Neurologists Distinguished as Lennox Lecturers

MADISON – Thomas Sutula, MD, (pictured, top) delivered the American Epilepsy Society's (AES) William G. Lennox Lecture this past December. He was the second faculty member in UW Health's neurology department to give the Lennox Lecture in the last three years, following neuropsychologist Bruce Hermann's (pictured, bottom) 2005 lecture.

The Lennox Lecture is given each year by a clinician-scientist who is felt to be among the most outstanding investigators in the field of epilepsy research. The selection is made by the current AES President and Scientific Program Chair.

Both Dr. Sutula and Dr. Hermann have devoted their professional lives to the exploration of epilepsy, a dramatic, albeit brief, change in brain function that afflicts roughly 2.5 million people in the United States.

Dr. Sutula, who chairs the department of neurology at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health (SMPH), spoke about the effects of epileptic seizures on behavior.

"Seizures are a form of abnormal electrical activity in the brain," he says. "Normal electrical activity in the brain plays a powerful role in how the brain develops and functions in adulthood. The talk was about the growing awareness that the electrical activity that occurs during seizures affects brain development throughout life."

Stopping seizures has always been a priority amongst physicians who treat epilepsy. But according to Dr. Sutula's research, seizures may present health ramifications beyond the immediate few moments of the seizure's duration.

"The seizures may have influences that are more significant than previously anticipated," he says. "That puts emphasis on the importance of achieving complete seizure control, and it opens up opportunities for the development of new treatments to modify the consequences of the effects."

Dr. Hermann, the director of SMPH's Charles Matthews Neuropsychology Laboratory, has also explored the impact of epilepsy on cognitive function, brain structure and psychiatric status. His research has focused on the psychological complications posed by the changes that take place in the brain for patients with epilepsy.

"We're especially interested in determining whether epilepsy is a progressive disease in terms of cognitive problems," he says. "We have found that about 25 percent of adult patients with chronic epilepsy exhibit progressive cognitive changes and we are identifiying the causes of these changes, which should help to guide their treatment and prevention. We have also been examining the impact of epilepsy on cognitive and brain development in children with new onset epilepsy."

Dr. Hermann's research team has studied patients as young as 8 years old, bringing them in for evaluation shortly after the onset of epilepsy, with two-year follow-ups to track development. He has found that changes in brain structure sometimes take place before symptoms of epilepsy surface.

"Some of the complications, such as educational and behavioral difficulties, start well before the first seizure," he says, "suggesting influence of factors other than seizures themselves."

The department's work has impressed more than the AES. David Giroux, the executive director of communications and external relations for the University of Wisconsin System, and his wife Anne established an endowment for epilepsy research with the University of Wisconsin Foundation after learning of the department's acclaimed research.

The Girouxs have three daughters, one of whom is a 12-year-old with epilepsy.

"We wanted to make an investment in the research that could benefit our family and others like us," Giroux says.

The endowment will recognize outstanding progress in epilepsy research. The first award will be presented retroactively for 2007 this spring or summer and continue annually thereafter.

"This is an organization that we want to be personally involved in," Giroux says. "There are things that ordinary people can do to be part of this. I'm not a brain surgeon, and I often find the knowledge they have intimidating. But as people, they're not. It was a joy to see how eager they were to see how other people take an interest in their work."

 

Date published: 2/4/2008