BPS epilepsy joint symposium. 18 November 1999, London, UK

This symposium, jointly organized by the British Pharmacological Society, the Pharmaceutical Sciences Group of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and the National Society for Epilepsy, provided comprehensive information on anti-epileptic therapy and drug development issues. The spectrum of medical imaging techniques was evaluated for application in patient classification and diagnosis, therapeutic or surgical options, and for studying sites and mechanisms of drug action. The value of established therapeutics, as opposed to recent new drug interactions and therapeutics awaiting registration, were discussed in view of their clinical pharmacology, therapeutic use and drug-drug interaction properties. There were discussions on clinical drug testing problems in relation to trial design, and drug screening strategies from the perspective of perceived unmet clinical needs, such as refractory epilepsy and epileptogenesis. New developments, especially in the field of glutamate modulation, were reviewed for anti-epileptic drug potential. The conclusion was that in spite of progress, rational drug development of anti-epileptic drugs is still far away. Possible reasons for this could be that during drug screening, the focus is on drug properties in isolated rather than integrated neuronal circuits. In addition, there is a poor translation of drug effects in models for seizures and convulsions compared with epilepsy and epileptogenesis in man, and also the obstacle of rigidity in drug registration trials. It was a very valuable meeting for those who wanted to be informed about the frontiers and challenges in the development of anti-epileptic drugs.