Speaker Abstracts for LWW

Presidential Lecture: History of the American Clinical Neurophysiology Society’s Furthering of the Understanding of Status Epilepticus Frank W. Drislane, MD Soon after the founding of ACNS (1946), its leaders had made major advances in understanding status epilepticus (SE). First president, Herbert Jasper, helped elucidate the pathologic anatomy underlying seizures and studied EEG use. Gibbs and Davis helped establish the correlation between clinical seizures and EEG patterns. Fourth president Schwab detailed the electroclinical manifestations of "status epilepticus in petit mal." Niedermeyer (author, “the EEG bible” Electroencephalography<) described spike wave stupor. Related phenomena "triphasic" waves and PLEDs were initially described by ACNS presidents Bickford and Chatrian. Decades later, ACNS members are enriching our understanding of complicated EEG phenomena and describing more precisely their relationship to status. Modern methods enable SE’s detection through imaging techniques, invasive physiologic recordings, etc. Currently, ACNS neurologists study SE’s basic mechanisms and, in larger consortia, investigate how different forms of EEG monitoring can diagnose SE in critically ill patients; differentiate its many forms and determine their relative clinical importance; and evaluate and assist treatment. In 2014, SE, a fruitful area of investigation for generations of ACNS leaders, is a broadening field of intellectual achievement for members of the ACNS, an “ancient” but vigorous society.