Seminars and meetings

The eleventh epilepsy research group seminar for ERGO took place at Bygdøystuene on October 9th. Thirty-two participants attended the meeting. 

The main topics discussed at the meeting were:

1. Artificial intelligence (AI) in science and in scientific publications. Postdoc Esten Høyland Leonardsen from the Department of Psychology, Research Group for Cognitive psychology, Neuroscience and Neuropsychology, University of Oslo gave an introduction to the use of AI in science. This was followed by a talk from Chief Editor Are Brean, Tidsskrift for Den Norske Legeforening on the challenges with AI in medical scientific publications. Finally, PhD student Mats Tveter, AI Mind project/Department of Neurology at UiO and OUS presented his project on the use of AI in advanced EEG interpretation.
2. Zebrafish and epilepsy. First, professor Camila Esguerra from the Norwegian Centre for Molecular Biosciences and Medicine (NCMBM) discussed zebrafish as a model for anti-epileptic drug repurposing. Second, dr. Ahmed Jamali from the Yaksi Group at the Kavli Institute in Trondheim talked about glia-neuron interactions studied in zebrafish. Postdoc Monika Mochol from ERGO, NCNMBM and Kalnes gave an update on her ongoing project.
3. Translational research in ERGO. A general overview was given by group leader Kjell Heuser while phd students Jon Andreas Næsgaard and Cecilie Nome presented their projects.
4. Digital home follow-up, a project started this year in Department of Neurology, OUS was discussed with presentation of first results by MD Christian Eckmann, ERGO, Department of Neurology, OUS. 

In collaboration with both national and Nordic colleagues the OUH based research group ERGO arranged the third NSEM meeting in Oslo, bringing together over 100 in-person and over 200 digital participants from 20 countries. The overarching theme was “Time To Control - from basics to the Clinic in Status Epilepticus" with focus on Early Treatment and addressed one of the most urgent and life-threatening neurological emergencies.
The meeting featured high-quality presentations and cutting-edge discussions, with critical contributions from leading national and international experts. It was both intellectually stimulating and deeply motivating to witness the collaborative spirit focused on advancing care for status epilepticus patients.

The seminar was arranged in honor of prof. Erik Taubøll who now retires from his clinical position in Department of Neurology. He will continue as professor emeritus in Institute of Clinical Medicine, UiO and still be member of the epilepsy group ERGO in the department.

Topics discussed in the seminar were Status epilepticus, epileptogenesis, seizure precipitating factors, and risk of epilepsy after status epilepticus or traumatic brain injury. International speakers were prof. Nicolas Gaspard from Brussels, Belgium and prof Christoph Beier, Odense, Denmark. Prof. Gaspard discussed the challenges in treatment when status gets complicated. He also talked about the new European Status Epilepticus registry in which Oslo university hospital and ERGO is one of the funding partners. The registry is now up and running and we have now included around 40 patients from our hospital. Prof Beier talked about the outcome after status.

In addition, several Norwegian colleagues were also speakers at the meeting. From the department this included Kjell Heuser, Morten Horn, Hild Flatmark Sødal and Line Bédos Ulvin. Monika Mochol as member of ERGO now working at Kalnes, Østfold, and Christian Samsonsen from St Olav Hospital, Trondheim also held excellent talks. 

The seminar was followed by a dinner for colleagues in Department of Neurology members of ERGO, and collaborators. 

View program (PDF)

Dear Colleagues

It is a great pleasure to welcome you all to the third Nordic status epilepticus meeting (3^rd NSEM) to be held in Oslo, May 22-23, 2025. Status epilepticus is the most serious and most feared seizure type with still a high mortality and morbidity rate. Early and correct treatment is of utmost importance for outcome and long-term prognosis. This time, we will therefore focus on the prehospital and early phase. The overarching theme is therefore: “Time To Control – from basics to the clinic in status epilepticus” and the goal is to improve and standardize early status epilepticus treatment. We will also discuss factors involved in the development and maintenance of status epilepticus including autoimmunity, biomarkers and molecular mechanisms, and also touch upon the difficult problem with functional/dissociative seizures and status epilepticus. 

