The Path of Least Resistance: New Agents and Emerging Strategies for Managing Childhood-Onset and Refractory Epilepsies

Target Audience
This activity is designed to meet the educational needs of neurologists, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and other allied healthcare professionals involved in the management of epilepsy.

Program Overview
Epilepsy syndromes are historically difficult to diagnose and treat effectively due to their widely varying etiologies and presentations and their high probability of drug-resistance. With the influx of newly discovered and potentially targetable genetic etiologies driving epilepsy, long-held standards in diagnosis and management of these populations are being upended. For this activity, Efficient surveyed five renowned epileptologists regarding their perspectives on a breadth of case-based and practical considerations in the modern management of genetic and drug-resistant epilepsies. Using these survey results as a foundation, Drs Sullivan, Kessler, and Perry navigate new approaches and delineate expert strategies to help maximize outcomes in these classically difficult to treat presentations.

Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this activity, participants should be better able to:

Evaluate the utility of modern diagnostic strategies (e.g., genetic testing) to distinguish prevalent childhood-onset epilepsy syndromes (e.g., Dravet and Lennox-Gastaut syndromes) quickly and effectively.
Discuss mechanisms of action for, phase 3 outcomes of, and clinical experience with recently FDA-approved therapies for childhood-onset epilepsies in order to better customize therapeutic decision-making and optimize patient outcomes.
Assess the ongoing phase 3 evaluation of agents for use in syndromic and general refractory epilepsies for patients of varying age groups to determine the potential future roles of these agents.