The aim of this study is to clarify the detailed clinical features of benign partial epilepsy in infancy. The subject of the study was 33 patients with benign partial epilepsy in infancy confirmed by a long-term follow-up beyond 8 years of age. The data were obtained from medical records of ...

There are currently few studies on clinical profiles of reflex epilepsy induced by thinking and spatial tasks. We studied the clinical characteristics of reflex epilepsy induced by playing oriental card and board games. This study included 17 patients who presented with seizures that occur predominantly while playing games. We collected ...

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the study described here was to investigate the pathophysiology of patients' ability to react during the conscious (aura) phase of complex partial seizures (CPS) originating from the temporal lobe. METHODS: We reviewed video recordings of CPS experienced by 130 adult patients who had undergone epilepsy surgery ...

OBJECTIVES: Several studies have reported the safety and efficacy of zonisamide monotherapy, but studies on its long-term outcomes are limited. This chart review was conducted to evaluate the long-term outcomes of zonisamide monotherapy. METHODS: The charts were reviewed for 77 patients treated with zonisamide as monotherapy for 6-180 months between ...

PURPOSE: The transient, mainly generalized, together with brief changes in EEG baseline immediately after eye closure, is called 'eye closure sensitivity' (ECS) which was first reported by Robinson in 1930 and there have been limited number of studies investigating ECS and epilepsy syndromes. Therefore, we aimed to reveal the possible ...

Seizures associated with toothbrushing have been reported in patients with precentral or postcentral partial epilepsy. Seizures precipitated by thinking have been described in patients with idiopathic generalized epilepsy. We report a patient with intractable partial epilepsy in which seizures were induced both by toothbrushing, and by seeing or thinking about ...

BACKGROUND: Methohexital and amobarbital have been used as agents for Wada testing in the presurgical evaluation of patients with epilepsy. Previous experience with methohexital as an anesthetic indicates that methohexital may decrease seizure threshold and may trigger seizures. METHODS: A retrospective chart review of 760 intracarotid amobarbital and methohexital tests ...

PURPOSE: The goal of the work described here was to determine the prevalence of driving and associated variables among patients followed at a level 4 epilepsy center. METHOD: A survey was mailed out to patients seen at the University of Florida/Jacksonville Comprehensive Epilepsy Program. RESULTS: The study population comprised 308 ...

The object of this study was to monitor the safety and efficacy of long-term use of an oromucosal cannabis-based medicine (CBM) in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). A total of 137 MS patients with symptoms not controlled satisfactorily using standard drugs entered this open-label trial following a 10-week, placebo-controlled study. ...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical characteristics of acute encephalopathy of obscure origin (AE). STUDY DESIGN: We examined clinical, imaging, and laboratory findings in children with AE. Specific subtypes of AE such as Reye's syndrome (RS), acute necrotizing encephalopathy (ANE), hemorrhagic shock and encephalopathy (HSE), acute encephalitis with refractory, repetitive partial ...

OBJECTIVE: Hypothalamic hamartomas (HHs) require surgical treatment in patients presenting with refractory epilepsy. METHODS: The authors report on a single-center series of 33 patients (24 males, 9 females) who underwent surgery between January 1997 and April 2004. They experienced several types of seizure (gelastic, tonic, partial, atonic, generalized tonic-clonic, dacrystic, ...

We compared clinical features and prognosis of 72 adults with a first-ever seizure presentation comprising multiple discrete seizures within 24 hours to 425 patients presenting with a single seizure. Those presenting with multiple seizures were no more likely to have seizure recurrence, irrespective of etiology or treatment. Hence, a presentation ...

PURPOSE: To evaluate the magnitude of subclinical balance dysfunction in adult epilepsy patients and to assess the relative contribution of different variables to balance impairment. METHODS: Balance performance was evaluated by computerized dynamic platform posturography (CDPP) in 25 adult patients following a generalized tonic-clonic seizure (GTCS) and in 11 healthy ...

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical effects of levetiracetam (LEV) in patients with partial epilepsy and disfluent speech. METHODS: Five consecutive patients with partial epilepsy and disfluent speech resulting from developmental or neurogenic stuttering were enrolled in a 9-week, open-label, prospective study. LEV was given ...

METHOD: Forty-two patients with low-grade brain tumor and refractory epilepsy were studied. The mean age was 22.3 years. They were divided into two groups: Group A, patients with ganglioglioma (n=19) and group B, patients with other low-grade tumors (n=23) (14 astrocytoma, 6 oligodendroglioma, 2 dysembryoplastic neuroepithelial tumor, and 1 xanthoastrocytoma). ...

INTRODUCTION: Levetiracetam (LEV) is approved for use as add-on therapy in adult patients with partial epilepsy. It is apparent from clinical trials that up to 8% of previously drug-resistant patients may be rendered seizure-free by adding-on levetiracetam. As yet there is no way of predicting these unexpectedly responsive patients. We ...

The objective of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of clobazam in children with refractory focal epilepsy. We investigated 100 consecutive patients concerning etiology of epilepsy, previously used antiepileptic drugs, seizure frequency and adverse events. Clobazam was introduced as add-on therapy in patients with previous failure of ...

