| Cortical excitability in drug-naive patients with partial epilepsy: a cross-sectional study. | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 15596749 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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OBJECTIVE: To use paired-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to investigate cortical excitability in drug-naive patients with partial epilepsy. METHODS: Twenty-one drug-naive patients with partial epilepsy and 15 control subjects were studied. The relaxed threshold to TMS, the central silent period, and the intracortical inhibition/facilitation were measured. Statistics implied cluster analysis methods. Also assessed were the patient interictal EEG epileptiform abnormalities (EAs) on a semiquantitative basis. Then the TMS was contrasted to the clinical and EEG findings, using chi2 or Fisher exact tests. RESULTS: One-third of the patients made up a "pathologic" cluster with a disrupted intracortical inhibition (p < 0.01). Two-thirds had a normal inhibition. Interictal EAs predominated in the pathologic cluster, for frequency (p < 0.04), duration (p < 0.04), and focality (p < 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Intracortical inhibition, which was impaired in one-third of the patients, reflects gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) activity within cortical area 4. Defective GABA inhibition is a typical pathogenic factor in partial epilepsy. Transcranial magnetic stimulation proved able to detect it. The weaker cortical inhibition had a direct relation to the severity of interictal epileptiform abnormalities. |
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Authors:
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C Varrasi; C Civardi; C Boccagni; M Cecchin; R Vicentini; F Monaco; R Cantello |
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Publication Detail:
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Type: Journal Article |
Journal Detail:
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Title: Neurology Volume: 63 ISSN: 1526-632X ISO Abbreviation: Neurology Publication Date: 2004 Dec |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2004-12-14 Completed Date: 2005-08-04 Revised Date: - |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 0401060 Medline TA: Neurology Country: United States |
Other Details:
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Languages: eng Pagination: 2051-5 Citation Subset: AIM; IM |
Affiliation:
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Department of Medical Sciences, Section of Neurology, Università del Piemonte Orientale A. Avogadro, Novara, Italy. |
Export Citation:
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| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
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Adolescent Adult Cerebral Cortex / physiopathology* Cross-Sectional Studies Electroencephalography Epilepsies, Partial / physiopathology* Female Humans Magnetics / diagnostic use* Male Middle Aged gamma-Aminobutyric Acid / physiology |
| Chemical | |
Reg. No./Substance:
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56-12-2/gamma-Aminobutyric Acid |
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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