Pub Date : 2024-12-16DOI: 10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2024.107495
Doaa A Mekkawy, Nirmeen Kishk, Noha T Abokrysha, Gihan M Ramzy, Reham Mohamed Shamloul, Rehab Magdy, Alshimaa S Othman, Amr Mohamed Fouad, Osama Yacoub, Maged Abdel-Naseer, Hatem S Shehata, Nevin M Shalaby, Amr Hassan, Amal S Ashour, Ahmed Dahshan, Mona Hussein, Mohamed Khodery, Hazem Kamal Alhewag, Dalia Abdelfatah, Nesma Mounir
Background: Naming is an important part of human communication. The precision of medical terms greatly influences the patients and their caregivers. "Alsara'الصرع " is the Arabic term defining epilepsy. However, it has a highly negative impact on patients, as reported by many caring physicians.
Methods: A multiple-choice face-to-face questionnaire was designed to assess stigma among patients with epilepsy (PwE), causes, impact on quality of life, impression of PwE about the Arabic terminology of epilepsy Alsara', and their opinion regarding changing it to precise term "itrab fi kahrabeit el mokh" اضطراب في كهربية المخ" which means disturbance of the electrical brain activity. Stigma was assessed using a three-item stigma scale.The interviewed subjects were recruited from Cairo, Beni Suef, and Sohag University hospitals consecutively during a period from 15 August 2023 to 30 December 2023.
Results: Three hundred seventy-two PwE responded to the survey. Three hundred fifty-one (94.4 %) PwE felt a disease stigma. About 50 % of them attributed this stigma to the Arabic name of the disease. Eighty-four percent accepted changing the name Alsara' into "itrab fi kahrabeit el mokh" and 77.2 % suspected a positive impact of this amendment on society. The occurrence of generalized tonic-clonic seizures was found to be an independent risk factor for epilepsy-associated stigma.
Conclusion: The Arabic nomenclature of epilepsy "Alsara'" is not an accurate term for epilepsy. In addition to being associated with many poor misconceptions and stigma. We hope this study will pave the way to replace it with a more appropriate and less defaming term.
{"title":"Epilepsy Arabic renaming to cerebroelectric disorder could minimize the stigma.","authors":"Doaa A Mekkawy, Nirmeen Kishk, Noha T Abokrysha, Gihan M Ramzy, Reham Mohamed Shamloul, Rehab Magdy, Alshimaa S Othman, Amr Mohamed Fouad, Osama Yacoub, Maged Abdel-Naseer, Hatem S Shehata, Nevin M Shalaby, Amr Hassan, Amal S Ashour, Ahmed Dahshan, Mona Hussein, Mohamed Khodery, Hazem Kamal Alhewag, Dalia Abdelfatah, Nesma Mounir","doi":"10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2024.107495","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2024.107495","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Naming is an important part of human communication. The precision of medical terms greatly influences the patients and their caregivers. \"Alsara'الصرع \" is the Arabic term defining epilepsy. However, it has a highly negative impact on patients, as reported by many caring physicians.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A multiple-choice face-to-face questionnaire was designed to assess stigma among patients with epilepsy (PwE), causes, impact on quality of life, impression of PwE about the Arabic terminology of epilepsy Alsara', and their opinion regarding changing it to precise term \"itrab fi kahrabeit el mokh\" اضطراب في كهربية المخ\" which means disturbance of the electrical brain activity. Stigma was assessed using a three-item stigma scale.The interviewed subjects were recruited from Cairo, Beni Suef, and Sohag University hospitals consecutively during a period from 15 August 2023 to 30 December 2023.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Three hundred seventy-two PwE responded to the survey. Three hundred fifty-one (94.4 %) PwE felt a disease stigma. About 50 % of them attributed this stigma to the Arabic name of the disease. Eighty-four percent accepted changing the name Alsara' into \"itrab fi kahrabeit el mokh\" and 77.2 % suspected a positive impact of this amendment on society. The occurrence of generalized tonic-clonic seizures was found to be an independent risk factor for epilepsy-associated stigma.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The Arabic nomenclature of epilepsy \"Alsara'\" is not an accurate term for epilepsy. In addition to being associated with many poor misconceptions and stigma. We hope this study will pave the way to replace it with a more appropriate and less defaming term.</p>","PeriodicalId":11914,"journal":{"name":"Epilepsy Research","volume":"210 ","pages":"107495"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142964275","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The identification of surgical candidates is a critical issue in patients with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-negative drug-resistant focal epilepsy and latent accompanying resectable lesions, such as focal cortical dysplasia (FCD). Recently, periodic seizure cycles have been associated with FCD in both patients with MRI-positive and MRI-negative epilepsy. We investigated the presurgical evaluation and postsurgical outcome of patients with MRI-negative epilepsy with FCD and a history of periodic seizure cycles.
Methods
We retrospectively reviewed the characteristics of presurgical evaluation and postsurgical seizure outcome in 14 children with MRI-negative drug-resistant focal epilepsy and a history of periodic seizure cycles. All the patients had FCD histopathologically.
