PhD, MB ChB, DCH, FRCP FRCPsych

Consultant Neuropsychiatrist, Bedfordshire & Luton Mental Health and Social Care Partnership NHS Trust

Tel: 01234 310890

Fax: 01234 310474

Email:

Areas of Expertise

Neuropsychiatry, Paediatrics Psychiatry and Child Health, epilepsy in young people, and drug safety.

Biography

Professor Besag has a BSc in physics, an MSc in metallurgy and a PhD in physical metallurgy. As senior research associate, University of Birmingham, he set up their million-volt electron microscope. He then studied medicine at Birmingham, achieving the Queen's Scholarship (top student) in part two, with honours in paediatrics and distinctions in pathology and social medicine. He trained at Birmingham Children's, John Radcliffe, Great Ormond Street, Royal Manchester Children's, the Hammersmith and the Maudsley Hospitals. Honorary consultant posts include Great Ormond Street, Kings College and the Maudsley Hospitals, with Honorary Senior Lectureships at both Institutes of Psychiatry and Child Health. He is a fellow of the Royal Colleges of Physicians, Psychiatrists and Paediatrics & Child Health. He is currently a Consultant Neuropsychiatrist in the Bedfordshire and Luton Partnership NHS Trust, visiting Professor of Neuropsychiatry, University of Bedfordshire, and Visiting Clinical Professor, University of London, School of Pharmacy.

He was Medical Director of The National Centre for Young People with Epilepsy (formerly St Piers Lingfield), a special centre for young people with epilepsy, for over 10 years.

He has lectured in more than 20 countries. He has published in and is a referee for, several international journals. He has received research grants from the Medical Research Council, British Epilepsy Research Foundation, and Fund for Epilepsy, MHRA and pharmaceutical companies. He is on the editorial board of six international journals and is editor-in-chief of Current Drug Safety. He has served on several committees/commissions of the International League Against Epilepsy and is currently secretary of the Neuropsychobiology Commission. He is also President of the Croydon Epilepsy Society

Research Interests

His special interests are in brain-behaviour relationships, epilepsy and learning disability. Within epilepsy his interests are emergency seizure treatment, new antiepileptic drugs, EEG monitoring, antiepileptic drug interactions, learning and behaviour.

Selected Publications

Besag F.M.C. Is Drug Safety Dangerous? Current Drug Safety, 2008; 3, No. 1

Besag F.M.C .The Assessment and Management of Subtle Seizure Manifestations. Neurolinks, February 2008.

Yemula C., Besag F.M.C. What every child needs to know about epilepsy (Book National Services for Heath Improvement, Cressing, Essex. 2008

Besag F.M.C. Fracture Risk associated with Prescribed Medication. Current Drug Safety 2008; 167:3 (3).

Ahmed M.A.S., Martinez, A, Yee, AA, Cahill, D, Besag, F.M.C . Differentiation between Psychogenic and Organic Movement Disorders in Children. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology 2008;50(4):300-4.

Besag F.M.C. Management of Acute Seizures in Persons with Intellectual Disabilities In Epilepsy and Intellectual Disabilities, Eds, Prasher, V and Kerr, M. Springer London, Book Chapter 2008 .

Dodd S and. Besag F.M.C. Lessons from Contaminated Heparin. Current Drug Safety 2009; 4 (1) 1.

Ackers R., Besag F.M.C., Murray M.L., Wong I.C.K . Antiepileptic drugs in girls of child-bearing potential. Archives of Diseases in Childhood. Completed, shortly to be submitted

Ackers R., Besag, F.M.C., Hughes, E., Squier, W., Murray, M., Wong, ICK. Mortality following antiepileptic drug use in children and adolescents. - To be submitted to The Lancet