Background. A common complication of starting anti-retroviral therapy (ART) for HIV is the development of Immune Reconstitution Inflammatory Syndrome (IRIS) in approximately 25% of patients. Despite similarities with paradoxical reactions to tuberculosis and reversal reactions in leprosy, the exact mechanisms, and therefore potential determinants, of IRIS are still unknown. Methods. In this ...

BACKGROUND: There have been few published reports on severe Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax malaria among adults in Africa. METHODS: Clinical pattern/manifestations of severe P. falciparum and P. vivax (according to World Health Organization 2000 criteria) were described in adult patients admitted to Kassala Hospital, eastern Sudan. RESULTS: A total ...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To review the significance and plausible mechanisms underlying 'proton pump inhibitor (PPI) responsive oesophageal eosinophilia' in eosinophilic oesophagitis (EoE). RECENT FINDINGS: EoE is defined as an immune-mediated clinicopathologic condition characterized by oesophageal dysfunction and eosinophil-predominant inflammation. This new conceptual definition has been proposed partly due to a ...

Hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) levels may predict response to peginterferon (PEG-IFN) but are also influenced by presence of precore(PC) and core promoter(BCP) mutants. HBeAg was measured in 214 patients treated with PEG-IFN±lamivudine for 52 weeks. Patients were classified at baseline as wildtype (WT) or non-WT (detectable PC/BCP mutants). Combined ...

ABSTRACT: We reviewed 2 articles that provide evidence of the utility of assessing more novel acetylcholine receptor (AChR) antibodies (Abs). It seems that AChR Abs against the main immunogenic region of the AChR could be very useful in predicting myasthenia gravis severity and assessing disease activity, whereas pathogenic clustered AChR ...

Background: Malaria diagnosis presents a challenge to all laboratories. In malaria-endemic areas, there is a need for rapid, sensitive and cost-effective method to effectively screen all samples, especially when the workload is very high. Various hematology analyzers have been investigated for detection of malaria in the past. Here, we present ...

Mycobacteria are known to induce autoimmune response in the host. Anti-host keratrin antibodies (AkAbs) might be responsible for the autoimmune phenomena in leprosy patients as majority of leprosy lesions are manifested in the skin and occurrence of keratosis is not an uncommon feature. The aim of this study was to ...

Interaction with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) has been a fundamental consideration in eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) since the initial reports of this emerging entity. While studies from the '80s identified the presence of esophageal eosinophilia as being a histologic marker for the diagnosis of GERD, studies in the '90s demonstrated that ...

A 41-year-old man presented with left optic neuritis (ON) without evidence of other autoimmune disease or hormonal imbalance. MRI showed enlargement of the left optic nerve but no sellar lesion. The patient recovered after steroid therapy but later developed right ON and required treatment again. Follow-up MRI revealed an ill-defined, ...

In Plasmodium falciparum infection, peripheral parasite counts do not always correlate well with the sequestered parasite burden. As erythrocytes parasitized with mature trophozoites and schizonts have a high tendency to adhere to the microvascular endothelium, they are often absent in peripheral blood samples. The appearance of schizonts in peripheral blood ...

Background/Aims: The aim of this study was to evaluate gastric myoelectric activity and autonomic activity in patients with esophageal varices treated by an analogue of vasopressin. Methodology: Included in this study are 20 patients divided into two groups: Group A: 10 patients treated with terlipressin (the bleeding from oesophageal varices) ...

X-linked adreno-leukodystrophy (ALD) is a peroxisomal disorder affecting the white matter of the central nervous system and the adrenal cortex. It is caused by mutations in the ABCD1 gene encoding for a peroxisomal membrane protein. The absent genotype-phenotype correlation implies a contribution by environmental factors to explain the phenotypical heterogeneity. ...

To investigate the correlation of fatigue with pain in rheumatoid arthritis patients and with disability in osteoarthritis patients. Twenty patients with rheumatoid arthritis and 20 patients with osteoarthritis were evaluated. The degree of fatigue was evaluated with a visual analogue scale and the Multidimensional Assessment of Fatigue. Pain was evaluated ...

Objectives Neurological problems are reported to be common in air travellers. The authors aimed to study neurological problems which might be associated with air traffic in a systematic way. Methods The authors analysed a prospective registry of all the patients referred from Madrid-Barajas International Airport to the emergency department of ...

BACKGROUND:: Using the Cyberonics registry, Amar and colleagues (2004) reported poorer efficacy of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) in patients who failed intracranial epilepsy surgery (IES). OBJECTIVE:: To study the impact of failed IES and other surrogate marker of severe epilepsy on VNS effectiveness in a large cohort with treatment-resistant epilepsy ...

To describe for the first time, to our knowledge, a case of recurrent in-flight-dependent seizures related to commercial airline flight in which the patient experienced a fatal air embolism secondary to a giant bronchogenic cyst. Case report. University hospital. Patient  A female airline passenger presented with a seizure, then unconsciousness ...