Results
The mean age at epilepsy surgery was 7.7 ± 4.7 years (0.7–16.1 years). Favorable postsurgical seizure outcome (ILAE classes 1–3) was obtained in 10 (71 %) patients five years after surgery. The relative risk of the complete concordance between imaging findings and resected area for five-year seizure freedom was 2.25 in positron emission tomography (PET) and 2.22 in subtraction ictal single-photon emission computed tomography co-registered to MRI (SISCOM), and 1.86 in magnetoencephalography (MEG).
Conclusion
All the children with MRI-negative focal epilepsy and a history of periodic seizure cycles were turned out to have FCD pathologically, and are good surgical candidates. Favorable seizure outcome can be expected in such patients when resective epilepsy surgery is planned based on presurgical evaluation with PET or SISCOM.
{"title":"Surgical outcome and contributing presurgical evaluations in children with magnetic resonance imaging-negative epilepsy and periodic seizure cycles","authors":"Yoshihiko Saito , Kenji Sugai , Masaki Iwasaki , Noriko Sato , Akiyoshi Kakita , Yuko Saito , Taisuke Ohtsuki , Masayuki Sasaki","doi":"10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2024.107492","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2024.107492","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>The identification of surgical candidates is a critical issue in patients with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-negative drug-resistant focal epilepsy and latent accompanying resectable lesions, such as focal cortical dysplasia (FCD). Recently, periodic seizure cycles have been associated with FCD in both patients with MRI-positive and MRI-negative epilepsy. We investigated the presurgical evaluation and postsurgical outcome of patients with MRI-negative epilepsy with FCD and a history of periodic seizure cycles.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>We retrospectively reviewed the characteristics of presurgical evaluation and postsurgical seizure outcome in 14 children with MRI-negative drug-resistant focal epilepsy and a history of periodic seizure cycles. All the patients had FCD histopathologically.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>The mean age at epilepsy surgery was 7.7 ± 4.7 years (0.7–16.1 years). Favorable postsurgical seizure outcome (ILAE classes 1–3) was obtained in 10 (71 %) patients five years after surgery. The relative risk of the complete concordance between imaging findings and resected area for five-year seizure freedom was 2.25 in positron emission tomography (PET) and 2.22 in subtraction ictal single-photon emission computed tomography co-registered to MRI (SISCOM), and 1.86 in magnetoencephalography (MEG).</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>All the children with MRI-negative focal epilepsy and a history of periodic seizure cycles were turned out to have FCD pathologically, and are good surgical candidates. Favorable seizure outcome can be expected in such patients when resective epilepsy surgery is planned based on presurgical evaluation with PET or SISCOM.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11914,"journal":{"name":"Epilepsy Research","volume":"209 ","pages":"Article 107492"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2024-11-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142757686","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-11-20DOI: 10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2024.107479
Garima Shukla , Rishabh Sablok , Zaitoon Shivji , Stuart Fogel , Gavin P. Winston , Lysa Boissé Lomax , Ana Johnson , Helen Driver
Objective
Interest in anti-seizure properties of cannabinoids is increasing, with the rise in prevalence of recreational and medical cannabis use, especially across Canada. In a recent study on people with epilepsy (PWE), cannabis use showed a strong association with poor psychosocial health. Sleep and mood comorbidities are highly prevalent in epilepsy, and are common motivations for cannabis use. The primary objective of this study was to assess demographic, subjective and objectively assessed sleep quality and mood related differences among PWE who regularly use cannabis compared to those who do not.
Methods
Consecutive consenting patients with a confirmed epilepsy diagnosis, admitted to our Epilepsy Monitoring Unit, over a 3-year period (2019–2022) were enrolled. Detailed epilepsy-related data and self-reported sleep [Pittsburgh Sleep quality index (PSQI)], Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS)], mood [(Beck’s Depression Inventory (BDI) and Beck’s Anxiety inventory (BAI)] and cannabis use related data were collected. Overnight polysomnography (PSG) was conducted on the first night of admission, with simultaneous 18-channel video-EEG. Sleep (PSG) scoring followed American Academy of Sleep Medicine guidelines by a scorer blinded to clinical details.
Results
Among 51 patients with similar seizure control, 25 (13 F) reported cannabis use (mean age 36.3+14.8 years) and were significantly younger than 26 (18 F) non-users (mean age 48.3+15 years). Cannabis users had significantly better subjective sleep quality (mean PSQI scores 7.2+2.9 vs 10.2+5.2 respectively). Most patients endorsed sleepiness (Cannabis users with ESS scores greater than 10; 91.3 %, 77.3 % in non-users) and moderate to extreme depression (BDI) scores. No significant differences were observed in objective sleep parameters. BDI score significantly predicted PSQI and ESS scores on multiple logistic regression analysis.
Significance
Despite a significant age difference, self-reported sleep quality is better among PWE who report regular cannabis use compared to non-users. However, there is no significant difference in objective sleep quantity and quality from PSG between the two groups. Additionally, severity of depressive symptoms is a significant predictor of sleep quality and of excessive daytime sleepiness among PWE.
