Control Of Partial Seizures Research Articles

Is There a Role for Temozolomide in Glioma Related Seizures? A Systematic Review.

Seizures often herald the clinical appearance of glioma. Temozolomide (TMZ) is the first-line chemotherapeutic agent that has been used to treat glioma. We conducted a systematic review to determine seizure outcomes in glioma patients treated with TMZ. We searched EMBASE and PubMed databases (January 1, 2003-August 26, 2021) by using search terms closely related to glioma, seizure, and temozolomide. Titles, abstracts, and full texts were screened and selected using previously established inclusion and exclusion criteria. The research team members reviewed potential articles and reached a consensus on the final articles to be included. Nine studies containing data from three continents met our inclusion criteria. From several descriptive studies on low-grade gliomas (LGGs), the percentage of patients with partial seizure control after TMZ treatment ranged from 29% to 89.7%, and the percentage of patients with complete seizure control after TMZ ranged from 19.4% to 72%. In a retrospective cohort study of patients with LGGs, there was a marked difference in decreased seizure frequency between patients receiving TMZ and those who did not receive TMZ. In a randomized trial, TMZ seemed to have little effect on seizure control in elderly patients with glioblastoma. At present, there are few high-quality and well-designed clinical studies on TMZ for gliomas-related seizures. In terms of the literature included in this review, TMZ has an inhibitory effect on epilepsy. More randomized controlled trials are needed to elucidate the clinical benefits of TMZ in the treatment of gliomas-related seizures.

Electroclinical features and outcome of ANKRD11-related KBG syndrome: A novel report and literature review

Electroclinical features and outcome of ANKRD11-related KBG syndrome: A novel report and literature review

Clinical features and genetic characteristics of myoclonic-atonic epilepsy caused by SLC6A1 gene mutation

Objective To explore the clinical features and genetic characteristics of myoclonic-atonic (MAE) caused by gene mutation. Methods The clinical data of a patient with gene mutation from Xiangya Hospital of Central South University was collected. The related literatures were reviewed from Wanfang Data, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, PubMed (until July 2019) by using keywords SLC6A1 and myoclonic-atonic epilepsy . The characteristics of gene mutation and the clinical phenotype of children with myoclonic-atonic were summarized. Results A 8 year and 8 months old girl was enrolled in the study. Her first attack happened at the age of 19 months, and multiple seizure types including myoclonic-atonic, atonic and absence were observed. The seizures were well controlled by valproate (VPA), but she has mild-moderate intellectual disability. Whole exome-sequencing study identified a de novo nonsense variant of c. 46G>T(p.Glu16*)in gene. A total of 27 cases including the present case with gene mutation were analyzed. 22 mutations were identified, including 11 missense mutations, 5 nonsense mutations, 3 frameshift mutations, 2 splicing mutation and 1 with chromosome microdeletion. Among them 26 patients had more one type of seizures, 20 cases had absence seizures, 17 cases had atonic seizures, 14 cases had myoclonic seizures, 11 cases had myoclonic-atonic seizures, 4 cases had generalized tonic-clonic seizures, 3 cases had eyelid myoclonias, 2 cases had nonconvulsive status epilepticus and 2 cases had tonic seizure. 24 patients had described intelligence assessment. Among them, 18 had developmental delay before onset, 11 had developmental regression after onset. There were 9 cases with autistic features, 4 cases with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and 3 cases with ataxia. The seizures of 17 cases were controlled, 4 cases had partial seizure control, 3 cases had no significant improvement, and other 3 cases were unclear. Conclusions The main clinical feature of MAE patients with gene mutations is absence and atonic seizures, cognition before onset can be impaired, and some patients had behavioral problems, such as autistic features or attention deficit hyperactivity disorders. VPA is recommend as first-line treatment. Key words: Epilepsies, myoclonic; Epilepsy, absence; Glucose transporter type 1; Mutation; Child

Electroacupuncture Reduces Seizure Activity and Enhances GAD 67 and Glutamate Transporter Expression in Kainic Acid Induced Status Epilepticus in Infant Rats.

