Epilepsia. Official Journal of the International League Against Epilepsy

Summary

Objective

To evaluate interrater agreement in categorizing treatment outcomes and drug responsiveness status according to the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) definition of drug‐resistant epilepsy.

Methods

A total of 1053 adults with focal epilepsy considered by the investigators to meet ILAE criteria for drug resistance were enrolled consecutively at 43 centers and followed up prospectively for 18‐34 months. Treatment outcomes for all antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) used up to enrollment (retrospective assessment), and on an AED newly introduced at enrollment, were categorized by individual investigators ...

Summary

Objective

Add‐on cannabidiol (CBD) significantly reduced seizures associated with Dravet syndrome (DS) in a randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled trial: GWPCARE1 Part B (NCT02091375). Patients who completed GWPCARE1 Part A (NCT02091206) or Part B, or a second placebo‐controlled trial, GWPCARE2 (NCT02224703), were invited to enroll in a long‐term open‐label extension trial, GWPCARE5 (NCT02224573). We present an interim analysis of the safety, efficacy, and patient‐reported outcomes from GWPCARE5.

Methods

Patients received a pharmaceutical formulation of highly purified CBD in oral solution (100 mg/mL), titrated from 2.5 ...

Summary

Objective

Surgical volumes at large epilepsy centers are decreasing. Pediatric cohorts, however, show a trend toward more resections and superior outcome. Differences in pediatric and adult epilepsy surgery were investigated in our cohort.

Methods

The Bethel database between 1990 and 2014 was retrospectively analyzed.

Results

A total of 1916 adults and 1300 children underwent presurgical workup. The most common etiologies were medial temporal sclerosis (35.4%) in adults, and focal cortical dysplasias (21.1%) and diffuse hemispheric pathologies (14.7%) in children. Only 1.4% of the total cohort ...

Summary

Objective

The dynamics of the postictal period, which may demonstrate such dramatic clinical phenomena as focal neurological deficits, prolonged coma and immobility, and even sudden death, are poorly understood. We sought to classify and characterize postictal phases of bilateral tonic–clonic seizures based on electroencephalographic (EEG) criteria and associated clinical features.

Methods

We performed a detailed electroclinical evaluation of the postictal period in a series of 31 bilateral tonic–clonic seizures in 16 patients undergoing epilepsy surgery evaluations for focal pharmacoresistant epilepsy with intracranial electrodes ...

Summary

Objective

The development of epilepsy has been linked to infections of the central nervous system, but recently also to infections and inflammation outside of the central nervous system. Thus we investigated the association between infections and the risk of subsequent epilepsy.

Methods

This was a Danish nationwide population‐based cohort study comprising a total of 1 938 555 individuals born between 1982 and 2012. Individuals were followed from birth until December 31, 2012, death, disappearance, emigration, or epilepsy diagnosis, whichever came first (28 512 ...

Summary

Objective

To investigate the health care utilization cost of patients presenting with psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) to a tertiary hospital in Australia.

Methods

This is a retrospective analysis of adult patients with PNES based on video‐electroencephalographic confirmation over a 5‐year period. We used an itemized list to collect detailed health care utilization data. The items included emergency room visits, hospital ward admissions, intensive care unit (ICU) admissions, outpatient neurology clinic visits, medical interventions, Code Blue and Medical Emergency Team calls for seizures, medications, ...

Summary

Objective

To investigate the characteristics of motor manifestation during convulsive epileptic and psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES), captured using a wrist‐worn accelerometer (ACM) device. The main goal was to find quantitative ACM features that can differentiate between convulsive epileptic and convulsive PNES.

Methods

In this study, motor data were recorded using wrist‐worn ACM‐based devices. A total of 83 clinical events were recorded: 39 generalized tonic–clonic seizures (GTCS) from 12 patients with epilepsy, and 44 convulsive PNES from 7 patients (one patient had both GTCS ...

Summary

Objective

The clinical course and underlying molecular causes in patients with glioblastoma presenting with seizures are poorly understood. Here we investigated clinical features and carrier systems as well as a transaminase relevant in glutamate homeostasis in patients with glioblastoma.

Methods

We performed a retrospective analysis of our clinical glioma database for clinical data during a 2‐year period. Patients with glioblastoma were divided into 2 groups: symptomatic and asymptomatic for seizures. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans and tissue samples from both groups were investigated. ...

Summary

Objective

We aimed to characterize epilepsy of infancy with migrating focal seizures (EIMFS), a rare, severe early onset developmental epilepsy related to KCNT1 mutation, and to define specific electroencephalography (EEG) markers using EEG quantitative analysis. The ultimate goal would be to improve early diagnosis and to better understand seizure onset and propagation of EIMFS as compared to other early onset developmental epilepsy.

Methods

EEG of 7 EIMFS patients with KCNT1 mutations (115 seizures) and 17 patients with other early onset epilepsies (30 seizures) ...

Summary

Objective

Epilepsy is highly prevalent among patients with intellectual disability (ID), and seizure control is often difficult. Identification of the underlying etiology in this patient group is important for daily clinical care. We assessed the diagnostic yield of whole exome sequencing (WES). In addition, we evaluated which clinical characteristics influence the likelihood of identifying a genetic cause and we assessed the potential impact of the genetic diagnosis on (antiepileptic) treatment strategy.

Methods

One hundred patients with both unexplained epilepsy and (borderline) ID (intelligence ...