{"title":"Cannabis use, sleep and mood disturbances among persons with epilepsy – A clinical and polysomnography study from a Canadian tertiary care epilepsy center","authors":"Garima Shukla , Rishabh Sablok , Zaitoon Shivji , Stuart Fogel , Gavin P. Winston , Lysa Boissé Lomax , Ana Johnson , Helen Driver","doi":"10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2024.107479","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2024.107479","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objective</h3><div>Interest in anti-seizure properties of cannabinoids is increasing, with the rise in prevalence of recreational and medical cannabis use, especially across Canada. In a recent study on people with epilepsy (PWE), cannabis use showed a strong association with poor psychosocial health. Sleep and mood comorbidities are highly prevalent in epilepsy, and are common motivations for cannabis use. The primary objective of this study was to assess demographic, subjective and objectively assessed sleep quality and mood related differences among PWE who regularly use cannabis compared to those who do not.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Consecutive consenting patients with a confirmed epilepsy diagnosis, admitted to our Epilepsy Monitoring Unit, over a 3-year period (2019–2022) were enrolled. Detailed epilepsy-related data and self-reported sleep [Pittsburgh Sleep quality index (PSQI)], Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS)], mood [(Beck’s Depression Inventory (BDI) and Beck’s Anxiety inventory (BAI)] and cannabis use related data were collected. Overnight polysomnography (PSG) was conducted on the first night of admission, with simultaneous 18-channel video-EEG. Sleep (PSG) scoring followed American Academy of Sleep Medicine guidelines by a scorer blinded to clinical details.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Among 51 patients with similar seizure control, 25 (13 F) reported cannabis use (mean age 36.3<u>+</u>14.8 years) and were significantly younger than 26 (18 F) non-users (mean age 48.3<u>+</u>15 years). Cannabis users had significantly better subjective sleep quality (mean PSQI scores 7.2<u>+</u>2.9 vs 10.2<u>+</u>5.2 respectively). Most patients endorsed sleepiness (Cannabis users with ESS scores greater than 10; 91.3 %, 77.3 % in non-users) and moderate to extreme depression (BDI) scores. No significant differences were observed in objective sleep parameters. BDI score significantly predicted PSQI and ESS scores on multiple logistic regression analysis.</div></div><div><h3><strong>Significance</strong></h3><div>Despite a significant age difference, self-reported sleep quality is better among PWE who report regular cannabis use compared to non-users. However, there is no significant difference in objective sleep quantity and quality from PSG between the two groups. Additionally, severity of depressive symptoms is a significant predictor of sleep quality and of excessive daytime sleepiness among PWE.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11914,"journal":{"name":"Epilepsy Research","volume":"209 ","pages":"Article 107479"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2024-11-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142700715","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Acute encephalopathy with biphasic seizures and late reduced diffusion (AESD) causes clustered seizures (late seizures; LS) 3–7 days after early seizure (ES); however, few reports provide continuous electroencephalogram (C-EEG) monitoring details. This study aimed to evaluate the initial/last detection date of LS using C-EEG and determine whether LS EEG features correlate with neurological sequelae.
Materials and methods
We analyzed 28 patients diagnosed with AESD who underwent C-EEG monitoring between 2015 and 2020. Multiple pediatric neurologists and epileptologists evaluated the LS detection timing, duration, and severity. Based on the evaluated data, we compared the clinical characteristics and LS-induced neurological sequelae between the ESEEG+LS (initiated C-EEG immediately after ES) and LSEEG+LS (initiated C-EEG after LS confirmation) groups. Additionally, we compared LS clinical characteristics and severity between severe and non-severe groups for 15 patients (baseline Pediatric Cerebral Performance Category Scale score <3).
Results
LS was detected in 17 of 28 patients. The earliest and latest LS detection dates were 2 and 11 days, respectively, and the longest LS duration was 7 days (median, 0.6 days). Regarding neurological sequelae, the LS duration was markedly longer in the severe group than that in the non-severe group during the distant period. However, LS severity was not associated with neurological sequelae.
Conclusion
This study highlights the importance of C-EEG as it could aid in the early detection of LS. Neurological sequelae correlated with LS duration but not severity.
