Epilepsia. Official Journal of the International League Against Epilepsy

Abstract

Reduced anticonvulsant efficacy of benzodiazepines is a problem in the treatment of status epilepticus, with up to 50% of patients failing to respond to their first dose. KCC2 is a neuronal K⁺-Cl⁻ co-transporter that helps set and maintain intracellular Cl⁻ concentrations. KCC2 functional downregulation is a potential contributor to benzodiazepine resistance. We tested this idea using male and female doxycycline-inducible, conditional transgenic mice to increase the functional expression of KCC2 in pyramidal neurons. We administered mice with two doses of ...

Summary

Objective

Vigabatrin (VGB) is the first-line treatment for infantile spasms (IS). Previous studies have shown that VGB exposure may cause vigabatrin-associated brain abnormalities on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (VABAM). Based on previous studies, this study aimed to go further to explore the possible risk factors and the incidence of VABAM. In addition, diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and T2-weighted imaging (T2WI) were compared to explore whether DWI should be used as a routine examination sequence when MRI is performed in children receiving VGB.

Methods

Children ...

Abstract

Objective

Stroke is the most common cause of epilepsy in older age. Subclinical cerebrovascular disease is believed to underlie some of the 30%–50% of late-onset epilepsy without a known cause (Li et al. Epilepsia. 1997;38:1216; Cleary et al. Lancet. 2004;363:1184). We studied the role of modifiable vascular risk factors in predicting subsequent epilepsy among participants ages 45 or older in the Framingham Heart Study (FHS), a longitudinal, community-based study.

Methods

Participants of the Offspring Cohort who attended FHS exam 5 (1991–1995) were included ...

Abstract

Objective

Drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE) occurs at higher rates in children <3 years old. Epilepsy surgery is effective, but rarely utilized in young children despite developmental benefits of early seizure freedom. The present study aims to identify unique patient characteristics and evaluation strategies in children <3 years old who undergo epilepsy surgery evaluation as a means to assess contributors and potential solutions to health care disparities in this group.

Methods

The Pediatric Epilepsy Research Consortium Epilepsy Surgery Database, a multicentered, cross-sectional collaboration of 21 US pediatric ...

Abstract

A wide phenotypic spectrum of neurological diseases is associated with KCNA1 (Kv1.1) variants. To investigate the molecular basis of such a heterogeneous clinical presentation and identify the possible correlation with in vitro phenotypes, we compared the functional consequences of three heterozygous de novo variants (p.P403S, p.P405L, and p.P405S) in Kv1.1 pore region found in four patients with severe developmental and epileptic encephalopathy (DEE), with those of a de novo variant in the voltage sensor (p.A261T) identified in two patients with ...

Abstract

Electroencephalography (EEG) has long been used as a versatile and noninvasive diagnostic tool in epilepsy. With the advent of digital EEG, more advanced applications of EEG have emerged. Compared with technologically advanced practice in focal epilepsies, the utilization of EEG in idiopathic generalized epilepsy (IGE) has been lagging, often restricted to a simple diagnostic tool. In this narrative review, we provide an overview of broader applications of EEG beyond this narrow scope, discussing how the current clinical and research applications ...

Abstract

Thyroid hormones play an essential role in central nervous system development, normal physiological brain function, and repair mechanisms. On one hand, thyroid hormone alterations influence cortical excitability, and on the other hand antiseizure medications (ASMs) are associated with alterations in thyroid hormone metabolism. Although this interaction has long been described, and epilepsy is a common and chronic neurological disease, studies describing the interplay are often small and retrospective. We performed a systematic review of the current literature on epilepsy, ASMs, ...