Seizure

Epilepsy is a chronic disease of the nervous system, and childhood is the prime age for its onset. In children, the incidence of epilepsy is the highest in the first year of life but decreases to adult levels by the age of 10 years [1]. Due to limited awareness among children, adults in the family generally look after the child after discharge from hospital. Primary responsibility for care generally falls to family members; that is, the informal caregiver. However, informal ...

The release of the 2021 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report makes clear that human activities have resulted in significant alterations in global climate. There is no doubt that climate change is upon us; chronic global warming has been punctuated by more frequent extreme weather events. Humanity will have to mitigate climate change and adapt to these changing conditions or face dire consequences. One under-appreciated aspect of this global crisis is its impact on healthcare, particularly people with epilepsy ...

Status epilepticus (SE) is a neurological emergency characterized by a high mortality and morbidity rate, and high healthcare costs associated [1]. Early seizure interruption, to prevent time-dependent neuronal damage, must be considered the primary goal of the treatment. The speed of intervention and the risk of long-term consequences depends mainly on the type of clinical presentation, roughly divided into convulsive status epilepticus and non-convulsive status epilepticus (NCSE) according to the presence or absence of prominent motor symptoms [2].

Cognitive measures are an important primary outcome of pediatric, adolescents, and childhood epilepsy surgery. The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to assess whether there are long-term alterations (≥ 5 years) in the Full-Scale Intelligence Quotient (FSIQ) of pediatric patients undergoing epilepsy surgery.

Epilepsy and Functional Neurological Disorder (FND)1 and are two causes of seizures. Epilepsy refers to a neurological disorder characterised by recurrent episodes of paroxysmal brain dysfunction due to sudden, abnormal neuronal discharge (epileptiform activity) [1]. Functional seizures are the seizure variant of FND, resembling epileptic seizures but thought to represent episodes of dissociation [2]. Both seizure disorders are common; epilepsy has an estimated international lifetime prevalence of 7.6 per 1000 people [3].

Epilepsy of infancy with migrating focal seizures (EIMFS) is an early infantile epileptic encephalopathy characterized by resistant focal seizures which migrate from one hemisphere to the other, developmental delay and acquired microcephaly. The signature electroencephalogram (EEG) shows multifocal epileptiform discharges with electrographic seizures restricted to a hemisphere that switches to the opposite side. EIMFS is a genetic disease and most cases are due to de novo mutation in the voltage-gated potassium channel subunit gene KCNT1 [1].

New-onset epileptic seizures and focal status epilepticus (SE) are serious events that may be provoked by acute symptomatic factors including life-threatening metabolic derangements. Among these, non-ketotic hyperglycemia (NKH) is an endocrine emergency characterized by elevated serum glucose, high plasma osmolarity, and absent/mild ketoacidosis1. NKH is usually a complication of poorly-controlled type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) in patients aged > 50 years2. Neurological manifestations of NKH vary and include headache, choreoathetosis, generalized or focal seizures, stupor, and coma3.

Membrane Protein Palmitoylated 5 (MPP5) is a highly conserved apical complex protein, essential for cell polarity. Defects in neuronal cell polarity are associated with neurologic disorders. Only three patients with heterozygous MPP5 de novo variants have been reported so far, with global developmental delay, behavioral changes and in only one case epileptic seizures.

Drug resistance is a major challenge in epilepsy management. According to a previous study, up to a third of patients with epilepsy progress to drug-resistant epilepsy [1]. Epilepsy surgery, which could potentially eliminate seizures, is only an option for a few patients with drug-resistant epilepsy [2]. Most patients with treatment-resistant epilepsy are dependent on antiseizure medications to control seizures [3]. Therefore, new antiseizure medications have increasing importance for patients with treatment-resistant epilepsy.

Peer review is a cornerstone of quality assurance which is key to scientific progress. On behalf of the scientific community (and people with seizures) the editorial team of Seizure would like to express its gratitude to the many reviewers who have given their time and expertise to support the peer review process in 2022. We are particularly grateful to the Star Reviewers who have assessed three or more manuscripts.