Addresses problems encountered by neurologists when caring for patients with epilepsy. Offers practical guidance for navigating these clinical challenges, with chapters on diagnostic issues such as age- related diagnostic issues, identifying candidates for epilepsy surgery, and the role of diagnostic tests, and on therapeutic challenges such as refractory epilepsy, childhood epilepsy, prognosis, and supplemental non-antiepileptic drug therapy. Subjects include psychiatric issues, avoiding overtreatment, vagal nerve stimulation, and rational diagnosis of subtle and non-convulsive status epilepticus. Schmidt is affiliated with the Epilepsy Research Group, Germany, and Schachter is affiliated with Harvard Medical School. Distributed by Blackwell Science.
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This book tackles some of the common and difficult problems encountered by the clinical neurologist by providing practical guidance. The contributors approach the clinical challenges presented from their own points of view. Up-to-date references support the claims for preferred therapeutical and surgical treatments.

Ch. 1. Seizures during sleep — Ch. 2. Seizures and syncopes — Ch. 3. Rational diagnosis of non-epileptic seizures — Ch. 4. Epileptic seizures progressing into non-epileptic conversion seizures — Ch. 5. Partial seizures in children and adults: are they different? — Ch. 6. Diagnosis and treatment of seizures in the elderly: current recommendations — Ch. 7. Rational diagnosis of subtle and non-conculsive status epilepticus — Ch. 8. Diagnosis of cortical and subcortical dysplasias in epilepsy — Ch. 9. Rational diagnosis of genetic epilepsies — Ch. 10. Early recognition of surgically amenable epilepsy syndromes-- Ch. 11. Rational and cost-effective presurgical evaluation — Ch. 12. Interictal focus localization — Ch. 13. Psychiatric issues — Ch. 14. Neuropsychological assessment of memory functions in epilepsy — Ch. 15. Starting antiepileptic drugs — Ch. 16. Stopping treatment for epilepsy — Ch. 17. Overtreatment of epilepsy and how to avoid it — Ch. 18. Pregnancy and epilepsy — Ch. 19. Effective treatment for status epilepticus — Ch. 20. Non-responsive partial epilepsy: what should be done? — Ch. 21. Neuropsychology and epilepsy surgery: optimizing the timing of surgery, minimizing cognitive morbidity, and maximizing functional status