Epilepsia. Official Journal of the International League Against Epilepsy

Abstract

Objective

The effects of anticonvulsants on lipids are the subject of considerable concern and investigation, but there are almost no data on this issue from randomized trials. We evaluated serum lipid profiles in adults with newly diagnosed epilepsy, following randomization to lacosamide (LCM) or carbamazepine (CBZ) monotherapy.

Methods

We analyzed data from a Phase 3, international, randomized, double‐blind trial of LCM vs CBZ for the initial treatment of focal epilepsy. Serum lipid profiles in patients not taking lipid‐lowering agents and providing blood samples ...

Abstract

Objective

Clinical genetic sequencing is frequently utilized to diagnose individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs). Here we perform a meta‐analysis and systematic review of the success rate (diagnostic yield) of clinical sequencing through next‐generation sequencing (NGS) across NDDs. We compare the genetic testing yield across NDD subtypes and sequencing technology.

Methods

We performed a systematic review of the PubMed literature until May 2020. We included clinical sequencing studies that utilized NGS in individuals with epilepsy, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), or intellectual disability (ID). Data ...

Abstract

Objective

Epilepsy with myoclonic‐atonic seizures (EMAS) is a rare childhood onset epileptic encephalopathy. There is no clear consensus for recommended treatments, and pharmacoresistance is common. To better assess the clinical phenotype, most effective treatment, and determinants of cognitive and seizure outcomes, three major pediatric epilepsy centers combined data, creating the largest cohort of patients with EMAS ever studied to date.

Methods

Authors performed a retrospective chart review of patients with EMAS who received care at the authors’ institutions.

Results

A total of 166 children were ...

Abstract

Presurgical evaluation and surgery in the pediatric age group are unique in challenges related to caring for the very young, range of etiologies, choice of appropriate investigations, and surgical procedures. Accepted standards that define the criteria for levels of presurgical evaluation and epilepsy surgery care do not exist. Through a modified Delphi process involving 61 centers with experience in pediatric epilepsy surgery across 20 countries, including low–middle‐ to high‐income countries, we established consensus for two levels of care. Levels were ...

Abstract

Since 1992, the Eilat Conferences have provided a forum for all stakeholders in the epilepsy community to appraise the latest data on new antiepileptic drugs and emergency seizure treatments, including, in recent years, updates on progress with the development of novel monitoring and therapeutic devices. Because of the COVID‐19 pandemic, the Fifteenth Eilat Conference on New Antiepileptic Drugs and Devices (EILAT XV) was held as a fully virtual conference on July 27‐30, 2020 for the sessions on drugs and on ...

Abstract

Objective

Infantile spasms (IS) is a severe epilepsy in early childhood. Early treatment of IS provides the best chance of seizure remission and favorable developmental outcome. We aimed to develop a prediction rule to accurately predict which neonates with acute symptomatic seizures will develop IS.

Methods

We used data from the Neonatal Seizure Registry, a prospective, multicenter cohort of infants with acute symptomatic neonatal seizures born from July 2015 to March 2018. Neonates with acute symptomatic seizures who received clinical electroencephalography (EEG) and ...

Abstract

Objective

The objectives of this study were to evaluate ENDIT score and develop a novel outcome prediction score for outcome of pediatric convulsive status epilepticus (CSE) at the hospital and 3 months postdischarge.

Methods

Children and adolescents aged 1 month to 14 years, presenting with CSE to a tertiary care teaching center in North India from January 2017 to March 2019, were screened for enrollment. In‐hospital and 3‐month postdischarge outcome were defined as poor if Pediatric Cerebral Performance Category Scale (PCPCS) score dropped by ≥2 levels.

Results

Overall, ...

Abstract

Objective

Antiseizure medications (ASMs) can rarely result in severe, sometimes fatal, cutaneous adverse reactions. To date, few studies have reported on the incidence rates (IRs) of severe cutaneous adverse reactions (SCARs) due to ASM use. This study aimed to determine the IRs of SCAR resulting from the use of seven commonly prescribed ASMs, carbamazepine (CBZ), phenytoin (PHT), oxcarbazepine (OXC), lamotrigine (LMT), zonisamide (ZNS), levetiracetam (LVT), and topiramate (TPM), and to compare the associated risks among the drugs.

Methods

Using a nationwide health claims ...

Abstract

Several emergencies were admitted less frequently to the hospital during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic. To investigate whether this also occurred with status epilepticus (SE) we compared admissions due to first SE from March to April 2020 (“Time of COVID,” TOC) with January to February 2020 (“pre‐COVID,” preCOV). We also compared admission numbers in TOC and preCOV with the respective 2‐month periods in 2018 and 2019 in a retrospective cohort analysis. Two investigators independently searched the hospital patient database ...

Abstract

Objectives

The loop diuretic bumetanide has been proposed previously as an adjunct treatment for neonatal seizures because bumetanide is thought to potentiate the action of γ‐aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic drugs such as phenobarbital by preventing abnormal intracellular accumulation of chloride and the subsequent “GABA shift.” However, a clinical trial in neonates failed to demonstrate such a synergistic effect of bumetanide, most likely because this drug only poorly penetrates into the brain. This prompted us to develop lipophilic prodrugs of bumetanide, such as ...