Epileptic Syndromes in Infancy, Childhood and Adolescence - CD-vel [antikvár]

Foreword to the Fourth Edition (with videó sequences on DVD) In the summer of 1983, thanks to the personal dedication of André Perret, from Sanofi, and of the officers of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE), represented by the late Fritz Dreifuss and by Peter Wolf, a workshop was organized in the Centre Saint Paul, Marseille, in order to discuss the numerous epileptic syndromes that had been recently described in infants, children and adolescents and that were to be included in a new classification of epilepsies. Many of these syndromes had been 'invented' in Marseille and, at the time, were received with somé degree of scepticism: however, the clinical and electroencephalographic definition of various, distinct forms of epilepsies gained ground and became progressively part of the official concepts of the ILAE. The first edition of this volume was published in 1984 in French and 1985 in English, and was widely read worldwide. It soon became known as the 'Blue Guide', following Pierre Loiseau who likened it to the bedside travel guides that are often opened and read for touristic or historical information on far-away places of interest. It contained indeed a summary of the lively discussions that took place during the workshop, and was a major contribution to the establishment of the International Classification of Epilepsies, Epileptic Syndromes and Related Disorders, that became the offical document of the ILAE in 1989. Syndromes like severe myoclonic epilepsy in infants, recently re-labelled 'Dravet syndrome', or like continuous spikes and waves during slow wave sleep, alsó known as ESES or electrical status epilepticus during sleep, have now become classics. In the early 1990s, it was time to update this volume: a second edition was published in 1992, which confirmed the broad acceptance of the syndromic approach of epilepsies in the developing ages, and presented a more polished perspective on the subject. By the late 1990s, however, it became evident that the situation had changed. There have been, over the last decade, countless advances in basic and clinical epileptology, and many new types, forms or syndromes of epilepsy have been added to the solid core defined earlier. On the fertile soil of the previously described syndromes, genetic studies led to new approaches and definitions, and to the description of new syndromes. There were alsó major advances in neuroimaging, especially with the availability of magnetic resonance imaging, which led to a much better definition of the aetiologies of epilepsies. The Blue Guide was thus overhauled in 2002. The third edition of Epileptic Syndromes in Infancy, Childhood and Adolescence was still based on the syndromic approach to epilepsies that is the trademark of the Marseille school and of European epileptology, but included new blood and other perspectives. In particular, an approach based on the aetiology of epilepsies had to be associated with the classical syndromic approach. Besides the now well-known syndromes, there are other epileptic entities, somé of which are diseases, others simply diseases with epilepsy and others still epileptic syndromes. A special Task Force of the ILAE has been set up, with the aim of providing clinicians and researchers with a new, comprehensive and up-to-date classification of epilepsies: however, the work is still in progress. With contributions from leading opinions and authorities from various corners of the world, the 2002 Blue Guide aimed at summarizing anew the state of the art of epileptology. The International Epilepsy Congress comes to Paris in 2005. On this very special occasion, the editors and authors of the 2002 Blue Guide felt that it was appropriate to update this volume, as many new data have led to significant evolutions in the world of both the 'hard' and of the 'soft' syndromes. A major addition is the very useful companion to the book, i.e. the videó supplement, which takes the form of a DVD, carefully crafted by Pierre Thomas and Edouard Hirsch, with contributions from many authors and others. The editors thank them for the