The Department of Epilepsy, Movement Disorders and Physiology was established as an Endowed Department on June 1, 2013, with support by the Department of Neurology (ex-chair Prof. Ryosuke Takahashi). Since June 2018, it has been continuing as an Industry-Academia Collaboration Course, with continuous support by the Department of Neurology (currently chaired by Prof. Riki Matsumoto), and has steadily expanded its activities.
Research Activities
Our department is engaged in clinical research aimed at elucidating the pathomechanism of epilepsy and movement disorders and at developing novel therapeutic strategies. We pursue multidisciplinary and integrated research, focusing on the mechanisms of neuronal and astrocyte dysfunction in neurological disorders and their application to therapeutic strategies, technological innovations for the diagnosis of neurological disorders and evaluation of brain function, translational and translatable research in close collaboration with basic scientists, personalized medicine using wide-band EEG as well as collaborative research and social implementation for domestic and international fields.
We place particular emphasis on the following research themes:
- multimodal pathophysiological studies of drug-resistant focal epilepsy, focusing on EEG abnormalities and extracellular potassium homeostasis
- investigation of infraslow EEG activity as potential biomarkers for various neurological disorders, i.e., migraine, acute brain injury, transient ischemic attack, dementia, and transient focal neurological episode (TFNE), and research aimed at elucidating the underlying pathomechanisms
Educational Activities
We provide comprehensive education and training opportunities for clinical specialists and physician-scientists in the fields of clinical epileptology, movement disorders, clinical EEG, clinical neurophysiology, and magnetoencephalography, in the domestic and international domains. This mission continues and expands upon the founding purposes of this department. Through the integration of clinical activities, research, and education, we help advance the understanding and improve the treatment of epilepsy and movement disorders, promote cutting-edge medical technologies, and foster/cultivate practical and socially implemented medicine. In close collaboration with the Departments of Neurology, Neurosurgery, Pediatrics, Neuroscichiatry etc., we actively promote research and clinical application in neurophysiology, which are closely linked to epileptology, as part of the Graduate School of Medicine. Additionally, we contribute as a designated regional core hospital for the Kyoto Prefecture Epilepsy Care Development Project and serve as a core department of the Epilepsy Care Support Center (ECSC) at Kyoto University Hospital.
Staff
- Professor
- Akio Ikeda, MD, PhD, FACNS
- Associate Professor
- Masao Matsuhashi, MD, PhD
Industry-Academia Collaborative Support
- Sumitomo Pharma Co., Ltd
- Nihon Kohden Corporation
Collaborating Research Partners
- Sumitomo Pharma Co., Ltd.
- Nihon Kohden Corporation
- UCB Japan Co., Ltd
- Eli Lilly Japan K.K.
- Ricoh Company, Ltd. (until March 2025)