A surgical treatment commonly used to reduce epileptic seizures in adults also is effective and safe for children, according to a Rutgers study.
Aggression is the most commonly encountered antiepileptic-drug (AED)-induced psychiatric adverse effects. Levetiracetam (LEV) is well known to be associated with increased rates of aggression, while perampanel (PER) is also recognized as a potentially aggression-promoting agent, though opinions vary. However, few studies have addressed questions regarding whether the nature of irritability-aggression differs between those drugs.
SUDEP
The first study of the Portuguese team entitled "Heart rate variability in patients with refractory epilepsy: The influence of generalized convulsive seizures" focused on GCS. These are characterized by stiffing of all the muscles in the body (tonic) and the rapid movement of arms and legs (clonic). The team studied cardiac changes in patients with refractory epilepsy, later comparing the results with the general population.
A research team led by Professor Gong Chen of Jinan University, also the scientific founder of NeuExcell Therapeutics Group, published an article in the latest issue of Progress in Neurobiology, using neuroregenerative gene therapy to treat temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) in rats. Chen's team developed a new technology to convert hippocampal astrocytes directly into inhibitory interneurons and effectively reduced epileptic seizures, raising new hope for patients suffering from refractory TLE.
This study was undertaken to estimate the cost-effectiveness of deep brain stimulation (DBS) compared with vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) and care as usual (CAU) for adult patients with refractory epilepsy from a health care perspective using a lifetime decision analytic model.
Pediatric Epilepsy
For individuals with unexplained infantile or childhood-onset epilepsy, genetic testing to establish a genetic diagnosis may impact medical care and prognosis, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Epilepsy Society, held from Dec. 3 to 7 in Chicago.
This study was undertaken to evaluate the efficacy of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) over time, and to determine which patient groups derive the most benefit.
The relationship between antiseizure medications (ASMs), which improve health outcomes by controlling seizures, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is poorly understood and may involve intermediate variables. We evaluated the potential mediators of the association between ASMs and HRQOL.
This study aimed to investigate the factors affecting the unwillingness of physicians involved in epilepsy care to continue telemedicine during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Japan.
