G Avanzini – författare

This volume is based on an advanced course on epileptogenic and excitotoxic mechanisms with emphasis on development. Information on partial and generalised epileptogenesis, derived from different experimental models, is comprehensively reviewed. Special sections are devoted to anatomical, biochemical and functional aspects of the maturing brain and to their interaction with epileptogenic agents. Several seizure-related factors, for example an intracellular rise of calcium, can lead to excitotoxic cellular damage. Despite some protective mechanisms, this risk is particularly worrying in the immature brain due to the over-expression and facilitation of NMDA receptors, the depolarising effect of GAGA and the immaturity of ionic homoeostasis. Seizures in early developmental stages can thus result in permanent defects and epileptic sequelae. Our present understanding of basic mechanisms of the epilepsies allows pharmacologists to design new drugs with specific pharmacological action targeted on crucial epileptogenic factors. These results, together with those of ' developmental studies of excitotoxicity, provide a basis for new therapeutic strategies aimed at preventing the development of severe infantile epileptic encephalopathies and at alleviating their dramatic consequences. The authors have combined their personal experience with a comprehensive review of the literature, providing the reader, either scientist or clinician, with an updated and exhaustive account of every topic.

At the Mariani Foundation meeting held in Milan, October 1995, highly qualified specialists were invited to assist in understanding of the basic principles of cerebral development and brain function, with specific attention to those structures and mechanisms involved in the phenomenon of falls. Epiliptologists illustrate the different semiologic modalities and clinical conditions in which the fall is an essential symptom. A main part of the book is dedicated to the medical and surgical treatment of syndromes where falls appear in the foreground. This volume has the mission of improving life conditions of children who suffer from drop seizures, by limiting the risks to which they are subjected, and to try and compensate for the psychological and social limitations affecting them.

A new phase of anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) investigation has begun in which new drugs can be designed to target specific epileptogenic mechanisms. A rational approach to therapy today requires not only a full awareness of phamacokinetics of AEDs but also a thorough knowledge of their molecular targets and of their influence on excitatory and inhibitory mechanisms in the brain. This book provides a multi-author systematic look at this subject, from neurobiological bases to clinical applications. It includes four sections dealing with fundamental aspects of cortical excitability, models of epileptic disorders, targets for anti-epileptic drugs and rational approaches to therapy. Each chapter provides a review of a specific topic prepared by well known scientists active in the field, introducing their most recent results in a concise and comprehensive form.

Thanks to advanced imaging techniques, it is now possible to recognise in vivo structural alterations of the cortex leading in many patients to epileptic syndromes, frequently resistant to pharmacological treatment. Areas analysed in this book are: mechanisms of cortical development; animal models of neuronal migration disorders mimicking human pathology; electroclinical, neuroradiological and neuropathological studies of the different forms of cortical dysplasia. This volume includes contributions from neurologists, epileptologists, neuropaediatricians as well as paediatricians and neuroscientists, stimulating a multidisciplinary discussion to improve diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.