Consensus on pediatric epilepsy Che up surgery for young children:an investigation by the China Association Against Epilepsy task force on epilepsy surgery

Researchers have widely acknowledged the therapeutic value of epilepsy surgery for drug-resistant epilepsy.None-theless,there is a substantial gap in the surgical treatment for appropriate candidates owing to several factors,particularly in the population of young children.To standardize the protocols of preoperative evaluation and sur-gery of young children for epilepsy surgery,the China Association Against Epilepsy has appointed an expert task force to standardize the protocols of preoperative evaluation and surgery in pediatric epilepsy patients.It adopted the modifed Delphi method and performed two rounds of surveys through an anonymous inquiry among 75 experts from four subgroups including pediatric neurologists,epileptologists,pediatric epilepsy surgeons,and functional neurosurgeons.The survey contents contained:(1)the participants,comprising children aged≤6 years;(2)adopted DRE definition proposed by the International League Against Epilepsy in 2010;and(3)investigated epilepsy surgery,principally referring to curative epilepsy surgeries.The neuromodulation therapies were excluded because of the differences in treatment mechanisms from the above-mentioned surgeries.According to the Delphi process,a con-sensus was achieved for most aspects by incorporating two rounds of surveys including preoperative assessment,sur-gical strategies and techniques,and perioperative and long-term postoperative management,despite controversial opinions on certain items.We hope the results of this consensus will improve the level of surgical treatment and man-agement of intractable epilepsy in young children.

Expert consensus on clinical applications of high-frequency oscillations in epilepsy

Studies in animal models of epilepsy and pre-surgical patients have unanimously found a strong correlation between high-frequency oscillations(HFOs,>80 Hz)and the epileptogenic zone,suggesting that HFOs can be a potential biomarker of epileptogenicity and epileptogenesis.This consensus includes the definition and standard detection techniques of HFOs,the localizing value of pathological HFOs for epileptic foci,and different ways to distinguish physiological from epileptic HFOs.The latest clinical applications of HFOs in epilepsy and the related findings are also discussed.HFOs will advance our understanding of the pathophysiology of epilepsy.

The cultivation of epilepsy neurosurgeons:requirements and challenges

Epilepsy surgery has been accepted as an effective treatment in drug-resistant focal epilepsy.However,the number of epilepsy neurosurgeons is not enough in China compared with the huge demand.The content of epilepsy neurosurgeon cultivation includes surgery itself as well as presurgical evaluation.In this article,we review not only different categories of epilepsy surgeries but also the presurgical evaluation approaches including non-invasive methods,such as semiology analysis,high-resolution structural and functional imaging techniques,scalp electroencephalography monitoring as well as invasive methods,such as electrocorticography (ECoG) and stereotactic electroencephalography (SEEG).We also discuss the importance of learning each method briefly.In addition,we suggest that epilepsy neurosurgeons should have a solid structural and functional anatomy basis as it plays pivotal role in localizing epileptogenic zone.Epilepsy neurosurgeons should also be familiar with the staged presurgical evaluation starting from the most preliminary examinations and progressing to more complex and invasive methods.During the diagnosis and therapeutic procedures,collaboration between epilepsy neurosurgeons and other specialists is essential.At last,the necessity of epilepsy neurosurgeon cultivation has been emphasized.