The Clinic

The First Seizure Clinic is supervised by Dr Newton M.D. FRACP, an epilepsy specialist working in the Comprehensive Epilepsy Programme at Austin Health. The clinic was established in 1994 as part of a clinical research study headed by Dr Mark King, with Professor Sam Berkovic and Dr. Mark Newton and was the first such clinic in the world.

The aim of the Clinic is to receive patients who may have had an epileptic seizure for the first time or for whom a diagnosis of epilepsy is suspected. An urgent referral pathway has been established to avoid the usual delays in assessment and counselling for people in this situation where there is often a significant impact on their psychological and social health. The referrals are made from local practitioners and A&E department doctors from the North East area of Melbourne to our on-call registrars at the Austin Hospital. The registrars then arrange an urgent EEG and an appointment for the Clinic is then made by the patient by telephone. We aim to see people within two weeks of the suspected seizure and at the consultation there are a number of investigations available, which facilitates the diagnosis in most cases.

Key Contact People

The Clinic comprises Dr Newton and a team of 4-5 young neurologists who are specialising in epilepsy, a clinical coordinator and Mark Green, a counsellor from the Epilepsy Foundation of Victoria. There are also personnel from Austin Health involved in research into new onset epilepsy who attend the clinic. Our current research interests include the genetics of epilepsy and MRI changes in new onset epilepsy, and we are also conducting a longitudinal study into the psycho-social and cognitive impact on people with a diagnosis of epilepsy. This is being conducted by Sarah Velissaris who is supervised by Dr Sarah Wilson and Associate Professor Michael Saling, in conjunction with Glaxo Smith Kline. This study is designed to track any changes in psycho-social or cognitive function that might occur from the time of the seizure to the development of chronic epilepsy. This study is an “international first” and will have important implications for services required by patients in the First Seizure Clinic.

The Clinic provides a unique service for patients in our region for an urgent diagnosis of first seizure and new onset epilepsy. It has been the source of significant clinical research that has been published in international journals.

Publications

• King MA, Newton MR, Jackson GD, Fitt GJ, Mitchell LA, Silvapulle MJ, Berkovic SF. Epileptology of the first-seizure presentation: a clinical, electroencephalographic and magnetic resonance imaging study of 300 consecutive patients. Lancet 1998; 352: 1007-1011.
• King MA, Newton MR, Berkovic SF. Benign partial seizures of adolescence. Epilepsia 1999; 40: 1244-1247.
• Macdonell RA, King MA, Newton MR, Curatolo JM, Reutens DC, Berkovic SF. Prolonged cortical silent period after transcranial magnetic stimulation in generalized epilepsy. Neurology 2001 ; 57: 706-8.
• Briellmann RS, Berkovic SF, Syngeniotis A, King MA, Jackson GD. Seizure-associated hippocampal volume loss: a longitudinal MR-study of temporal lobe epilepsy. Ann Neurol 2002; 51: 641-4.
• Marini C, King MA, Archer JA, Newton MR, Berkovic SF. Idiopathic generalized epilepsy of late onset: clinical syndromes and genetics. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2003; 74: 192-6.
• Yenjun S, Harvey AS, Marini C, Newton MR, King MA, Berkovic SF. EEG in adult-onset idiopathic generalized epilepsy. Epilepsia 2003; 44: 252-6.
• Fedi M, Mitchell AL, Kalnins RM, Gutmann DH, Perry A, Newton M, Brodtmann A, Berkovic SF. Glioneuronal tumours in neurofibromatosis type 1: MRI-pathological study. J Clin Neurosci 2004; 11: 745-7.
• Labate A, Newton MR, Vernon GM, Berkovic SF. Tramadol and new-onset seizures (letter). Med J Aust 2005; 182: 42-3.
• Velissaris SL, Wilson SJ, Saling MM, Newton MR, Berkovic SF. The psychosocial impact of a newly-diagnosed seizure: losing and restoring perceived control. Epilepsy & Behaviour 2007; 10: 223-233.