Seizure

Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological diseases globally that affects about 50 million people of all ages; of which almost 80% live in low- and middle-income countries (WHO) [1]. Epilepsy could affect people in all ages, and with a higher incidence in small children, and in elderly aged 65 years and older [2]. Based on studies from the 1990’ies, unprovoked epileptic seizures among subjects aged 17 years and older has been shown to have an incidence of 56 ...

Meta-analyses were not used initially in medicine. In the 1700s, there was an absence of a clear method to summarize results from different studies [1]. Among the scholars whose works were essential to the development of meta-analytic techniques in the 18th and 19th century were astronomers, physics, and mathematicians like Carl Friedrich Gauss and Pierre-Simon Laplace [1,2]. However, it was the astronomer George Biddell Airy, in his book “On the Algebraical and Numerical Theory of Error of Observation and the ...

While driving is one of the most important concerns for people with epilepsy (PWE) [1], seizures while driving may cause traffic crashes that injure the drivers themselves and bystanders [2]. Most countries restrict driving of PWE to a certain degree by their laws [3–5]. In many countries, driving of PWE is not uniformly restricted but is conditional, usually based on the status of seizure control and the estimated risk of seizure recurrence. Since a seizure-free period has been known to ...

Status epilepticus (SE) is a life-threating neurological emergency which might be refractory to the available treatments [1]. Refractory SE (RSE) is used to describe the persistence of SE despite administration of at least 2 appropriately selected and dosed parenteral medications, including benzodiazepine [2]. New-Onset Refractory Status Epilepticus (NORSE) is often used in clinical practice to describe an adult patient who presents the RSE that remains unexplained after initial evaluation [2]. Cryptogenic NORSE is a subgroup of NORSE without a clear ...

Epilepsy surgery is an evidence-based treatment for drug-refractory focal epilepsy [1,2]. However, not every patient’s epilepsy is similarly amenable to surgery and success rates vary depending on epilepsy type and other patient characteristics. To assess outcome after epilepsy surgery two classifications are used. The Engel classification assesses the total period after surgery [3] whereas the ILAE classification assesses a defined period, for example since the last follow-up [4].

Functional language mapping is an important part of assessing patients with epilepsy undergoing evaluation for resective surgery. Currently, direct cortical stimulation (DCS) is considered the gold standard, but requires surgery. Navigated repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is increasingly being utilised for non-invasive preoperative language mapping in tumour surgery [1,2]. However, the concordance between rTMS and DCS is not yet established in non-lesional surgery.

Mitochondrial disorders result from mutations in mitochondrial DNA or nuclear genes regulating mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) function and maintenance. Clinical syndromes may be multi-systemic or tissue-specific, and typically present in childhood or early adulthood. Neurological manifestations such as epilepsy are common, as neurons are particularly susceptible to mitochondrial dysfunction given their high metabolic demand [1]. However, case reports documenting the first presentation of a suspected mitochondrial disease above the age of 70 years are exceedingly rare.

Parry–Romberg syndrome (PRS) was first described by Parry in 1825 and later by Romberg in 1846 [1]. PRS is a rare disorder characterized by unilateral slow progressive facial atrophy that can affect all tissues, from the skin to the osteocartilaginous structures. It is sometimes

Temporal lobe epilepsy with hippocampal sclerosis (TLE-HS) is currently understood as a disease that originates in a largely distributed neuronal network, involving temporal and extratemporal structures [1]. Neuroimaging studies have mainly placed the focus on characterizing the affected hippocampus, since surgical removal of the mesial temporal structures has proven to be effective; however, approximately 40% of patients relapse [2].

Primary epilepsy is the most common neurologic disorder of childhood, with the crude incidence rate ranging from 15 to 187 per 100,000 person-years depending on the population studied [1,2]. The incidence in boys and girls is almost identical [1]. Epilepsy-associated comorbidities and disabilities may cause neurobehavioral disorders, poor social and psychological function, and physical hazards, all of which are major public health concerns and place burdens on the patients, the families, societies and healthcare systems in general [3–5].