Seizure

Assessment of recurrence risk is fundamental after a first epileptic seizure. In general, the risk of recurrence is approximately 21–45 % in the next five years; brain disorders like trauma, infections and stroke increase the risk of recurrence, as do nocturnal seizures, imaging abnormalities, epileptiform activity on the electroencephalogram (EEG), or abnormal neurological examination [1,2]. Based on the risk assessment, patients may be counselled on safety or driving. In some circumstances, clinicians may also offer antiseizure medication (ASM) already after ...

Extracranial and intracranial neuromodulatory techniques have been used in an increasing frequency to treat patients with refractory epilepsy who are not good candidates for resective surgery. Three randomized clinical trials showed intracranial neuromodulation to be efficacious in patients with refractory epilepsy; one reported on anterior nucleus of the thalamus stimulation [1], one reported on the results of responsive neuromodulation [2], and a third one reported on the efficacy of hippocampal deep brain stimulation (DBS) [3].

Seizures are common in the neonatal period with an incidence of 1-5 per 1000 term infant [1], and 10-15 per 1000 preterm newborn [2]. Symptomatic of a brain insult in more than 80% of cases [2,3], neonatal seizures are notoriously resistant to anti-seizure medications (ASMs), and associated with a risk of death and a slew of detrimental neurological consequences including neurodevelopmental delays, epilepsy, intellectual disability and cerebral palsy [3]. The most common etiologies include hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) in term infants ...

Refractory status epilepticus (RSE) is often treated with midazolam boluses and continuous infusions, but there is considerable variability in dosing and efficacy. We aimed to evaluate the performance of a clinical midazolam dose escalation pathway for the treatment of pediatric RSE that was designed based on a novel midazolam pharmacokinetic model.

Intraoperative electrocorticography (ECoG) is widely used during epilepsy surgery. The removal of areas showing interictal epileptiform discharges, especially spikes, recorded in the preresection ECoG is associated with increased freedom from seizures [1,2]. However, there are still debates about the usefulness of intraoperative spikes for delineating epileptogenic areas [2–5]. One reason for this controversy is that intraoperative epileptic activity is strongly affected by the types and concentrations of anesthesia [6].

The publisher regrets that a correction to the first sentence of the Materials and methods section of this article was missed during proofing. The corrected sentence should read:

Drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE) leads to a debilitating life with gross impact on quality of life [1]. Recurrent seizures are known to cause permanent and progressive changes in brain structure and function, leading to impaired brain development and a loss in cognitive functioning [2–4]. Cognitive development may slow or cease after the onset of seizures [2,3,5–8].