背景:急性脑病伴双相发作和晚期弥散减少(AESD)会在早期发作(ES)后3-7天引起聚集性发作(晚期发作;LS);然而,很少有报道提供连续脑电图(C-EEG)监测的详细信息。本研究旨在使用 C-EEG 评估 LS 的初始/最后检测日期,并确定 LS 的脑电图特征是否与神经系统后遗症相关:我们分析了 2015 年至 2020 年期间接受 C-EEG 监测的 28 例确诊为 AESD 的患者。多名儿科神经学家和癫痫专家对 LS 的检测时间、持续时间和严重程度进行了评估。根据评估数据,我们比较了 ESEEG+LS 组(ES 后立即启动 C-EEG)和 LSEEG+LS 组(LS 确认后启动 C-EEG)的临床特征和 LS 引发的神经系统后遗症。此外,我们还比较了 15 名患者(基线小儿脑功能分类量表评分结果)的重度和非重度组 LS 临床特征和严重程度:28 例患者中有 17 例检测出 LS。最早和最晚发现 LS 的日期分别为 2 天和 11 天,最长的 LS 持续时间为 7 天(中位数为 0.6 天)。在神经系统后遗症方面,严重组的 LS 持续时间明显长于远期的非严重组。然而,LS严重程度与神经系统后遗症无关:本研究强调了 C-EEG 的重要性,因为它有助于早期发现 LS。神经系统后遗症与 LS 持续时间相关,但与严重程度无关。
{"title":"Evaluating the late seizures of acute encephalopathy with biphasic seizures and late reduced diffusion via monitoring using continuous electroencephalogram","authors":"Naohiro Yamamoto , Ichiro Kuki , Naoki Yamada , Shizuka Nagase-Oikawa , Masataka Fukuoka , Kim Kiyohiro , Takeshi Inoue , Megumi Nukui , Junichi Ishikawa , Kiyoko Amo , Masao Togawa , Yasunori Otsuka , Shin Okazaki","doi":"10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2024.107483","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2024.107483","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Acute encephalopathy with biphasic seizures and late reduced diffusion (AESD) causes clustered seizures (late seizures; LS) 3–7 days after early seizure (ES); however, few reports provide continuous electroencephalogram (C-EEG) monitoring details. This study aimed to evaluate the initial/last detection date of LS using C-EEG and determine whether LS EEG features correlate with neurological sequelae.</div></div><div><h3>Materials and methods</h3><div>We analyzed 28 patients diagnosed with AESD who underwent C-EEG monitoring between 2015 and 2020. Multiple pediatric neurologists and epileptologists evaluated the LS detection timing, duration, and severity. Based on the evaluated data, we compared the clinical characteristics and LS-induced neurological sequelae between the ESEEG+LS (initiated C-EEG immediately after ES) and LSEEG+LS (initiated C-EEG after LS confirmation) groups. Additionally, we compared LS clinical characteristics and severity between severe and non-severe groups for 15 patients (baseline Pediatric Cerebral Performance Category Scale score <3).</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>LS was detected in 17 of 28 patients. The earliest and latest LS detection dates were 2 and 11 days, respectively, and the longest LS duration was 7 days (median, 0.6 days). Regarding neurological sequelae, the LS duration was markedly longer in the severe group than that in the non-severe group during the distant period. However, LS severity was not associated with neurological sequelae.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>This study highlights the importance of C-EEG as it could aid in the early detection of LS. Neurological sequelae correlated with LS duration but not severity.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11914,"journal":{"name":"Epilepsy Research","volume":"209 ","pages":"Article 107483"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2024-11-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142695421","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-11-10DOI: 10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2024.107477
Ashley M. Howell, Shelly Wang, John Ragheb, Julia Decker, Erik C. Brown
The Hemispherectomy Outcome Prediction Scale (HOPS) was developed to aid both clinicians and patients in determining the chance of success after hemispheric surgery for medically refractory epilepsy. The original study generating HOPS had a multi-institutional, large cohort format yielding near perfect patient stratification. Evidence suggests that methodologies utilized to create such predictive models, including cross-validation as well as stratification utilizing the same data employed for model generation, may be at risk of an undesirable modeling phenomenon known as overfitting. We posed the question of whether overfitting may be influencing HOPS results and aimed for preliminary evidence of external validation with parameters from patients at our institution not included in the original HOPS study. We found HOPS to stratify our limited post-operative cohort adequately. However, the likelihood of complete seizure freedom among the patients predicted by HOPS to be at greatest chance of success was ∼75 %, about 20 points lower than in the original HOPS cohort. This reduction in absolute chance of success predicted by HOPS may represent some degree of overfitting. It will be informative to aim for external validation of HOPS utilizing patient cohorts entirely separate from those used for model generation. External validation of HOPS and similar models could optimize realistic prediction of success after intervention.