Status epilepticus (SE) is one of the most significant complications in pediatric neurology. Clinical studies have shown positive effects of electroacupuncture (EA) as a therapeutic alternative in the control of partial seizures and secondary generalized clonic seizures. EA promotes the release of neurotransmitters such as GABA and some opioids. The present study aimed to evaluate the anticonvulsive and neuromodulatory effects of Shui Gou DM26 (SG_DM26) acupuncture point electrostimulation on the expression of the glutamate decarboxylase 67 (GAD67) enzyme and the glutamate transporter EAAC1 in an early SE model. At ten postnatal days (10-PD), male rats weighing 22–26 g were divided into 16 groups, including control and treatment groups: Simple stimulation, electrostimulation, anticonvulsant drug treatment, and combined treatment—electrostimulation and pentobarbital (PB). SE was induced with kainic acid (KA), and the following parameters were measured: Motor behavior, and expression of GAD67 and EAAC1. The results suggest an antiepileptic effect derived from SG DM26 point EA. The possible mechanism is most likely the increased production of the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA, which is observed as an increase in the expression of both GAD67 and EAAC1, as well as the potential synergy between the neuromodulator effects of EA and PB.

HPTLC Method for Estimation of Topiramate in Solubility Studies, Diffusion Studies, Plasma, Brain Homogenate and Pharmaceutical Formulation.

Topiramate, 2,3:4,5-bis-O-(1-methylethylidene)-β-d-fructopyranose, is an anticonvulsant drug indicated in the treatment and control of partial seizures and severe tonic-clonic (grand mal) seizures in adults and children. An economic and rapid high-performance thin-layer chromatographic (HPTLC) method was developed and was validated for the quantitative determination of topiramate in plasma, brain homogenate and pharmaceutical formulation. The simple extraction method was used for the isolation of topiramate from formulation, plasma and brain homogenate samples. HPTLC separation was achieved on an aluminum-backed layer of silica gel 60F254 plates using toluene : acetone (5.0 : 2.0, v/v) as mobile phase. Spots of developed plates were visualized by spraying of reagent [3.0% phenol in the mixture of ethanol : sulfuric acid (95 : 5, v/v)]. Quantitation was achieved by densitometric analysis at 340 nm over the concentration range of 1,000-5,000 ng/spot. The method was found to give compact spot for the drug (Rf: 0.61 ± 0.018). The regression analysis data for the calibration plots showed good relationship with a correlation coefficient of 0.9983. The minimum detectable amount was found to be 165 ng/spot, whereas the limit of quantitation was found to be 500 ng/spot. Statistical analysis of the data showed that the method is precise, accurate, reproducible and selective for the analysis of topiramate. The developed method was successfully employed for the estimation of topiramate in samples of equilibrium solubility study, diffusion study, microemulsion formulation and suspension formulation (developed in-house), rat plasma and rat brain homogenate samples.

Mood, anxiety, and incomplete seizure control affect quality of life after epilepsy surgery

We examined the complex relationship between depression, anxiety, and seizure control and quality of life (QOL) outcomes after epilepsy surgery. Seven epilepsy centers enrolled 373 patients and completed a comprehensive diagnostic workup and psychiatric and follow-up QOL evaluation. Subjects were evaluated before surgery and then at 3, 6, 12, 24, 48, and 60 months after surgery. Standardized assessments included the Quality of Life in Epilepsy Inventory-89, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). A mixed-model repeated-measures analysis was used to analyze associations of depression, anxiety, seizure outcome, and seizure history with overall QOL score and QOL subscores (cognitive distress, physical health, mental health, epilepsy-targeted) prospectively. The groups with excellent and good seizure control showed a significant positive effect on the overall QOL compared to the groups with fair and poor seizure control. The BDI and BAI scores were both highly and negatively associated with overall QOL; increases in BDI and BAI scores were associated with decreased overall QOL score. Depression and anxiety are strongly and independently associated with worse QOL after epilepsy surgery. Interestingly, even partial seizure control, controlling for depression and anxiety levels, improved QOL. Management of mood and anxiety is a critical component to postsurgical care.

Cerebellar gangliocytoma presenting with hemifacial spasms: clinical report, literature review and possible mechanisms

Cerebellar lesions have classically been considered not to cause epilepsy. However, previous reports have attributed seizures, beginning as hemifacial spasms to lesions of the cerebellar peduncles. We report an example of paroxysmal facial contractions associated with a cerebellar gangliocytoma. The seizures began on the first day of life and consisted of paroxysmal contractions involving the left orbicularis oculi, often the left forehead and lower facial muscles, sometimes accompanied by nystagmoid eye movements to the right and by head deviation to the left. Video-EEG monitoring showed only artifacts from muscle contractions. Magnetic resonance imaging showed a mass arising from the left superior cerebellar peduncle and partially occupying the fourth ventricle. The lesion was removed subtotally and partial seizure control was achieved. The neuropathological findings were consistent with a gangliocytoma. The literature in the association of cerebellar lesions with hemifacial spasms is reviewed and its possible mechanisms discussed.