BACKGROUND: Nonconvulsive status epilepticus (NCSE) is a highly heterogeneous clinical condition that is understudied in the pediatric population. OBJECTIVE: To analyze the epidemiological, clinical, and electroencephalograpic features in pediatric patients with NCSE. METHODS: We identified 19 pediatric patients with NCSE from the epilepsy database of the Comprehensive Epilepsy Center at, ...

Background : Rasmussen encephalitis (RE) is a chronic epileptic disorder of unknown etiology, and is clinically characterized by progressive neurological deterioration, focal seizures often progressing to intractable epilepsy, cognitive decline and hemispheric atrophy. Aims : We report the spectrum of neuropathological changes seen in RE, and discuss the evolutionary mechanisms ...

We assessed the risk and determined predictors of early epileptic seizures (ES) in patients with acute cerebral venous and sinus thrombosis (CVST). A prospective series of 194 consecutive patients with acute CVST admitted to neurological wards in two German university hospitals was analysed for frequency of ES and in-hospital mortality. ...

Alcohol-related seizures are defined as adult-onset seizures that occur in the setting of chronic alcohol dependence. Alcohol withdrawal is the cause of seizures in a subgroup of these patients; however, concurrent risk factors including pre-existing epilepsy, structural brain lesions, and the use of illicit drugs contribute to the development of ...

OBJECTIVE: We analyzed the electroclinical features, treatment and evolution of patients with Dravet syndrome (DS). MATERIAL AND METHODS: We evaluated the clinical records of 53 patients that met the diagnostic criteria of DS according to the ILAE classification of 1989 seen at our center between February 1990 and December 2004. ...

We report on a 30-year-old man with Tourette's syndrome (TS) and medication-refractory epilepsy whose tics improved after implantation of a vagal nerve stimulator (VNS). To verify the patient's observation, we performed a blinded video assessment using the modified Rush video-based tic rating scale. The patient underwent two separate video recordings ...

PURPOSE: The goal of this study was to compare self-induction (SI) patterns in photosensitive epilepsy (PSE) and hot water epilepsy (HWE). METHODS: Among 7609 consecutive patients, 129 were diagnosed as having PSE, and 34, HWE. RESULTS: Thirteen patients with PSE (10 females, 3 males, age at onset: 8.6; 3 with ...

PURPOSE: To report the middle term results of partial coccygectomy in a consecutive series of 15 patients with chronic coccygodynia. METHODS: Fifteen patients with chronic coccygodynia were referred to our outpatient clinics. The patients were investigated with dynamic lateral radiography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). We diagnosed a posttraumatic coccygodynia ...

BACKGROUND: Guanidinoactetate methyltransferase (GAMT) deficiency is an autosomal recessive disorder of creatine synthesis. The authors analyzed clinical, biochemical, and molecular findings in 27 patients. METHODS: The authors collected data from questionnaires and literature reports. A score including degree of intellectual disability, epileptic seizures, and movement disorder was developed and used ...

Benign partial epilepsy in infancy (BPEI) is an infantile epilepsy with excellent seizure and developmental outcome proposed by Watanabe et al. Our telephone interview survey revealed that the long-term outcome of patients with BPEI was also excellent over 8 years of age. Six of 39 patients did not fulfill the ...

Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis is a rare, slow viral infection caused by a defective measles virus. Although it is a rare disease, it is still important in developing countries. The onset is generally between the ages of 5-15 years. We reported the clinical and laboratory profile and nature of 9 patients ...

This study investigates the clinical features of epilepsy in 20 patients with brain malformation. Epileptic seizures were recognized in 15 patients, 12 of whom had their first seizure by 1 year of age. Partial seizure was the initial seizure type in 10 patients. Epileptic seizures were controlled in only four ...

PURPOSE: Our aim was to evaluate the efficacy of ESCM (electrical stimulation of the centromedian thalamic nucleus) in treatment of generalized seizures of the Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS) and improvement of patient disability. METHODS: Thirteen patients with LGS were studied. They had severe generalized tonic-clonic seizures (GTC) and atypical absences (AA). ...

The EEG activity of the thalamus and temporal lobe structures (hippocampus, entorhinal cortex and neocortex) was obtained using intracerebral recordings (stereoelectroencephalography, SEEG) performed in patients with TLE seizures undergoing pre-surgical evaluation. Synchrony was studied using a statistical measure of SEEG signal interdependencies (non-linear correlation). The results demonstrated an overall increase ...

Phenytoin is an anti-convulsant drug commonly used to prevent seizures in patients with cerebral metastases. Phenytoin has complicated non-linear kinetics, is highly protein bound and has a small window between its therapeutic and toxic dose. This combination of factors means that small increases in dosage can all too quickly result ...

OBJECTIVE: To clarify the effect of genetic polymorphism of CYP2C19 on pharmacokinetics of phenytoin and phenobarbital using a Non-linear Mixed Effects Modelling analysis in Japanese epileptic patients. METHOD: A total of 326 serum phenytoin concentrations were collected from 132 patients, and a total of 144 serum phenobarbital concentrations were collected ...

