SECOND CONFERENCE ON EPILEPTOGENESIS

This meeting aims at allowing an exchange of information and opinion among research leaders in the field of epileptogenesis, thorough the presentation and discussion of new findings in some of the "hot" areas of research:
- epilepsy related changes in ion channels and receptors;
- plasticity: gene expression, neuropeptides, neurotrophic factors;
- new therapeutic approaches;
- role of interictal spikes in focal epileptogenesis;
- neuroimmunological aspects of epilepsy.
The conference attendance is free for doctorate and specialization students in neurosciences and neurology.

Program:

Friday, June 20th
7.00 pm Reception and welcome address

Saturday, June 21st - Epilepsy related changes in ion channels and receptors
Session chaired by Giuliano Avanzini (Italy)

9.00 am Federico Zara – Istituto Gaslini, Genova, ITALY
Epileptogenic mutations
9.30 am Giuliano Avanzini – Istituto Nazionale Neurologico, Milan, ITALY
Epilepsy and channellopathies
10.00 am Filippo Tempia - University of Perugia, ITALY
Potassium channels: diversity and redundance in the CNS

10.30 am Coffee Break

10.45 am Silvana Franceschetti – Istituto Nazionale Neurologico, Milan, ITALY
Sodium channels
11.15 am Stephanie Baulac – Pitié-Salpetrière Hospital, Paris, FRANCE
GEFS+ syndrome and ion channels
11.45 am Massimo Mantegazza – Istituto Nazionale Neurologico, Milan, ITALY
Expression of mutated channels for electrophysiology

12.30 pm Lunch

2.00 pm Uwe Heinemann – Charité, Von Humboldt University of Berlin, GERMANY
Changes in the hodologic organization of the ippocampal formation and its significance for seizure spread and frequencies of seizures
2.30 pm Michel Segal – Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA
Channels as targets of AEDs

3.00 pm Coffee Break

3.30 pm Wytse Wadman – University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS
Seizure dependent modulation of antiepileptic drug effect on sodium currents
4.00 pm Yoel Yaari – Hebrew University, Jerusalem, ISRAEL
Ionic mechanisms of intrinsic bursting in chronically epileptic hippocampal neurons

Sunday, June 22nd - Plasticity: gene expression, neuropeptides, neurotrophic factors.
Session chaired by M. Simonato and F. Paladin (Italy)

9.00 am Raymond Dingledine – Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, USA
Transcriptional events in epileptognesis
9.30 am Michele Simonato – University of Ferrara, Ferrara, ITALY
Changes in mRNA and protein trafficking
10.00 am Claude Wasterlain – UCLA, Sepulveda, USA
Plasticity of neuropeptides

10.30 am Coffee Break

10.45 am Helen Scharfman – Helen Heyes Hospital, New York, USA
Plasticity of neurotrophic factors
11.15 am Christine Ekdahl Clementson – University Hospital, Lund, SWEDEN
Cell death and neurogenesis

12.30 pm Lunch

New therapeutic approaches
Session chaired by M. Simonato and F. Paladin (Italy)

2.00 pm Mattew During – University of Auckland, NEW ZEALAND
New therapeutic strategies: viral vectors
2.30 pm Merab Kokaia – University Hospital, Lund, SWEDEN
New therapeutic strategies: cell grafts

Monday, June 23rd - Role of interictal spikes in focal epileptogenesis
Round table/Controversy chaired by Marco de Curtis and John Jefferys

9.00 am Marco de Curtis – Istituto Nazionale Neurologico, Milan, ITALY
Interictal spikes as protective elements against ictal precipitation
9.30 am John Jefferys – University of Birmingham, Birmingham, ENGLAND
Interictal spikes precipitate ictal discharges

10.00-12.00 Discussion with programmed contributions by:
- Gonzalo Alarcon, King's College Hospital, London, England
- Paul Boon, University Hospital Ghent, Gent, Belgium
- Dominique Durand, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, USA
- Stefano Francione, Niguarda Hospital, Milano, Italy

12.30 pm Lunch break

Neuroimmunological aspects of epilepsy
Session chaired by A. Vezzani (Italy) and G. Sperk (Austria)

2.00 pm Serge Rivest – Université Laval, Quebec, Canada
Cytokines as mediators of cell communication between neurons and glia
2.30 pm Annamaria Vezzani – Istituto Mario Negri, Milan, ITALY
Role of inflammation in seizures and epileptogenesis
3.00 pm Tallie Z. Baram – Irvine University of California, Irvine, USA
Do cytokines contribute to the generation and consequences of experimental febrile seizures

3.30 Coffee break

4.00 pm M. Lerner-Natoli – CNRS, Montpellier Cedex, FRANCE
Inflammation in human epileptic tissue
4.30 pm Claudia Eder – Charité, Von Humboldt University of Berlin, GERMANY
Electrophysiological properties of microglia
5.00 pm Renato Mantegazza – Istituto Nazionale Neurologico, Milan, ITALY
Autoantibodies and epileptic syndromes: specificity and pathogenicity
5.30 pm Mattew During – University of Auckland, NEW ZEALAND
Induction of autoantibodies as a novel anticonvulsant approach

8.30 pm Gala dinner

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE

Giuliano Avanzini
   Istituto Nazionale Neurologico ”Carlo Besta”, Milan, ITALY
Michele Simonato
   University of Ferrara, Ferrara, ITALY
Marco de Curtis
   Istituto Nazionale Neurologico, ”Carlo Besta”, Milan, ITALY
Annamaria Vezzani
   Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche “Mario Negri”, Milan, ITALY

ORGANIZING COMMITTEE

Michele Simonato (m.simonato@unife.it)
Silvia Zucchini (s.zucchini@unife.it)
University of Ferrara, Ferrara, ITALY
Tel 0532-291211 or 0532-291345.
Fax 0532-291205

Under the auspices of:

International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE)
Neuroscience Center of the University of Ferrara
International School of Neurological Sciences (S. Servolo, Venice)
Istituto Nazionale Neurologico, ”Carlo Besta”, Milan
Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche “Mario Negri”, Milan

The meeting has been possible thanks to the generous contribution of:

The University of Ferrara
Fondazione Cariplo
Chiesi, Italy
Janssen Cilag SpA, Italy
Lundbeck, Denmark
Novartis, Switzerland
Novartis, Italy
Sanofi-Sintelabo, Italy