Dear ISS members, We are profoundly disappointed that we had to cancel the previously planned 23rd ISS meeting for 2023. The idea that we would host the ISS meeting in the United States came up more than a few years ago, in Nagoya, before the COVID-19 pandemic. While we defined the theme of the meeting (drug-resistant epilepsy and epilepsy surgery) and were crystalizing each scientific content, we realized that we were in an unprecedentedly difficult time for successful execution. On top of COVID-19 leaving us with a significant economic impact and travel restrictions, an enormous influence of the Ukraine war also hit us. We soon realized that the costs of arranging housing, meals, and the meeting space had nearly doubled. As you all know, our survey indicated that the members are still experiencing significant travel restrictions and have challenges in being able to meet the cost of attending scientific meetings, especially overseas. Thus, we had no choice but to hold off on the meeting within the United States. We, including the ISS executive members, then tried to host a meeting in conjunction with the upcoming 64th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Child Neurology in Okayama. However, we then faced the challenges of fundraising. Pharmaceutical companies also have financial hardships as much as we do, and they could not come up with any support for our meeting this time. We again feel very sorry for not having this year’s ISS meeting, but we believe that the members understand the situation surrounding us. We are committed to supporting the subsequent activities related to the ISS, and we hope the best for the success of the next ISS meeting held in 2024 by Professor Natsume in Nagoya. Sincerely, Hiroki Nariai, MD, PhD, MS (Vice President) Raman Sankar, MD, PhD (President)
