Seizure

Circumstantial language in individuals with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is clinically identifiable and describes a pedantic, repetitive, and overly detailed output style [1–3]. This can be distinguished from tangentiality which is characterised by meandering and often irrelevant content. TLE is frequently associated with cognitive-linguistic impairments [4] which, in current practice, are most commonly demonstrated on neuropsychological examination at a single-word level, such as on tasks of confrontation naming [5,6].

Epilepsy is one of the most common neurologic diseases and affects over 70 million people worldwide [1]. The estimated global burden of epilepsy accounts for 5% of the total neurological disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) [2]. Not only is the quality of life lessened in patients with epilepsy, but they also have a higher risk (three times or greater) of dying from sudden cardiac death compared to the general population [3]. The standardized mortality rate in epilepsy patients in high-income countries ...

Although the seizures of most patients with epilepsy can be effectively controlled, 20-30% of patients still develop refractory epilepsy [1], which affects their overall prognosis. The neuropsychiatric abnormalities of patients are an important factor leading to treatment failure.

Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome (WHS; OMIM#194190) is a contiguous gene deletion syndrome affecting the terminal region of 4p [1–4]. Deletion 4p was first described in 1961 by Cooper and Hirschhorn in a child with defects of midline fusion, low birth weight, poor development, and seizures beginning soon after birth [5]. The partial monosomy in that patient represented the first example of such an observation in humans and consisted of the deletion of more than half of the short arm of chromosome 4 ...

The Italian and the International Leagues Against Epilepsy have announced, on behalf of the many colleagues and friends who knew him personally, the passing of Ettore Beghi on October 10th in Milan, Italy at the age of 75. He had been unexpectedly struck by a catastrophic illness with little or no hope he could fully recover.

Epilepsy is a major public health problem in developing countries where most of the patients live. The health, sociocultural, economic and psychological consequences increase the burden. The illness is enmeshed in myths in developing as well as in developed countries. However, these myths are more pronounced in developing countries where several false and negative conceptions about the condition are rife [1,4]. The consequences are family and social isolation which makes epilepsy a social condition [5, 6].

Cabezas syndrome (OMIM 300354) is a rare syndromic form of X-linked intellectual disability caused by de novo or inherited variants in the CUL4B gene [1]. At least 83 cases (56 families) carrying CUL4B pathogenic variants have been reported to date [2]. The gene is located on chromosome Xq24, contains 22 exons and encodes the protein cullin 4B, belonging to the cullin-RING ubiquitin ligase family which regulates the degradation of cellular proteins [3]. Pathogenic mutations are heterogenous and include truncating, missense, ...

Approximately 1 in 26 people will develop epilepsy in their lifetime [1] and approximately 1 in 3 persons with epilepsy will be refractory to antiseizure medications (ASMs) [2]. In the United States of America (USA), with an estimated three million adults and half a million children with epilepsy [3], that translates into approximately one million people with refractory epilepsy [4, 5].

Dissociative seizures (DS) are commonly described as involuntary behaviours, movements and sensations which strongly resemble epileptic seizures or syncope but cannot be explained by these or other medical disorders [1–3]. DS are characterised by reduced self-control and typically involve impairment of awareness. The International Classification of Diseases-10 (ICD-10) classified them as dissociative (conversion) convulsions and the recent ICD-11 guidelines place them in the spectrum of ‘dissociative neurological symptom disorder’ [4, 5].

Epilepsy is one of the most common brain disorders and affects over 50 million people worldwide [1]. It has been associated with several cardiovascular risk factors including inflammation, oxidative stress, insulin resistance, and high homocysteine level, and with an increased risk of cardiovascular events [2–4].