{"title":"Validation of hemispherectomy outcome prediction scale in treatment of medically intractable epilepsy","authors":"Ashley M. Howell, Shelly Wang, John Ragheb, Julia Decker, Erik C. Brown","doi":"10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2024.107477","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2024.107477","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Hemispherectomy Outcome Prediction Scale (HOPS) was developed to aid both clinicians and patients in determining the chance of success after hemispheric surgery for medically refractory epilepsy. The original study generating HOPS had a multi-institutional, large cohort format yielding near perfect patient stratification. Evidence suggests that methodologies utilized to create such predictive models, including cross-validation as well as stratification utilizing the same data employed for model generation, may be at risk of an undesirable modeling phenomenon known as overfitting. We posed the question of whether overfitting may be influencing HOPS results and aimed for preliminary evidence of external validation with parameters from patients at our institution not included in the original HOPS study. We found HOPS to stratify our limited post-operative cohort adequately. However, the likelihood of complete seizure freedom among the patients predicted by HOPS to be at greatest chance of success was ∼75 %, about 20 points lower than in the original HOPS cohort. This reduction in absolute chance of success predicted by HOPS may represent some degree of overfitting. It will be informative to aim for external validation of HOPS utilizing patient cohorts entirely separate from those used for model generation. External validation of HOPS and similar models could optimize realistic prediction of success after intervention.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11914,"journal":{"name":"Epilepsy Research","volume":"208 ","pages":"Article 107477"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2024-11-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142644216","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-11-08DOI: 10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2024.107478
Raquel Samões , Ana Cavalheiro , Cristina Santos , Joana Lopes , Catarina Teixeira , Maria Manuel Tavares , Cláudia Carvalho , Carolina Lemos , Paulo Pinho e Costa , Sara Cavaco , João Chaves , Bárbara Leal
Background
Accurate predictors of response to modified Atkins diet (MAD) are needed. MicroRNAs are potential biomarkers in epilepsy. This study aimed to explore the value of circulating miR-146a, miR-155, miR-22, miR-21 and miR-134 levels in predicting response to MAD.
Methods
Patients who completed 3 months of MAD were selected from a prospective cohort of adults with DRE followed in a specialized MAD outpatient clinic. Patients were classified as responders if any reduction in seizure frequency at follow-up, calculated through seizure-calendars). The >50 % seizure reduction cut-off was also explored. Qualitative benefits in seizures and cognition were analysed. Blood samples were collected prior to initiate MAD and microRNAs were quantified by qRT-PCR.
Results
Thirty-nine patients were included (56 %males, mean age=33.1±8.5yo, 62 %focal epilepsies, 59 %structural aetiology): 20(51 %) were responders [mean reduction in seizure frequency=54 %(17–100 %); 10 had ≥50 % reduction]; 25(64 %) reported qualitative benefit in seizures and 21(54 %) reported cognitive benefits. At pre-treatment baseline, a panel combining serum levels of all studied microRNAs predicted seizure reduction (AUC=0.839, p<0.0001), qualitative benefit in seizures (AUC=0.683, p=0.048) and in cognition (AUC=0.751, p<0.01) at 3months. miR-146a was the only significant microRNA when evaluated in isolation. There was no statistical correlation in the biomarkers when a ≥50 % seizure reduction was compared to <50 %.
Conclusions
A panel combining pre-treatment serum levels of miR-146a, miR-155, miR-134, miR-21 and miR-22 predicted any reduction in seizures with MAD in adults with DRE at 3months. This panel may be a promising biomarker and a useful tool in the selection of patients.
{"title":"MicroRNAs as potential biomarkers of response to modified Atkins diet in treatment of adults with drug-resistant epilepsy: A proof-of-concept study","authors":"Raquel Samões , Ana Cavalheiro , Cristina Santos , Joana Lopes , Catarina Teixeira , Maria Manuel Tavares , Cláudia Carvalho , Carolina Lemos , Paulo Pinho e Costa , Sara Cavaco , João Chaves , Bárbara Leal","doi":"10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2024.107478","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2024.107478","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Accurate predictors of response to modified Atkins diet (MAD) are needed. MicroRNAs are potential biomarkers in epilepsy. This study aimed to explore the value of circulating miR-146a, miR-155, miR-22, miR-21 and miR-134 levels in predicting response to MAD.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Patients who completed 3 months of MAD were selected from a prospective cohort of adults with DRE followed in a specialized MAD outpatient clinic. Patients were classified as responders if any reduction in seizure frequency at follow-up, calculated through seizure-calendars). The >50 % seizure reduction cut-off was also explored. Qualitative benefits in seizures and cognition were analysed. Blood samples were collected prior to initiate MAD and microRNAs were quantified by qRT-PCR.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Thirty-nine patients were included (56 %males, mean age=33.1±8.5yo, 62 %focal epilepsies, 59 %structural aetiology): 20(51 %) were responders [mean reduction in seizure frequency=54 %(17–100 %); 10 had ≥50 % reduction]; 25(64 %) reported qualitative benefit in seizures and 21(54 %) reported cognitive benefits. At pre-treatment baseline, a panel combining serum levels of all studied microRNAs predicted seizure reduction (AUC=0.839, p<0.0001), qualitative benefit in seizures (AUC=0.683, p=0.048) and in cognition (AUC=0.751, p<0.01) at 3months. miR-146a was the only significant microRNA when evaluated in isolation. There was no statistical correlation in the biomarkers when a ≥50 % seizure reduction was compared to <50 %.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>A panel combining pre-treatment serum levels of miR-146a, miR-155, miR-134, miR-21 and miR-22 predicted any reduction in seizures with MAD in adults with DRE at 3months. This panel may be a promising biomarker and a useful tool in the selection of patients.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11914,"journal":{"name":"Epilepsy Research","volume":"208 ","pages":"Article 107478"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2024-11-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142616803","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-11-08DOI: 10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2024.107474
Chi-Yuan Chang , Boyu Zhang , Robert Moss , Rosalind Picard , M. Brandon Westover , Daniel Goldenholz
Background
This study aims to illustrate the connection between seizure frequency (SF) and performance metrics in seizure forecasting, and to compare the effectiveness of a moving average (MA) model versus the commonly used permutation benchmark.
