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

Foreword 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, also 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 earlieT. 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 also major advances in neuroimaging, especially with the availability of magnetic resonance imaging, which led to a much better definition of the aetiologies of epilepsies. It is thus time again to update the Blue Guide. The third edition of Epileptic Syndromes in Infancy, Childhood and Adolescence is still based on the syndromic approach to epilepsies that is the trademark of the Marseille school and of European epileptology, but has included new blood and other perspectives. In particular, an approach based on the aetiology of epilepsies has now to be associated with the classical syndromic approach. Besides the now wellknown 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 aims at summarizing anew the state of the art of epileptology. We hope that our readers will find here many sources of information and inspiration for their daily work with their patients. None of this could have happened without the continuing support of Sanofi-Synthélabo, who confirmed their longstanding involvement in epileptology, and without the personal, selfless dedication of John Libbey, whose implication went far beyond the work that was expected from the publisher. The editors are also thankful for the competent and friendly secretarial help provided by Germaine Sisco, and for the gigantic amount of work done by the staff of the Centre Saint Paul on behalf of patients with epilepsy and of clinical research over the years. The Editors