25th French Epilepsy Days, October 10-13, 2023 - interview with Professor Sophie Dupont, epileptology neurologist and President of the LFCE.

Epilepsy specialists exchange views at the Palais du Grand Large

The French League against Epilepsy (LFCE) chose Saint-Malo to host the ^25th edition of the French Epilepsy Days. This eagerly-awaited annual gathering of caregivers, patient associations and laboratories attracted over 700 participants. Professor Sophie Dupont, neurologist and epileptologist at the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, and President of the LFCE, was delighted with the turnout.

Can you tell us about LFCE?

The French League against Epilepsy is a learned society, an association of healthcare professionals serving epilepsy patients. These professionals are doctors, researchers, para-medical and medico-social workers, working to provide comprehensive care for patients. Epilepsy affects many things: health, of course, but also social and professional relationships. Our role is to provide people with epilepsy with therapeutic, psychological, psychiatric and social support. As with any chronic illness, the aim is to enable patients to enjoy the best possible quality of life, and to support them through the changes in their lives. 

Who are the people affected by epilepsy, and how many are there in France?

650,000 people suffer from epilepsy in France, making this chronic condition the second most common neurological disease in France after Alzheimer's, and the number one worldwide. Anyone can develop epilepsy in their lifetime. The causes can be genetic, linked to trauma, infectious disease, stroke or tumor, brain damage during childbirth, neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism...It's a common disease, stigmatizing and discriminating because it's subject to prejudices from another era. Yet it has never been the subject of a national strategy. It's a start: the French National Authority for Health (HAS) has just published a guide to the healthcare pathway for people with epilepsy. On our LFCE website, thanks to a fund-raising campaign, we offer patients a map of France's healthcare professionals to help them find the right care. City by city, region by region.

What's the current state of research?

Progress is being made, particularly in the field of genetics. We have also benefited from active therapeutic research since the 90s, with a substantial pharmacological offer. Today, 70% of patients are balanced on treatment, i.e. they don't have attacks. It's more complicated for the remaining 30%, who are drug-resistant and require therapeutic adaptations: other drugs, surgery, stimulation, etc.

Why did you choose Saint-Malo and the Grand Large for your Journées?

This event is organized every year in a different town, with the only requirement being proximity to an epileptology unit, of which there is one in Rennes. Inviting our members to Saint-Malo was also a way of thanking Dr. Arnaud Birabin, a neurologist specializing in epilepsy at Rennes University Hospital, who will soon be retiring.

The Journées aren't over yet, but perhaps you've already had some feedback from participants?

So far, they've been very positive! They're delighted with the excellent scientific content and the magnificent setting. A small proportion of attendees are following the workshops and plenary sessions remotely: I've had no comments, so everything's working perfectly. I was there in 2012, at a previous congress, and I remembered the large bays opening onto the sea, and the breathtaking view. Le Grand Large has been renovated (ed. note: in 2019) and tonight I'll be discovering the^3rd floor Rotonde, which didn't exist when I came. We're holding our gala evening there. I hear the view is extraordinary...

Interview by Béatrice Ercksen