Epilepsia. Official Journal of the International League Against Epilepsy

Abstract

Objective

Dravet syndrome (DS) is a developmental and epileptic encephalopathy with a wide spectrum of comorbidities comprising sleep disorders, reported in up to 85% of cases. For this, a sleep study is recommended in patients with a sleep complaint. However, no data are available on sleep architecture in DS or on the impact of seizures on sleep quality and macrostructure. We aim to investigate the impact of epileptic phenomena on sleep in DS.

Methods

In this study, we report seizure type and frequency, ...

Abstract

Objective

An emerging approach in surgery is to propose prehabilitation programs to strengthen the patient’s functional abilities before surgical interventions, thus helping them cope better with its consequences. In drug-resistant language-dominant temporal lobe epilepsy (LdTLE), surgical treatment carries a risk of increasing cognitive deficits, notably word-finding difficulties (anomia) and verbal memory difficulties that negatively impact personal, social, and occupational activities. In this study, we invited 15 LdTLE patients to enroll in a speech and language prehabilitation program adapted to the specifics ...

Abstract

Clinical development of novel antiseizure medications (ASMs) would benefit from an early proof of principle (POP) model. The photosensitivity model, which uses the photoparoxysmal electroencephalographic response (PPR) as a surrogate of seizures, is currently the only human model that allows POP trials of investigational compounds after a single drug administration. Typically, trials in this model are performed as single-blinded, placebo-controlled phase IIa POP studies, evaluating a range of doses in small groups of epilepsy patients. In the second part of ...

Abstract

Objectives

To investigate the trajectories of clinical characteristics and prognostic factors among long-term survivors of status epilepticus (SE), given the high mortality during acute hospitalization and in subsequent years.

Methods

Adult patients (≥18 years of age) with first-time, non-anoxic SE were identified and included from University Hospitals in Oslo (Norway), Odense (Denmark), Frankfurt, and Marburg (Germany). Demographics, etiology, comorbidities, and seizure characteristics were assessed. Poisson regression was used to model mortality rates over the follow-up period.

Results

Between 2001 and 2017, we included 1306 patients (median ...

Abstract

Objective

Few prospective studies exist on newly diagnosed focal epilepsy (NDFE), a critical period for understanding epilepsy’s biology and identifying biomarkers and potential interventions. We report a prospective cohort study in patients with NDFE and age-, sex-, and education-matched healthy controls.

Methods

We recruited 104 patients with NDFE and 45 controls for research-grade 3 Tesla multi-modal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), electroencephalography (EEG), comprehensive neuropsychological testing, and blood biomarker investigations. Baseline clinical, neuroradiological, MRI morphometric, and neuropsychological findings are reported in this article.

Results

Following neuroradiological ...

Abstract

The fertility effects of antiseizure medications (ASMs) have been highlighted in females of reproductive age; however, the effects in males have not been extensively analyzed. This review aims to summarize the existing evidence of how ASMs affect sexual hormones and functions in males with epilepsy. We searched the Embase, PubMed, and MEDLINE databases in January 2024 to identify studies measuring sexual hormones, sexual function, or sperm parameters of males with epilepsy taking any ASM except valproic acid who were compared ...

Abstract

Objective

KCNB1 encodes an α-subunit of the delayed-rectifier voltage-dependent potassium channel K_v2.1. De novo pathogenic variants of KCNB1 have been linked to developmental and epileptic encephalopathies (DEEs), diagnosed in early childhood and sharing limited treatment options. Loss of function (LOF) of KCNB1 has been proposed as the pathogenic mechanism in these disorders. Here, we aim to characterize a knockout zebrafish line targeting kcnb1 (kcnb1
^+/− and kcnb1
^−/−) for investigating DEEs.

Methods

This study presents the phenotypic analysis of a kcnb1 knockout zebrafish ...

Abstract

Objective

To explore how people with epilepsy self-characterize their diagnosis as being epilepsy, a seizure disorder, or neither.

Methods

People diagnosed with epilepsy by epileptologists, responded to two questions: “do you have epilepsy?” and “do you have a seizure disorder?”. Demographic, clinical and patient-reported outcome measures were extracted from Calgary Comprehensive Epilepsy Program registry. Multivariable multinomial and logistic regression models were used to determine factors associated with self-perception of the diagnosis.

Results

Of 1684 epilepsy patients who answered both questions, 1231 (73.1%) perceived themselves as ...