New ILAE Research Award Date Correction
and
New resources for COVID-19 & Epilepsy

May 19, 2020

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

As our community around the world continues to navigate the uncharted waters of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ILAE is actively engaged in providing support and resources to clinicians, researchers and people with epilepsy.
 
The COVID-19 Task Force continues to meet regularly to update on new developments and to respond with appropriate action. As the effects of the pandemic on our patients, health care providers and researchers become apparent, the Task Force is helping us respond in a practical and relevant manner.

It is clear that we all need to learn from our collective experience. Accurate and timely information are among the most important tools to help us deal with the devastating effects of this pandemic and to help our patients and health professionals. Accordingly, the COVID-19 Task Force has developed a number of new tools that I would encourage you to check out:

1. ILAE COVID-19 and Epilepsy Research Award. NOTE CORRECTED DATES!

The ILAE wishes to recognize research that has been undertaken during the COVID19 pandemic and has created one award for each of the six ILAE Regions, for the best research published or in press. Each award will consist of an ILAE Award Certificate and a monetary award of $500. Research must focus on Epilepsy related issues and COVID-19. Preference will be given to more junior principal investigators. Applications must include the reference to the publications and be submitted to Ця електронна адреса захищена від спам-ботів. Вам потрібно увімкнути JavaScript, щоб побачити її. by 15th December 2020. Results will be announced in January 2021 and published in the ILAE newsletter, website and social media.
  

2. Case Reports on COVID-19

To communicate with our community rapidly, we have created an anonymized Case Report for health care providers. We would like to know about your experience caring for patients who have experienced an exacerbation of seizures, developed new onset seizures, or experienced another neurological change in relation to COVID-19. By completing the case report information, you will help us better care for people with epilepsy and understand how COVID-19 infection affects the nervous system. The survey provides immediate graphs of collective responses, including yours, when you submit your survey. This gives you real time feedback on your experience compared to others’ around the world. You may complete the survey here.
  

3. COVID-19 Surveys for Clinicians

To help us learn from our collective experience in treating patients with COVID-19 and epilepsy we have created a Clinician Survey, available in English, Chinese, French, Spanish, Japanese and Russian, and soon to be available in other languages as well. Please complete the survey to share your experience.
  

4. COVID-19 Surveys for Patients and Caregivers

We need to learn about the impact of COVID19 on our patients with epilepsy and their caregivers. There is no better way to accomplish this, than asking patients and caregivers directly about their experience. Please help us share this experience with our community by encouraging your patients and caregivers to complete this survey, which is available in Arabic, Chinese, English, Farsi, French, Italian, Japanese, and Russian, with other languages to be added. This survey can be accessed here.

5. Resources for Epilepsy Researchers

The work of clinical and basic science researchers in epilepsy is of utmost importance to the epilepsy community. The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the work of epilepsy researchers is nothing short of dramatic. On one hand, most laboratory and clinical research has slowed down or grounded to a halt around the world. There is pressure to publish rapidly and as a result quality and peer review rigor are suffering. On the other hand, there are important positive developments, such as the use of new, pragmatic research paradigms, increased collaborations and data sharing, and more agile and responsive regulatory agencies. Large collaborative randomized trials on COVID therapies are rapidly enrolling thousands of patients. More information is being added and articles are being written by our team to help our researchers stay abreast during this critical period. Please visit our webpage for resources and information for researchers.

6. Webpage for Webinars and Educational Resources

We are mindful that educational needs are being creatively addressed by many members of our community around the world through online courses, webinars, YouTube videos and other media. We would like to assemble a webpage listing these educational activities, with corresponding links. Please send us information about relevant online educational activities at Ця електронна адреса захищена від спам-ботів. Вам потрібно увімкнути JavaScript, щоб побачити її. that we can include in this ILAE list. The information should contain the topics, speakers, type of activity (webinar, podcast, etc.), date it was done and language of the educational activity.
 
Please stay tuned as we provide additional updates.

I wish all of us good health and good spirits.

Samuel Wiebe
ILAE President