Methods
Metrics of calibration and discrimination were computed for each dataset, comparing MA and permutation performance across SF values. Three datasets were used: (1) self-reported seizure diaries from 3994 Seizure Tracker patients, (2) automatically detected and sometimes manually reported or edited generalized tonic-clonic seizures from 2350 Empatica Embrace 2 and Mate App users, and (3) simulated datasets with varying SFs.
Results
Most metrics were found to depend on SF. The MA model outperformed or matched the permutation model in all cases. These more advanced metrics show that comparison to permutation will falsely elevate poor forecasting models.
Conclusions
The findings highlight SF's role in seizure forecasting accuracy and the MA model's suitability as a benchmark. This study underscores the need for considering patient SF in forecasting studies and suggests the MA model may provide a better standard for evaluating future seizure forecasting models.
背景:本研究旨在说明癫痫发作频率(SF)与癫痫发作预测中的性能指标之间的联系,并比较移动平均(MA)模型与常用的置换基准的有效性:方法:计算每个数据集的校准和判别指标,比较不同 SF 值的移动平均模型和置换模型的性能。使用了三个数据集:(1) 来自 3994 名 Seizure Tracker 患者的自我报告发作日记;(2) 来自 2350 名 Empatica Embrace 2 和 Mate App 用户的自动检测和有时手动报告或编辑的全身强直阵挛发作;(3) 具有不同 SF 的模拟数据集:结果:发现大多数指标取决于 SF。在所有情况下,MA 模型都优于或与 permutation 模型相当。这些更先进的指标表明,与置换模型进行比较会错误地抬高差劲的预测模型:研究结果强调了 SF 在癫痫发作预测准确性中的作用以及 MA 模型作为基准的适用性。这项研究强调了在预测研究中考虑患者 SF 的必要性,并建议 MA 模型可为评估未来的癫痫发作预测模型提供更好的标准。
{"title":"Necessary for seizure forecasting outcome metrics: Seizure frequency and benchmark model","authors":"Chi-Yuan Chang , Boyu Zhang , Robert Moss , Rosalind Picard , M. Brandon Westover , Daniel Goldenholz","doi":"10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2024.107474","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2024.107474","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>This study aims to illustrate the connection between seizure frequency (SF) and performance metrics in seizure forecasting, and to compare the effectiveness of a moving average (MA) model versus the commonly used permutation benchmark.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Metrics of calibration and discrimination were computed for each dataset, comparing MA and permutation performance across SF values. Three datasets were used: (1) self-reported seizure diaries from 3994 Seizure Tracker patients, (2) automatically detected and sometimes manually reported or edited generalized tonic-clonic seizures from 2350 Empatica Embrace 2 and Mate App users, and (3) simulated datasets with varying SFs.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Most metrics were found to depend on SF. The MA model outperformed or matched the permutation model in all cases. These more advanced metrics show that comparison to permutation will falsely elevate poor forecasting models.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>The findings highlight SF's role in seizure forecasting accuracy and the MA model's suitability as a benchmark. This study underscores the need for considering patient SF in forecasting studies and suggests the MA model may provide a better standard for evaluating future seizure forecasting models.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11914,"journal":{"name":"Epilepsy Research","volume":"208 ","pages":"Article 107474"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2024-11-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142616826","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-11-08DOI: 10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2024.107476
Fan Wu , Xinna Ji , Mengxiao Shen , Peidi Cheng , Yanyan Gao , Wanting Liu , Jinxiao Chen , Shuo Feng , Huanhuan Wu , Fei Di , Yunlin Li , Jianhua Wang , Xue Zhang , Qian Chen
Background
Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is a common neurocutaneous syndrome that predisposes patients to seizures. We aimed to estimate the prevalence, clinical characteristics and outcomes of seizures in NF1 patients, and analyze prognostic factors of seizures.
Methods
Systematic searches were conducted in the PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, Scopus, Cochrane Library, and grey literature databases from inception to April 2024. We identified observational studies that included NF1 patients with seizures. Clinical characteristics of seizures were summarized and meta-analyses of prevalence and outcomes were conducted. We assessed publication bias using funnel plots and conducted sensitivity analysis to assess stability and reliability. Individual patient data were analyzed to evaluate prognostic factors.
Results
Fourteen studies were identified from 1021 records. A total of 337 patients with seizures from 4946 NF1 patients were included. Meta-analysis indicated the overall prevalence of seizures in NF1 patients was 8.1 % (95 % CI= 5.9–10.3 %). The first seizure usually occurs in childhood, with a median age range of 3.5–12.0 years. Focal seizures (54.2 %) and generalized tonic-clonic seizures (16.8 %) were the most common types. The seizure freedom rate was 68.5 % (95 % CI= 57.5–79.5 %), mostly with one or two antiseizure medications. Cortical malformation/hippocampus sclerosis emerged as an independent risk factor for persistent seizures (OR=5.19, 95 %CI=1.27–21.18, P=0.02).
