Pharmaco-Resistance in Epileptic Conditions

Approximately 50 million people worldwide suffer from epilepsy. Among them, about one-third of epilepsy patients are refractory to treatment with anti-seizure medications. Additionally, a few patients with intractable epilepsy may eventually benefit from invasive epilepsy monitoring and epilepsy surgery (e.g., brain resection, implantation of neurostimulator devices), which can often be onerous and expensive. Similarly, patients who develop status epilepticus are in an incessant epileptic state, which can often lead to the rapid development of pharmaco-resistance that may render traditional medical interventions ineffective. Consequently, status epilepticus is associated with a significantly high morbidity and mortality rate. Our goal is to foster research that could lead to a breakthrough paradigm shift in the understanding of basic pathophysiology, the development of diagnostic methods, and the implementation of effective interventions for medically intractable epilepsy and status epilepticus.

This research topic aims to fill a gap in the current understanding of pharmaco-resistant epilepsy, a subject that is still poorly understood. The current medical literature is still deficient in numerous aspects, including basic mechanisms, diagnostic methods, and effective treatments.

We welcome all types of manuscripts with a novel approach or discovery in the basic pathophysiology, diagnostic methods, or treatment of pharmaco-resistance in epilepsy or status epilepticus. Manuscripts with a unique emphasis on drug-resistant pediatric epilepsy are encouraged to submit.