Seizure

Topiramate is primarily used for the treatment of epilepsy and migraine [1]. Topiramate may act as a physical teratogen [2,3], carrying higher levels of risk to the developing foetus with respect to major congenital anomalies and in particular, oral clefts [4–7] and has also been observed to be associated with increased rates of small for gestational age babies[7, 8].

Despite the wide therapeutic arsenal of anti-seizure drugs available for the symptomatic treatment of epilepsy, more than 30% of patients continue to have seizures refractory to pharmacotherapy[1]. This drug resistance is associated with a mortality rate 2 to 3 times higher than the general population’s[2]. This excess mortality is linked to the direct consequences of the seizure (traumatic, drowning, inhalation, etc.), to the cause of epilepsy, status epilepticus and also to the increased risk of sudden and unexpected death (SUDEP)[2,3].

SUDEP can be defined as “sudden, unexpected, witnessed or unwitnessed, non-traumatic, and non-drowning death of patients with epilepsy with or without evidence of a seizure, excluding documented status epilepticus, and in whom post-mortem examination does not reveal a structural or toxicological cause of death”. [1]

The estimated incidence (50-80 per 100,000 person-years) and prevalence rates (5-10 per 1000 person / year) for epilepsy have been found to be relatively consistent across high income countries [1–3]. Nevertheless, changes in demographics and risk factors mean that the epidemiology of epilepsy may change over time. For instance, in countries with an aging population, the increasing prevalence of diseases of old age such as stroke or dementia could increase the prevalence of epilepsy. Conversely, improved General Practitioner (GP) and ...

West syndrome (infantile spasms) is a triad of epileptic spasms, hypsarrhythmia, and developmental stagnation or regression. It has been known already for 180 years (West 19841). [1]

For many epilepsy patients, the problems accompanying epilepsy are more severe than seizures [1]. Studies show that depression is more common in epilepsy patients than in the general population [2–4]. Elger and Hoppe (2011) considered depression in epilepsy patients as learned helplessness against exposure to chronic stress due to life difficulties caused by epilepsy and against the threat of seizure [5]. Sleep problems are also quite common in epilepsy patients due to the drugs used and disease-related psychosocial causes.

Mutations in the PACS2 gene are responsible for neonatal-onset developmental and epileptic encephalopathy, mild facial dysmorphisms, and cerebellar dysgenesis with folia abnormalities [1].

We thank Dr. Finsterer for his interest and critical appraisal of our publication entitled “Myoclonus status revealing COVID 19 infection ”.

Neonatal encephalopathy (NE) is one of the most common neurological disorders in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Recent diagnostic advances have changed the etiologic distribution of NE in preterm and term newborns in the last decade [1–6]. Neuroimaging studies using magnetic resonance imaging modalities, such as conventional, diffusion, and spectroscopy, provide a helpful guide regarding the etiologic definition and the pattern of brain injury [7]. Detecting the exact etiology of NE in each newborn has implications for optimal treatment, ...

Despite numerous pharmacological options for people with epilepsy, the goal of seizure freedom without side-effect burden remains elusive for a large proportion of individuals. Treatment with anti-seizure medications (ASMs) typically starts with one ASM, whereafter the individual’s regimen is adapted with changes to drug and dose until seizures are controlled and the treatment is tolerated [1].