Seizure

Epilepsy is a chronic neurological disease and the single most common brain disorder worldwide. It affects individuals of all ages, races, social status, and nations. More than 70 million people have been diagnosed with epilepsy worldwide and nearly 90% of them live in developing regions [1,2]. Approximately, 9 million patients with epilepsy have been reported in China accounting for nearly 20% of the cases worldwide, with an annual growth rate of 40,000 [3]. Antiseizure drugs are the cornerstone of epilepsy ...

The remarks in the letter[1] reveal the authors’ deep insight into current challenges in genetic studies. They refer to three critical questions: how to identify the causative genes of common diseases like genetic generalized epilepsy (GGE); how to determine gene-disease associations, especially for some genes with questionable epileptogenic effects such as EFHC1 and CACNA1H; and how to evaluate the pathogenicity of variants in a given gene and their clinical implication, as in the case of variants of SLC2A1 (encoding GLUT1).

Anti-seizure medications (ASMs) are commonly prescribed in older adults as the risk of recurrent unprovoked seizures (epilepsy incidence) in the adult population increases exponentially in older age.[1,2] Resultantly, seizure prevalence approximately doubles between age 50 and 80 and commonly co-occurs with other comorbidities such as cerebrovascular or neurodegenerative disease.[3] Older adults may be particularly vulnerable to the side effects of ASMs because of aging-associated metabolic changes.

We recently read an article [1] by Yu et al. with great interest and appreciate the author’s efforts to address the frequency of false-positive diagnosis of epilepsy. As a healthcare professional working in the field of neurology, I found this review very insightful in revealing the current state of epilepsy misdiagnosis and its potential risks. These findings will help decrease false-positive diagnosis of epilepsy.

Highly purified add-on cannabidiol (CBD) is approved as Epidiolex® in the USA for the treatment of seizures associated with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS), Dravet syndrome (DS), or tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) in patients ≥1 year of age [1] and as Epidyolex® in the UK/EU in conjunction with clobazam for LGS and DS in patients ≥2 years of age [2]. It is additionally approved for TSC in patients ≥2 years of age in the UK/EU without clobazam [2]. The objective of this ...

The differential diagnosis of non-epileptic tonic events (NTEs) often includes epileptic tonic seizures (ETS), and is a common reason to order an electroencephalogram (EEG) and brain imaging. Not infrequently, NTEs can be misinterpreted as seizures [1]. Most severe NTEs in critically ill patients are often related to decerebrate or decorticate rigidity in the setting of increased intracranial pressure or a direct result of brainstem injury [2,3]. Differentiating epileptic seizures from movements mimicking seizures and establishing a correct diagnosis can result ...

Catamenial Epilepsy (CE) is defined as an increase in seizure frequency during specific phases of the menstrual cycle in women with pre-existing epilepsy [1]. The prevalence of catamenial epilepsy depends on the definition adopted by investigators. According to some authors, it could affect one-third to one-half of women with epilepsy (WWE) [1]. Obtaining precise epidemiological data on its incidence would be invaluable to understand the relevance of this condition (avoiding under- or over-estimates) and inform clinical practice.

Epilepsy with eyelid myoclonia (EEM) is a generalized epilepsy syndrome characterized by photosensitivity (PS), eye closure sensitivity (ECS), and absences associated with eyelid myoclonia (EMA). EEM is a particular model to explicate epileptic neural networks over the occipital cortex, brainstem, transcortical pathways, and thalamocortical networks[1]. EEM is heterogeneous in terms of both clinical characteristics and prognosis, and its electroclinic subtypes are still being defined. Herein, we describe a generalized paroxysmal fast activity (GPFA) pattern shown to be time-locked at specific ...

The neural bases for language perception and our own ‘voice have been studied elsewhere using Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Direct Cortical Stimulation. The adaptive importance of recognizing own ‘voice and differentiate it from the others it is the paramount importance since it is related to the ability to identify a person. The bilateral middle and superior temporal gyrus (STG), the bilateral inferior frontal gyrus, and right precuneus are involved in person-identity recognition by a vocal sound.

In adults, Idiopathic Generalized Epilepsies (IGE) comprise Juvenile Absence Epilepsy (JAE), Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy (JME) and Epilepsy with Generalized Tonic-Clonic Seizures Alone (GTCA) and are associated with worse social outcome as compared to normal population controls. [1,2] Although more than 90% finally achieve seizure control, only one third of the patients is “easy-to-treat” due to the inverse correlation of efficacy and side effects of the most widely used anti-seizure medication (ASM).