The tenth epilepsy research group seminar for ERGO took place at Bygdøystuene on October 24th. Thirty participants attended the meeting, including colleagues and collaborators from Odense University Hospital and University of Southern Denmark, from GliaLab, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Oslo, and from Norwegian Centre for Molecular Medicine.

The ninth annual research group seminar for ERGO took place at Bygdøystuene on October 19th. Twenty-seven participants attended the meeting, including representatives from the Norwegian Air Ambulance Foundation and Division of Prehospital Services at Oslo University Hospital, Oslo Metropolitan University, and from Odense University Hospital in Denmark.

"From bad to worse" - Therapeutic and ethical challenges in super-refractory status epilepticus.

Status epilepticus (SE) refers to epileptic seizures of unusually long duration and is a serious neurological emergency that requires immediate treatment to avoid significant morbidity and mortality. SE, and especially treatment-refractory forms, are challenging and affect many disciplines, and often raise difficult ethical questions.

The second Nordic meeting on status epilepticus took place on 1-2 June at Hotel Norge in Bergen. The meeting was organized by a specialist network for SE consisting of neurologists from Oslo, Bergen and Trondheim in addition to representatives from the other Nordic countries and initiated by the epilepsy group in department of neurology, OUS-Rikshospitalet (ERGO). The meeting was chaired by Professor Erik Taubøll at OUS-Rikshospitalet and the meeting was supported by the company Desitin Pharma.

The annual research group meeting for ERGO was held at Schafteløkken in Oslo on November 10th. Thirty-one participants including invited speakers attended the meetiing. Professor Christoph Patrick Beier from University of Southern Denmark and Odense University Hospital  acted as external evaluator.

ERGO has together with colleagues in Bergen and Trondheim arranged the first Nordic Status Epilepticus meeting in 2021. Status epilepticus, a condition of continuous epileptic activity, is a common medical emergency associated with high morbidity and mortality. In a recent publication from Oslo University Hospital, mortality was still around 10%. Earlier studies have shown mortality rates from 3–50% depending on etiology. About 9–31% of patients with status epilepticus fail to respond to standard treatment.

ERGO - Epilepsy Research Group of Oslo - presented their research at an open public meeting in September during the "Forskningsdagene 2020". Title of the meeting was: "Epilepsy - from basic research to modern clinical treatment".
Senior consultant, MD, PhD Kjell Heuser, discussed the role of glial cells in epilepsy. Thereafter, the PhD candidates Toni Berger, Cecilie Bugge Bakketun and Monika Mochol talked about epigentics in epilepsy (TB), how to use brain slices in the study of epilepsy (CBB) and the use of zebrafish in epilepsy research (MM) to understand basic mechanisms of epileptogenesis. 

The annual research group seminar for ERGO (Epilepsy Research Group of Oslo) was held at Kleivstua from 17^th to 18^thof October 2019 with a total of 23 participants. Professor Bernt Engelsen from Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, served as external evaluator. He opened the seminar with a lecture presenting the different epilepsy research projects ongoing in Bergen. Possible collaboration between Oslo and Bergen was discussed.

The 5th European Academy of Neurology (EAN) Congress was arranged in Oslo from June 29 - July 2, 2019. Total number of participants was 6919, the highest ever in the history of EAN and the former EFNS. It was also the largest medical congress so far arranged in Norway.

ERGO, the Epilepsy Research Group of Oslo, was heavily involved in the congress, both with regard to organisationof the meeting and scientifically. Head of ERGO, Erik Taubøll, was Head of the Local Organising Committee and co-chair of the international programme committee.

ERGO was represented with a total of 6 scientific presentations from PhD candidates at European Academy of Neurology (EAN) Congress in Oslo. Here are short summaries of the presentations.

One branch of the Marie-Curie program, called “EU – Glia PhD” is a Europe wide consortium represented by internationally respected neuroscientists, industry and partner organizations.  Within this several million Euros grand program financing PhD students, Oslo is represented via Kjell Heuser and Toni Berger, who have met together with the "EU Glia-PhD" consortium at the College de France to discuss recent progresses of their research.