From the 12th to the 15th September 1985 the International Symposium on Methods of Presurgical Evaluation of Epileptic Patients: Basics, Techniques, and Implications for Epileptology and Surgical Epilepsy Therapy was held in Zurich. This symposium was a consequence of the increasing recognition by Europeans, especially from Ger man-speaking countries, of a growing need for surgical therapy of epileptics. The main aim was to provide a venue for critical review and lively discussion of presurgical eval uation protocols, with special emphasis on the electrophysiological aspects, including in vasive techniques. To provide a necessary background, some basic aspects along with postsurgical results had to be dealt with by leading experts in the different fields of ex perimental and clinical epileptology and neurosurgery. It was intended to be an inter national but moderately scaled meeting. Finally, however, in addition to the European contingent, there were participants from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Israel, Japan, Korea, and the United States of America, including pioneers from the surgically active centers. This international discussion was surely facilitated by the close temporal relation ship to the International Congresses (XIIIth World Congress of Neurology and XVIth Epilepsy International Congress) which took place in Hamburg. And, probably most important, is the fact that the Zurich symposium was dedicated to Prof. Rudolf Hess and his lifelong devotion to epilepsy diagnosis and treatment in Switzerland, as out lined in the Honorary Address by his eminent colleague and personal friend, Prof. Henri Gastaut.

This book is to improve our understanding of mechanisms leading to seizures in humans and in developing new therapeutic options. The book covers topics such as recent approaches to seizure control, recent developments in signal processing of interest for seizure prediction, ictogenesis in complex epileptic brain networks, active probing of the pre-seizure state, non-EEG based approaches to the transition to seizures, microseizures and their role in the generation of clinical seizures, the impact of sleep and long-biological cycles on seizure prediction, as well as animal and computational models of seizures and epilepsy. Furthermore the book covers recent developments of international databases and of parallel computing structures based on Cellular Nonlinear Networks that can play an important role in the realization of a portable seizure warning device.

In the last five years, approximately 2.7 million people have been treated for epilepsy and it is estimated that as much as one in one-hundred of the world's population will develop epilepsy during their lifetime. It is further estimated that 60 million people worldwide have epilepsy and in the United States alone, between seventy to eighty thousand people are newly diagnosed each year. Despite being such a common problem, most people know little about the disorder and people with epilepsy feel stigmatized.
Filled with illustrations on almost every page and boasting an attractive and stimulating layout, Epilepsy Explained offers a wealth of crystal clear information on epilepsy, intended for patients, family members, friends, and caregivers. This down-to-earth book is divided into easy-to-digest sections that address such fundamental questions as what epilepsy is, what happens in different types of epileptic seizures, how epilepsy is diagnosed, and how seizures are treated. The authors include much-needed information on numerous topics, including living successfully with seizures, patients rights, and current drugs used to treat epilepsy--all described with directness and clarity, with many real-life examples that shed light on how the topic under discussion affects people with epilepsy. The book includes information for particular groups of readers such as women, children, and teens. It has an easy-to-follow organization, is clearly structured and has a detailed index and glossary, allowing readers to easily find specific information pertaining to their condition. Written by physicians who work daily with epilepsy, this clear and engaging book provides people with the knowledge they need to make informed choices about their illness.