Tuberous sclerosis complex is an autosomal-dominant genetic disorder characterized by hamartomatous growth in various organs. Patients who have this disorder exhibit a high rate of epilepsy and cognitive problems. We investigated number of tubers, location, seizure types, and cognitive outcome, and we analyzed the relationships among them in our tuberous ...

A relationship between hormones and seizures has been reported in animals and humans. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the association between serum levels of prolactin, nesfatin-1 and ghrelin measured different times after a seizure or non-epileptic event and compared with controls. The study included a total ...

Several magnetic resonance imaging studies have reported hippocampal volume reduction in patients with schizophrenia, but other studies have reported contrasting results. In this review and metaanalysis, the authors aim to clarify whether a reduction in hippocampal volume characterizes patients with schizophrenia by considering illness phase (chronic and first episode) and ...

BACKGROUND: Brain tissue oxygen (PbtO(2)) monitors are utilized in a threshold-based fashion, triggering actions based on the presumption of tissue compromise when PbtO(2) is less than 20 mmHg. Some early published practice guidelines suggest that seizure is a potential culprit when PbtO(2) crosses this threshold; evidence for this is not well ...

Background:  The differential diagnosis between epileptic seizures and syncopes is a common occurrence in clinical practice. The manifestations of seizure and syncope sometimes overlap, and available diagnostic testing often not provides a conclusive answer. Syncope is often preceded by a symptom complex characterized by lightheadedness, generalized muscle weakness, giddiness, visual ...

We analyzed peri-ictal bed leaving (PBL) symptoms in 105 patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). All patients were classified as Engel I at the 2-year follow-up visit. Histopathological examination revealed hippocampal sclerosis (TLE-HS) in 64 patients and other lesions in 38 patients (TLE-other); 3 patients had no lesions. We reviewed ...

Up to 29% of patients with epilepsy report "prodromal" sensations more than 30minutes prior to seizures. We developed and implemented an objective methodology to prospectively assess the sensitivity and specificity of these subjective experiences using personal digital assistants (PDAs). The key property, in contrast to paper-based diaries, is the internal ...

PURPOSE: Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) has shown to be an effective treatment for drug resistant epilepsy in numerous patients, however, not in all. It is still not possible to predict which patients will profit from VNS. In this pilot study, we explore predictive interictal EEG features for seizure reduction after ...

Complex investigations were performed in 10 patients with post-traumatic Korsakov syndrome (KS) and stabilographic and electroencephalographic (EEG) investigation results were assessed before and after rehabilitation using stabilotraining (ST) with feedback (7-12 sessions). Controls consisted of data from 18 healthy subjects. Before courses of ST, patients with KS showed maximal impairments ...

OBJECTIVE: Failure to record typical events during long-term video/EEG monitoring (LTM) leaves the diagnosis uncertain. The purpose of this study was to analyze predictors of an initial nondiagnostic LTM study and to evaluate the yield of a repeat study. METHODS: We reviewed all adult LTM studies performed at Vanderbilt University ...

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is a common, autosomal dominant neurocutaneous disorder in which any organ system, including the skin, skeleton and nervous system can be affected. In this study, we compared the electrophysiological and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings in patients with NF1. Thirty-nine adolescent and adult patients (23 women ...

P-glycoprotein may play a role in drug resistance in epilepsy by limiting gastrointestinal absorption and brain access of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs). We sought to investigate the effects of ABCB1 polymorphisms on plasma carbamazepine (CBZ) concentrations and pharmacoresistance in Chinese patients with epilepsy. C1236T, G2677T/A, and C3435T polymorphisms of ABCB1 were ...

OBJECTIVES: To estimate the risk of seizure recurrence after antiepileptic drugs (AED) withdrawal and to identify related predictive features in patients with idiopathic generalized epilepsy (IGE) commencing at developing age (up to 16 year). METHODS: Medical records of consecutive patients with IGE from two refferal hospitals were evaluated between 2001 ...

Epileptic spasms in older children have increasingly been recognized as a distinct seizure type and subset of these patients are considered for surgical resection. This study compares histopathology and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), especially focusing the difference between the cortical grey matter and the subcortical white matter to understand the ...

The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficiency and the effects of changes in parameters of chronic amygdala-hippocampal deep brain stimulation (AH-DBS) in mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). Eight pharmacoresistant patients, not candidates for ablative surgery, received chronic AH-DBS (130Hz, follow-up 12-24 months): two patients with hippocampal sclerosis ...

Hypothalamic hamartoma (HH) is a relatively rare cause of epilepsy, mainly affecting children. Nearly all patients develop gelastic seizures, often followed by other focal seizure types. Our case illustrates the mechanisms of epileptogenesis in HH. The patient developed gelastic attacks as a baby, and secondarily generalized seizures and drop attacks ...

We hypothesized that acute intraoperative electrocorticography (ECoG) might identify a subset of patients with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-negative temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) who could proceed directly to standard anteromesial resection (SAMR), obviating the need for chronic electrode implantation to guide resection. Patients with TLE and a normal MRI who underwent ...

