CortiCare Webinars

Upcoming Webinars

September 28, 2021 – 2:00PM Eastern, 11:00AM Pacific

SEEG and Semiology in the Study of Refractory Epilepsy

The use of Stereoelectroencephalography (SEEG) has rapidly increased over the last decade and there is growing interest in this method of intracranial EEG monitoring. This webinar will review the basic principles of formulating a hypothesis for SEEG. The importance of analyzing seizure semiology will be highlighted. The use of cortical stimulation and the interpretation of SEEG will be discussed.

Dr. Kheder received his medical degree from the University of Damascus. He completed training in medicine and neurology in England and was elected member of the Royal College of Physicians. He completed a two-year epilepsy and neurophysiology fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital, followed by a one-year advanced fellowship in SEEG and epilepsy surgery at Cleveland Clinic.

Dr. Kheder went to the University of Pennsylvania in 2016 to establish SEEG program at Penn. He was recruited to Emory in 2019 to lead the epilepsy surgery program at the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, where he currently serves as a director of the epilepsy center. He is an assistant professor of neurology and pediatrics at Emory, with a primary interest in surgical epilepsy.

Past Webinars

August 2021

An Update on EMUs and the NAEC Standards

The National Association of Epilepsy Centers (NAEC) has produced standards for the accreditation of epilepsy centers. In particular, “The Guidelines for Essential Services, Personnel, and Facilities in Specialized Epilepsy Centers in the United States – Revised 2010 Guidelines” are the basis for the criteria that NAEC uses to accredit level 3 and 4 epilepsy centers. These are now more than 10 years old and are due for revision. The NAEC is forming a Guideline Panel to develop the next set of standards. This webinar reviews the standards and the move to evidence-informed guidelines that should be of interest to any center that is considering accreditation or expanding epilepsy services.

Presenting is Dr. David Labiner, Dr. Labiner is Professor and Head of the Department of Neurology at The University of Arizona College of Medicine, and a Professor of Pharmacy Practice and Science at The University of Arizona College of Pharmacy, both divisions of The University of Arizona Health Sciences Center in Tucson. He is a former President of the National Association of Epilepsy Centers, as well as a former member of the Board of Directors of the Epilepsy Foundation of America and the American Epilepsy Society.  

July 2021

Current Practice of Pediatric and Neonatal ICU EEG Monitoring

Guidelines for pediatric and neonatal ICU EEG monitoring are available to provide direction to pediatric epileptologists and neurocritical care physicians. However, the implementation of these guidelines and current practice varies widely between different healthcare settings.  There is demonstrated value from the identification and treatment of seizures with regards to the overall outcome for these children.

Presenting is John Millichap MD, Ph.D. Dr. Millichap is a pediatric epileptologist and Adjunct Associate Professor of Neurology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Dr. Millichap has over 60 peer-reviewed medical publications and serves as the Editor of Pediatric Neurology Briefs. He is involved in the education of trainees and clinical translational research concerning EEG, epileptic encephalopathies, and epilepsy genetics.

June 2021

Using EEG for Subject Enrichment in Clinical Trials

Pharma clinical trials for new medications or other interventions that may impact or compromise brain function require that EEG be recorded, monitored, and analyzed. But EEG can also be a key tool to improve the quality and appropriateness of the subject cohort in a specific clinical trial. This webinar will present why, what, and how EEG is employed effectively during a variety of clinical trials for subject enrichment. In addition, the importance of standardizing the reading of EEG data in clinical trials will be discussed, including the use of quantitative EEG processes.

The presenters are Brandon Westover, MD, PhD from Beacon Biosignals and Dona Murphey MD, PhD.

Dr. Westover is a board-certified Clinical Neurologist also practicing at Massachusetts General Hospital, where he directs the MGH Critical Care Monitoring Services and the MGH Clinical Data Animation Center.

Dr. Murphey completed her training including a fellowship in Clinical Neurophysiology at Baylor College of Medicine and is the Medical and Scientific Director for Clinical Trials at CortiCare

April 2021

PNES: Not Everything That Shakes is a Seizure

Some patients exhibit behaviors that at first glance appear to be seizure related. However, there can be other causes and driving factors that result in these real symptoms and behaviors. Psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) can be easily misdiagnosed and are often misunderstood and therefore treated incorrectly.

Dr. Selim Benbadis, Director of the University of South Florida /Tampa General Hospital Comprehensive Epilepsy Program reviews current approaches to assessing patients experiencing “seizures” that are not generated from electrical activity in the brain and addresses several questions:

• What is the incidence rate and when to suspect PNES?
• What are the symptoms and how to diagnose PNES?
• What are treatment options for PNES?

March 2021

Epilepsy Care in the Time of COVID-19

Dr. Hiba Haider, an Epileptologist from Emory Healthcare, covers the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had, and continues to have, on the delivery of healthcare to patients with epilepsy and other seizure disorders, with an emphasis on approaches to assessment and management in the critical care environment as well as alternatives to inpatient EMU testing.