Purpose
The Australian Epilepsy Clinical Trial Network (AECTN) is a network of academic epilepsy centres which are committed to improvement in treatment of Epilepsy and related disorders through the cooperative planning, implementation, analysis and reporting of controlled clinical trials and of other research. The AECTN is a group within the Epilepsy Society of Australia (ESA).
Purpose
The AECTN has been created with the aim of facilitating and coordinating epilepsy clinical trials in Australia, covering both industry-funded and investigator driven research.
The purpose of the network is to:
- Encourage interest and participation in the activities of the network among clinicians and other healthcare professionals;
- Provide support to clinicians and other healthcare professionals in performing clinical trials;
- Facilitate communication between academic epilepsy centres concerning new and ongoing trials.
- Provide a professional interface between academic epilepsy trialists and the pharmaceutical industry.
- Attract more clinical trials into the Australia
Membership
The Australian Epilepsy Clinical Trials Network (AECTN) is a consortium of Academic Epilepsy Centres. It is recognised that clinical trials in epilepsy are undertaken in other settings, including neurologists’ private practices and hospitals without academic comprehensive epilepsy programs – however it is not the purpose of the ACTN to represent these sites.
Criteria for Membership – an Academic Epilepsy Trials Centre with the following:
- Situated within a University-affiliated teaching tertiary or quaternary referral public hospital.
- A comprehensive epilepsy program, offering a full range of specialist outpatient and inpatient consultant epileptology assessments and treatments, led by a neurologist with fellowship training in epileptology.
- An active clinical research program.
- A track record of participation in epilepsy clinical trials, with a high standard of recruitment and compliance with study procedures.
AECTN Member Centres (Adult):
- The Royal Melbourne Hospital (University of Melbourne) – VIC
- Austin Health (University of Melbourne) – VIC
- St. Vincent’s Health (University of Melbourne) – VIC
- The Alfred Hospital (Monash University) – VIC
- Monash Medical Centre (Monash University) – VIC
- Eastern Health (Monash University) – VIC
- Prince of Wales Hospital (University of NSW) – NSW
- Westmead Hospital (University of Sydney) – NSW
- Royal Prince Alfred (University of Sydney) – NSW
- Royal Brisbane Hospital (University of Queensland) – QLD
- Flinders Medical Centre (Flinders University) – SA
- Royal Perth Hospital (University of Western Australia) – WA
AECTN Member Centres (Paediatric):
- Sydney Children’s Hospital (University of NSW) – NSW
- Westmead Children’s Hospital (University of Sydney) – NSW
- Austin Health (University of Melbourne) – VIC
- The Royal Children’s Hospital (University of Melbourne) – VIC
- Women’s and Children’s Hospital Adelaide (University of Adelaide) – SA
- Princess Margaret Hospital (University of WA) – WA
Contact
The AECTN is happy to be approached regarding involvement in clinical trials of new investigational agents in Epilepsy. Please send enquiries via the Chair, Prof Terry O’Brien (te.obrien@alfred.org.au) or the secretariat (aectn@florey.edu.au). Sponsors or CRO’s wishing to potentially involve the AECTN, or any of its member sites, in a clinical trial should direct their enquiry to the AECTN secretariat not to the individual sites.