Epilepsy in Menkes Disease: Analysis of Clinical Stages

Epilepsy is one of the main features of Menkes disease (MD), although it is not described in depth. To determine the spectrum of epilepsy, we studied its main characteristics. Based on clinical charts, we retrospectively analyzed the evolution of electroclinical features of 12 patients with confirmed MD. Epilepsy could be divided into three periods: (a) an early stage (median age, 3 months), characterized by focal clonic status epilepticus, usually triggered by fever (10 patients). Ictal EEG showed runs of slow spike-waves and slow waves in the posterior regions, and interictal EEG multifocal and polymorphic slow waves (three cases), or mixed slow spike-waves and slow waves (seven cases). Partial seizure control was obtained in nine patients during 5.9 months; (b) an intermediate stage (median age, 10 months) with intractable infantile spasms (11 patients) in which interictal EEG demonstrated modified hypsarrhythmia (seven cases), diffuse irregular slow waves and spike-waves (four cases). Six patients died at the median age of 15 months; and (c) a late stage in the six remaining patients (median age, 25 months), with multifocal seizures, tonic spasms, and myoclonus in four patients, whereas two patients became seizure free. Interictal EEG showed multifocal high-amplitude activity, mixed with irregular slow waves in all six cases. These patients died at the median age of 3.6 years. Based on a relatively large series of MD patients with a quite prolonged survival, we individualized three successive periods in the course of epilepsy: early focal status, then infantile spasms, and then myoclonic and multifocal epilepsy after age 2 years.

Introduction to zonisamide

Zonisamide (Zonegran ®), a novel antiepileptic drug (AED) approved recently in Europe as adjunctive therapy for refractory partial seizures in adults, has been used extensively in Japan and the United States. A substantial body of clinical experience has accumulated over a 14-year period, allowing the properties and pharmacologic/clinical profiles of zonisamide to be clearly defined. Zonisamide is structurally distinct from other AEDs and has multiple and complementary mechanisms of action, which likely contribute to its efficacy across a broad range of epilepsy types. Zonisamide has a long T 1/2 enabling once-daily dosing, linear pharmacokinetics and minimal interaction with other drugs; plasma levels of commonly administered AEDs and oral contraceptives are unaffected by concomitant zonisamide. Effective control of partial seizures (up to 51% decrease in seizure frequency) is attained at doses of ≥300 mg/day, and optimal titration and maintenance dosing schedules have been established. The adverse event profile is well defined; in common with most AEDs, most adverse events are central nervous system-related (e.g. somnolence, dizziness, tiredness). Adverse events may be minimised with appropriate patient management. Zonisamide therefore has many characteristics considered desirable in an AED and represents a valuable addition to the therapeutic options for treating epilepsy in Europe.

Denouement

Epilepsy surgery has proven to be very effective in treating refractory focal epilepsies in children, producing seizure freedom or partial seizure control well beyond any other medical or dietary therapies. While surgery is mostly utilized in certain clinical phenotypes, either based on the location such as temporal lobe epilepsy, or based on the presence of known epileptogenic lesions such as focal cortical dysplasia, tumors or hemimegalencephaly, there is a growing body of evidence to support the role of surgery in other patients’ cohorts that were classically not thought of as surgical candidates. These include patients with rare genetic disorders, electrical status epilepticus in sleep, status epilepticus and the very young patients. Furthermore, epilepsy surgery is not considered as a “last resort” as seizure and cognitive outcomes of surgery are considerably better when done earlier rather than later in relation to the time of onset of epilepsy and age of surgery especially in the context of known focal cortical dysplasia. This article examines the accumulating evidence of the utility of epilepsy surgery in these special circumstances.

