMQB) in association with the University of Birmingham, UK.

Epilepsy is a chronic and complex neurological disorder affecting about 65 million people around the world. It manifests as pathological electrical activity in the brain, and may lead to recurrent, unprovoked seizures, affecting the quality of life. Several physiological factors are known to affect the seizure likelihood, including sleep, hormones, and stress. It is imperative to understand the role of these triggers so that they can be identified and avoided. However, the triggers may affect different individuals in different ways and their effects may change over time even within the same individual. We are organising this workshop series to better understand how various seizure triggers affect the brain networks and predispose them to a seizure.

We hosted the first edition at the Edgbaston Park Hotel in the University of Birmingham Campus on April 6 and 7, 2022. We brought together experts from different backgrounds to further our mechanistic understanding of the interplay between brain networks, seizure likelihood and these physiological triggers. The first edition highlighted that the perceived unpredictability of seizures is the primary concern among patients with epilepsy and explored how this could be addressed.

In June this year, we are hosting the second edition of the workshop to explore how we could predict or prevent seizures through long-term monitoring of seizure triggers using smartwatches and EEG headbands. The event will take place at the Edgbaston Park Hotel on June 26 and 27, 2023 and is supported by the Medical Research Council, UK through the Proximity to Discovery Fund.

We are planning three thematic sessions for the second edition of the workshop:

1. In the first session, we will have clinicians sharing their perspectives about seizures and their triggers.
2. In the second session, we will have representatives from the industry presenting solutions/devices that could help monitor seizure triggers.
3. In the third session, we will have academics sharing their perspectives how this data could be included in seizure prediction and prevention.

We have an exciting line-up of speakers joining us from clinical research, academia and industry including Garmin Health, UNEEG and Neuronostics. For more information and registration, please access the official website of the workshop .

We look forward to hosting everyone at the workshop!