Conclusion
Though NF1 patients face a higher risk of seizures than the general population, the majority achieve seizure freedom. Patients with cortical malformation or hippocampus sclerosis were at a higher risk of persistent seizures.
{"title":"Prevalence, clinical characteristics and outcomes of seizures in neurofibromatosis type 1: A systematic review and single arm meta-analysis","authors":"Fan Wu , Xinna Ji , Mengxiao Shen , Peidi Cheng , Yanyan Gao , Wanting Liu , Jinxiao Chen , Shuo Feng , Huanhuan Wu , Fei Di , Yunlin Li , Jianhua Wang , Xue Zhang , Qian Chen","doi":"10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2024.107476","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2024.107476","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is a common neurocutaneous syndrome that predisposes patients to seizures. We aimed to estimate the prevalence, clinical characteristics and outcomes of seizures in NF1 patients, and analyze prognostic factors of seizures.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Systematic searches were conducted in the PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, Scopus, Cochrane Library, and grey literature databases from inception to April 2024. We identified observational studies that included NF1 patients with seizures. Clinical characteristics of seizures were summarized and meta-analyses of prevalence and outcomes were conducted. We assessed publication bias using funnel plots and conducted sensitivity analysis to assess stability and reliability. Individual patient data were analyzed to evaluate prognostic factors.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Fourteen studies were identified from 1021 records. A total of 337 patients with seizures from 4946 NF1 patients were included. Meta-analysis indicated the overall prevalence of seizures in NF1 patients was 8.1 % (95 % CI= 5.9–10.3 %). The first seizure usually occurs in childhood, with a median age range of 3.5–12.0 years. Focal seizures (54.2 %) and generalized tonic-clonic seizures (16.8 %) were the most common types. The seizure freedom rate was 68.5 % (95 % CI= 57.5–79.5 %), mostly with one or two antiseizure medications. Cortical malformation/hippocampus sclerosis emerged as an independent risk factor for persistent seizures (OR=5.19, 95 %CI=1.27–21.18, P=0.02).</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>Though NF1 patients face a higher risk of seizures than the general population, the majority achieve seizure freedom. Patients with cortical malformation or hippocampus sclerosis were at a higher risk of persistent seizures.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11914,"journal":{"name":"Epilepsy Research","volume":"208 ","pages":"Article 107476"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2024-11-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142616931","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-11-08DOI: 10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2024.107471
Deeksha Sharma , Sudhir Chandra Sarangi , Surabhi Sinha , Soumya Sucharita Pattnaik , Yajnaseni Dash , Aruna Nambirajan , Tapas Chandra Nag , Surender Singh , Matthew C. Walker
Objective
4-butylcyclohexane carboxylic acid (4-BCCA), a low-affinity inhibitor of AMPA receptors at the trans-membrane domain have been suggested as potential therapeutic option for epilepsy, but its potential impact on status epilepticus and disease-modification and neurodegeneration following status epilepticus have not been investigated.
Methods
This study established the effect of 4-BCCA along with standard antiseizure medications (ASMs) [valproate (VPA) and perampanel (PER)] in Li-pilocarpine induced status epilepticus rat model. We first established the effective dose of 4-BCCA in status epilepticus followed by an acute and long-term effect study. Assessments of neurobehaviour (by elevated plus maze and passive avoidance), neurodegeneration [by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and immunohistochemistry in hippocampal slices], total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and neuronal loss [by neuron specific enolase (NSE) in cerebral tissue] were performed.
Results
4-BCCA at 200 mg/kg. i.p. was found to be an effective dose and in comparison, to other ASMs it showed better seizure control in terms of latency and number of stage 3/4 seizures. PER group and 4-BCCA+PER showed better memory retention but without significant difference among the drug-treated groups. In TEM, 4-BCCA+PER and 4-BCCA+VPA group showed less nucleus and cytoplasmic changes. In immunohistochemistry 4-BCCA, PER and combination groups showed better neuronal viability. 4-BCCA+ PER showed higher TAC and lower NSE level.
Significance
4-BCCA alone and its combination with ASMs especially perampanel in status epilepticus model in rats showed better seizure control and neuroprotection.
