About this episode

The episode discusses refractory epilepsy surgery and autoimmune encephalitis through patient-centered narratives presented at the ABN Meeting 2026.

In this special episode coming live from the Association of British Neurologists (ABN) annual meeting in Birmingham, Practical Neurology co-editors Phil Smith and Geraint Fuller join hosts Ruth Wood and Babak Soleimani to discuss the perennial clinical and educational value of case reports in which, in a rare event, the patients are actually referred to directly by their first names. The team discusses two compelling, patient-centered narratives. They look at a complex case of refractory focal epilepsy from 2024 where the patient actively partnered in the high-stakes decision to balance seizure freedom against a predicted post-surgical motor deficit. A review of a poignant "Me and My Neurological Illness" piece written in 2016 by a prominent epileptologist is a reflection on his subtle subacute presentation of autoimmune encephalitis, how a doctor's baseline cognitive reserve can mask complex focal seizures, and the unique clinical and personal challenges faced when dealing with medical colleagues who lack diagnostic insight into their own condition. Archive papers discussed in this episode: Case Report 1: Complicated epilepsy surgery: importance of balancing benefit and deficit…

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