Epilepsia. Official Journal of the International League Against Epilepsy

Abstract

Objective

Previous retrospective studies have reported vigabatrin-associated brain abnormalities on magnetic resonance imaging (VABAM), although clinical impact is unknown. We evaluated the association between vigabatrin and predefined brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) changes in a large homogenous tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) cohort and assessed to what extent VABAM-related symptoms were reported in TSC infants.

Methods

The Dutch TSC Registry and the EPISTOP cohort provided retrospective and prospective data from 80 TSC patients treated with vigabatrin (VGB) before the age of 2 years and 23 ...

Abstract

Up to 80% of the world’s population with epilepsy lives in low and middle-income countries. Around one-third of these patients will have drug-resistant epilepsy, for which epilepsy surgery is an option. Unfortunately, many of these regions, as well as some more developed nations, lack sufficient epilepsy surgery units and trained neurosurgeons. With this in mind, the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) formed the Epilepsy Surgery Education Taskforce to address the shortage of further educational opportunities for surgeons and neurologists and ...

Abstract

Objective

Intracranial single-pulse electrical stimulation (SPES) can elicit cortico-cortical evoked potentials. Their investigation with intracranial EEG is biased by the limited number and selected location of electrodes, which could be circumvented by simultaneous non-invasive whole-scalp recording. This study aimed at investigating the ability of magnetoencephalography (MEG) to characterize cortico-cortical evoked fields (CCEFs) and effective connectivity between the epileptogenic zone (EZ) and non-epileptogenic zone (i.e., non-involved [NIZ]).

Methods

A total of 301 SPES trains (at 0.9 Hz during 120 s) were performed in 10 patients with ...

Abstract

Objective

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a crucial tool for identifying brain abnormalities in a wide range of neurological disorders. In focal epilepsy, MRI is used to identify structural cerebral abnormalities. For covert lesions, machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms may improve lesion detection if abnormalities are not evident on visual inspection. The success of this approach depends on the volume and quality of training data.

Methods

Herein, we release an open-source data set of pre-processed MRI scans from 442 individuals with ...

Abstract

Joseph Conrad’s epilepsy is well documented but has received little attention as he had convulsive seizures only in childhood and adolescence. The type of epilepsy has never been discussed. His biography reveals that his condition was decidedly neuropsychiatric with depression, a suicidal attempt, and prominent signs of frontal lobe dysfunction, as is seen typically in juvenile myoclonic epilepsy. This diagnosis is supported by a congruent family history and probable lifelong myoclonic seizures including reflex myocloni that were misunderstood as nervosity. ...

Abstract

Objective

Area tempestas, a functionally defined region in the anterior piriform cortex, was identified as a crucial ictogenic trigger zone in the rat brain in the 1980s. However, whether the primate piriform cortex can trigger seizures remains unknown. Here, in a nonhuman primate model, we aimed to localize a similar trigger zone in the piriform cortex and, subsequently, evaluated the ability of focal inhibition of the substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNpr) to suppress the evoked seizures.

Methods

Focal microinjection of the γ-aminobutyric acid ...

Abstract

Objective

White matter abnormalities in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) and hippocampal sclerosis (HS) are well known. Peak width of skeletonized mean diffusivity (PSMD) is a novel marker for quantifying white matter integrity that may reflect small vessel disease. In this study, we aimed to quantify the extent of white matter damage in patients with TLE and HS by using PSMD.

Methods

We enrolled 52 patients with TLE with HS and 54 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) was ...

Abstract

Objective

Epilepsy surgery in the operculoinsular cortex is challenging due to the difficult delineation of the epileptogenic zone and the high risk of postoperative deficits.

Methods

Pre- and postsurgical data from 30 pediatric patients who underwent operculoinsular cortex surgery at the Motol Epilepsy Center Prague from 2010 to 2022 were analyzed.

Results

Focal cortical dysplasia (FCD; n = 15, 50%) was the predominant cause of epilepsy, followed by epilepsy-associated tumors (n = 5, 17%) and tuberous sclerosis complex (n = 2, 7%). In eight patients where FCD was the most likely ...