PURPOSE: Benign partial epilepsy in infancy (BPEI) was first described by Watanabe in 1987. The aim of this study is to describe a series of infants from the United States to characterize this entity further. METHODS: Among patients with the diagnosis of epilepsy followed up at our institution between 2002 ...

Up to 5 percent of children in North America and western Europe experience at least one episode of febrile seizure before six years of age. Most of these seizures are self-limited and patients do not require treatment. Continuous therapy after the seizure is not effective in reducing the development of ...

BACKGROUND: Patients with encephalopathy heralded by a prolonged seizure as the initial symptom often have abnormal subcortical white matter on diffusion-weighted MRI (DWI). OBJECTIVE: To determine if these patients share other common features. METHODS: Patients with encephalopathy heralded by a prolonged seizure and followed by the identification of abnormal subcortical ...

OBJECTIVES: The present study aimed to investigate the levels of the biochemical markers of apoptosis (soluble Fas and Bcl-2) in the sera of children and adolescents with idiopathic epilepsy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study included 30 children and adolescents (mean age 8.03 +/- 4.49 years) with idiopathic epilepsy, 16 of ...

AIM: Glucose transporter 1 deficiency syndrome (GLUT1-DS) is an important condition for the general paediatrician's differential armamentarium. We describe a case series of eight patients in order to raise awareness of this treatable neurometabolic condition. The diagnosis of GLUT1-DS is suggested by a decreased absolute cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) glucose value ...

OBJECTIVE: To determine the frequency of mutations in CDKL5 in both male and female patients with infantile spasms or early onset epilepsy of unknown cause, and to consider whether the breadth of the reported phenotype would be extended by studying a different patient group. METHODS: Two groups of patients were ...

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether it is worth pursuing surgery for the treatment of epilepsy in patients with normal neuroimaging. METHODS: Two patient populations were studied: (1) 136 consecutive patients who were surgically treated; (2) 105 consecutive patients assessed with chronically implanted intracranial electrodes within the same period. Sixty patients belonged ...

BACKGROUND: Ictal confusion, particularly if protracted, often presents a diagnostic challenge. OBJECTIVES: To define protracted ictal confusion in elderly patients and to characterize its features and outcome. DESIGN: Case series. SETTING: Neurology outpatient and emergency departments at 2 tertiary care centers. PATIENTS: Consecutive series of 22 ambulatory patients with acute ...

The purpose of this study was to characterise the concentration and magnetisation transfer ratio (MTR) of brain metabolites following epileptic seizures. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy was performed in 10 patients with temporal or extra-temporal lobe epilepsy as soon as possible after a seizure, with a second interictal scan between 1 and ...

PURPOSE: To evaluate the long-term efficacy, tolerability, and safety of oxcarbazepine (OXC) in children with epilepsy. METHODS: We enrolled 36 patients (median age 7.75) with new diagnosis of partial epilepsy in an open prospective study. All type of epilepsy were included: 25 patients were affected by idiopathic epilepsy, eight by ...

Primary reading epilepsy belongs to a group of seizures precipitated by sensory input. A possible case of the disease is presented. The patient, a 30-year-old man, developed while reading several seizures emanating from the tongue, jaw, and throat followed by generalized convulsions. The seizures were not provoked by activities other ...

This study reports the clinical features of 63 patients with agenesis of the corpus callosum who received in-depth genetic, clinical, and laboratory testing with the aim to contribute to a better description of the large spectrum of associated malformations and to assist clinicians in the diagnosis. Thirty patients manifested complete ...

PURPOSE: To assess the relation between seizure control and brain homocarnosine and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) levels of patients with complex partial seizures taking gabapentin (GBP) or topiramate (TPM) as adjunctive therapy. METHODS: In vivo measurements of GABA and homocarnosine were made of a 14-cc volume in the occipital cortex by ...

PURPOSE: To elucidate possible effect of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) therapy on interictal heart rate (HR) variability in patients with refractory epilepsy before and after 1-year VNS treatment. METHODS: A 24-hour electrocardiogram (ECG) was recorded at the baseline and after 12 months of VNS treatment in 14 patients with refractory ...

OBJECTIVE: To describe the clinical presentation a group of patients with juvenile onset of Huntington disease. METHOD: All patients were interviewed following a structured clinical questionnaire. Patients were genotyped for the trinucleotide cytosine-adenine-guanine (CAG) repeat in the Huntington Disease gene. High resolution brain MRI was performed in all patients. RESULTS: ...

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of methylphenidate treatment in epilepsy patients with comorbid adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). METHODS: Six of 156 consecutive patients attending a tertiary epilepsy clinic for diagnostic evaluation of new seizures, 3 patients with epilepsy and 3 ...

PURPOSE: We report on the efficacy and safety of extended one-stage callosal section performed in a large and homogeneous series of patients. METHODS: Seventy-six patients with Lennox-Gastaut (n = 28) and Lennox-like (n = 48) syndrome were studied (42 male patients; mean age, 11.2 years). All patients had multiple seizure ...