Avaliação da eficácia e tolerabilidade da vigabatrina na síndrome de West

West syndrome (WS) is a severe epileptic encephalopathy of childhood, characterized by spasms, developmental deterioration and hipsarhythymia. To evaluate the safety and efficacy of vigabatrin (VGB) in the treatment of WS. We evaluated every patient diagnosed with WS seen at the pediatric epilepsy clinic and exposed to VGB. Patients were interviewed according to a semistructured questionnaire and we analyzed gender, age, etiology (cryptogenic or symptomatic), associated diseases, age of seizure onset, neuroimaging findings, EEG prior and after VGB, use of other antiepileptic drugs, time for seizure control, electroretinogram, visual complaints, adverse events and family history of epilepsy. Twenty-three patients were evaluated, 16 boys, ages ranging from 1.25 years to 11.5 years (mean=5y3m). Sixteen (69.5%) patients were seizure free, five (22%) had partial seizure control and in two (8.5%) there was no improvement. Only one patient presented gabaergic retinopathy. Six (26%) patients presented adverse events: somnolence, aggressivity or retinopathy. Patients with seizure onset after 6 months of age presented better results after VGB introduction (p<0.05). There was no difference in seizure control according to duration of epilepsy before VGB treatment or etiology of the seizures (p>0.05). After VGB, no patient presented hipsarrhythymia and 50% had a normal EEG. Although VGB may be associated with serious adverse events such as gabaergic retinopathy, our results show that it should be considered in the treatment of WS.

小児の部分発作に対するclonazepam単剤治療の効果

小児の部分発作に対するclonazepam単剤治療の効果

Prognosis of epilepsy in a rural African community: a 30-year follow-up of 164 patients in an outpatient clinic in rural Tanzania.

While working as a physician in Tanzania in the early 1960s, Dr. Louise Jilek-Aall founded an outpatient clinic for epilepsy among the Pogoro people of Mahenge mountains where epilepsy (locally termed Kifafa) had brought misery and death to an unusually high percentage of the population. With local assistance and overseas donations of phenobarbital (PB), this clinic treated approximately 200 patients for less than or equal to 10 years. The area was revisited 30 years later to trace these patients. Of the 164 patients who had started treatment, 86 (52.4%) achieved complete seizure suppression, 59 (36.0%) experienced reduction in seizure frequency, 13 (7.9%) experienced no change, and in 1 (0.6%) seizures were worse. The effect of treatment could not be assessed in 5 (3.0%) patients. After 30 years, only 36 (21.9%) of the 164 patients were known to be alive. Of the patients, 110 (67.1%) had died, and the whereabouts of 18 (11%) could not be traced. The causes of death were epilepsy related (status epilepticus, drowning, burns, dying in or after a seizure) in greater than 50% of the patients. Epilepsy-related deaths were proportionately higher after drug supply was stopped and among patients who were receiving drugs irregularly or who had only partial seizure control. Patients with epilepsy showed an increased mortality rate, which was twice that of the general rural Tanzanian population of similar age. Management of epilepsy in rural Africans should also emphasize methods to prevent epilepsy-related causes of death among patients with epilepsy.

The Long‐Term Effectiveness of Clonazepam Therapy in the Control of Partial Seizures in Children Difficult to Control with Carbamazepine Monotherapy

The Long‐Term Effectiveness of Clonazepam Therapy in the Control of Partial Seizures in Children Difficult to Control with Carbamazepine Monotherapy

Fluzinamide: shows promise in partial seizure control

Fluzinamide: shows promise in partial seizure control

Treatment of the nonconvulsive epilepsies.

Eliminating seizures should be the first goal of therapy for nonconvulsive epilepsies, but preventing seizures, i.e., guarding against head injuries and immunizing against agents that attack the nervous system, is the second goal. An accurate diagnosis of seizure type helps ensure that the appropriate medication for that particular form of epilepsy will be prescribed. Drug decisions should also be based on the risk: benefit ratio to the individual patient, and drug interactions should be considered when more than one drug is required. Frequent monitoring of drug serum levels is necessary in the case of multiple drug therapy or until seizures are controlled. Ethosuximide is considered the drug of choice in absence seizures, but valproic acid is equally effective. Although effective in controlling absence seizures, clonazepam is not favored in this indication because of a high incidence of side effects and the development of tolerance. Atonic seizures are generally refractory to treatment, but valproate, clonazepam, and occasionally carbamazepine represent the drugs of choice in management. Phenytoin continues to be a very popular drug for most types of seizures, but carbamazepine, used adjunctively until recently, is effective as monotherapy for the control of partial seizures, particularly those of the complex partial variety.