Bonilha L, Halford JJ, Morgan PS, Edwards JC. Hippocampal atrophy in temporal lobe epilepsy: the 'generator' and 'receiver'. Acta Neurol Scand: DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0404.2011.01510.x. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Objective -  Some patients with unilateral medial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) display bilateral hippocampal atrophy on MRI, even though seizures originate ...

Epilepsy is responsible for falls that are not systematically associated with seizures and that therefore suggest postural impairment. There are very few studies of postural control in patients with epilepsy and none of them focus on temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), although part of the vestibular cortex is located in the ...

A 2-year-old girl from a consanguineous marriage was evaluated for refractory seizures that had presented at birth. Since her presentation, she had been treated with pyridoxine and antiepileptic medications. Because she did not manifest the expected clinical response, pyridoxine was discontinued, which led to an increase in clinical events. Cerebrospinal ...

Objective: To determine the characteristics of post-stroke seizures and compare these in early vs. late post-stroke seizures. Study Design: Observational study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Neurology, Liaquat National Hospital, Karachi, from March to September 2007. Methodology: All admitted patients aged over 25 years, with diagnosis of post-stroke ...

The authors describe the clinical and radiological features in 3 children with a diffuse hemispheric dysembryoplastic neuroepithelial tumor (DNET) presenting with severe epilepsy and a previously unreported and characteristic MR imaging appearance. The DNET is a well-recognized cause of focal epilepsy, usually with a very good response to resection. These ...

Object Many children with epilepsy and tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) have multiple tubers on MR imaging and poorly localized/lateralized video electroencephalography (EEG) findings. Given the long-term risks associated with frequent seizures and multiple antiepileptic drugs, along with improved success in identifying focal epileptogenic zones in patients with multifocal lesions, the ...

Intermittent Photic Stimulation (IPS) is a well recognized provocation maneuver during EEG recording which helps in identifying underlying photosensitivity. The frequency and characteristics of various responses to photosensitivity among our adult patients was determine. EEGs of subjects > or =15 years from 2003-2006, were reviewed. Two main photosensitive responses were ...

Even though recent studies have suggested that seizures do not occur suddenly and that before a seizure there is a period with an increased probability of seizure occurrence, neurophysiological mechanisms of interictal and pre-seizure states are unknown. The ability of mathematical methods to provide much more sensitive tools for the ...

Few studies focused on the long-term outcome of Dravet syndrome in adulthood are available in the literature, but all are concordant. In this article, we consider the outcomes of 24 patients followed at the Centre Saint-Paul, Marseille, up to the age of 50, and compare them to the patients reported ...

Purpose:  Patients with recurrent epileptic seizures after the development of psychosis (Psychosis-Epilepsy) have been regarded as belonging to a different clinical entity from those with epilepsy antedating the development of psychosis (Epilepsy-Psychosis). However, clinical characteristics of patients with Psychosis-Epilepsy have not been well described, except for early German studies. We ...

We report findings concerning the relationship between electroencephalography (EEG) frequency during spike-and-wave discharges (SWDs) and response to treatment in 21 patients with idiopathic generalized epilepsy (IGE). We studied patients whose EEG contained SWDs lasting at least 4 s. Among these patients, two groups could be distinguished on the basis of a subtle ...

Patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and schizophrenia display cognitive, behavioural disturbances and morphological abnormalities. Although these latter reflect progressive neurodegeneration in AD, their significance in schizophrenia is still unclear. We explored the patterns of hippocampal and amygdalar atrophy in those patients and their associations with clinical parameters. Structural magnetic resonance ...

Electrographic seizures are common in neonates with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, but detailed data are not available regarding seizure incidence during therapeutic hypothermia. The objective of this prospective study was to determine the incidence and timing of electrographic seizures in term neonates undergoing whole-body therapeutic hypothermia for hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy as detected by ...

Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological diseases, which has a cumulative lifetime incidence of 3%. Two to threefold increased morbidity and mortality rates are reported, especially if generalized tonic-clonic seizures (GTCS) occur. A wireless small and user-friendly detection system would be helpful in early identification of seizures. This ...

The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of and risk factors for primary headaches in juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME). Headache was classified in 75 patients with JME using a questionnaire, and its prevalence was correlated with the literature on the general population and clinical data. Headache was ...

PURPOSE: To investigate the frequency and patterns of headache in a well-defined and homogeneous group of mesial temporal lobe epilepsy with hippocampal sclerosis (MTLE-HS) patients. METHODS: One hundred consecutive MTLE-HS patients under comprehensive presurgical evaluation were evaluated from May 2009 to April 2010. A standardized questionnaire was applied according to ...

Purpose:  The recent "Report of the ILAE Commission on Classification and Terminology" recommends an epilepsy classification that gives more emphasis to the underlying structural or metabolic cause rather than to the localization of the epileptogenic zone. The aim of the present study was to investigate differences in clinical features, treatment ...