{"title":"Effect of trans 4-butylcyclohexane carboxylic acid (4-BCCA) upon neurodegeneration, oxidative stress related to epileptogenesis in pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus","authors":"Deeksha Sharma , Sudhir Chandra Sarangi , Surabhi Sinha , Soumya Sucharita Pattnaik , Yajnaseni Dash , Aruna Nambirajan , Tapas Chandra Nag , Surender Singh , Matthew C. Walker","doi":"10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2024.107471","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2024.107471","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objective</h3><div>4-butylcyclohexane carboxylic acid (4-BCCA), a low-affinity inhibitor of AMPA receptors at the trans-membrane domain have been suggested as potential therapeutic option for epilepsy, but its potential impact on status epilepticus and disease-modification and neurodegeneration following status epilepticus have not been investigated.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>This study established the effect of 4-BCCA along with standard antiseizure medications (ASMs) [valproate (VPA) and perampanel (PER)] in Li-pilocarpine induced status epilepticus rat model. We first established the effective dose of 4-BCCA in status epilepticus followed by an acute and long-term effect study. Assessments of neurobehaviour (by elevated plus maze and passive avoidance), neurodegeneration [by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and immunohistochemistry in hippocampal slices], total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and neuronal loss [by neuron specific enolase (NSE) in cerebral tissue] were performed.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>4-BCCA at 200 mg/kg. i.p. was found to be an effective dose and in comparison, to other ASMs it showed better seizure control in terms of latency and number of stage 3/4 seizures. PER group and 4-BCCA+PER showed better memory retention but without significant difference among the drug-treated groups. In TEM, 4-BCCA+PER and 4-BCCA+VPA group showed less nucleus and cytoplasmic changes. In immunohistochemistry 4-BCCA, PER and combination groups showed better neuronal viability. 4-BCCA+ PER showed higher TAC and lower NSE level.</div></div><div><h3>Significance</h3><div>4-BCCA alone and its combination with ASMs especially perampanel in status epilepticus model in rats showed better seizure control and neuroprotection.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11914,"journal":{"name":"Epilepsy Research","volume":"209 ","pages":"Article 107471"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2024-11-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142700284","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-11-02DOI: 10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2024.107475
Xiang Ji , Yuanyuan Dang , Ming Song , Aijun Liu , Hulin Zhao , Tianzi Jiang
Background
Precisely localizing the seizure onset zone (SOZ) is critical for focal epilepsy surgery. Existing methods mainly focus on high-frequency activities in stereo-electroencephalography, but often fail when seizures are not driven by high-frequency activities. Recognized as biomarkers of epileptic seizures, ictal spikes in SOZ induce epileptiform discharges in other brain regions. Based on this understanding, we aim to develop a universal algorithm to localize SOZ and investigate how ictal spikes within the SOZ induce seizures.
Methods
We proposed a novel metric called standard deviation of spike amplitude (SDSA) and utilized channel-averaged SDSA to describe seizure processes and detect seizures. By integrating SDSA values in specific intervals, the score for each channel located within SOZ was calculated. Channels with high SOZ scores were clustered as SOZ. The localization accuracy was asserted using area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Further, we analyzed early ictal signals from SOZ channels and investigated factors influencing their duration to reveal the seizure inducing conditions.
Results
We analyzed data from 15 patients with focal epilepsy. The channel-averaged SDSA successfully detected all 28 seizures without false alarms. Using SDSA integration, we achieved precise SOZ localization with an average area under ROC curve (AUC) of 0.96, significantly outperforming previous methods based on high-frequency activities. Further, we discovered that energy of ictal spikes in SOZ was concentrated at a specific frequency distributed in [6, 12 Hz]. Additionally, we found that the higher the energy per second in this frequency band, the faster ictal spikes could induce seizures.
Conclusion
The SDSA metric offered precise SOZ localization with robustness and low computational cost, making it suitable for clinical practice. By studying the propagation patterns of ictal spikes between the SOZ and non-SOZ, we suggest that ictal spikes from SOZ need to accumulate energy at a specific central frequency to induce epileptic spikes in non-SOZ, which may have significant implications for understanding the seizure onset pattern.
{"title":"A universal method for seizure onset zone localization in focal epilepsy using standard deviation of spike amplitude","authors":"Xiang Ji , Yuanyuan Dang , Ming Song , Aijun Liu , Hulin Zhao , Tianzi Jiang","doi":"10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2024.107475","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2024.107475","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Precisely localizing the seizure onset zone (SOZ) is critical for focal epilepsy surgery. Existing methods mainly focus on high-frequency activities in stereo-electroencephalography, but often fail when seizures are not driven by high-frequency activities. Recognized as biomarkers of epileptic seizures, ictal spikes in SOZ induce epileptiform discharges in other brain regions. Based on this understanding, we aim to develop a universal algorithm to localize SOZ and investigate how ictal spikes within the SOZ induce seizures.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>We proposed a novel metric called standard deviation of spike amplitude (SDSA) and utilized channel-averaged SDSA to describe seizure processes and detect seizures. By integrating SDSA values in specific intervals, the score for each channel located within SOZ was calculated. Channels with high SOZ scores were clustered as SOZ. The localization accuracy was asserted using area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Further, we analyzed early ictal signals from SOZ channels and investigated factors influencing their duration to reveal the seizure inducing conditions.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>We analyzed data from 15 patients with focal epilepsy. The channel-averaged SDSA successfully detected all 28 seizures without false alarms. Using SDSA integration, we achieved precise SOZ localization with an average area under ROC curve (AUC) of 0.96, significantly outperforming previous methods based on high-frequency activities. Further, we discovered that energy of ictal spikes in SOZ was concentrated at a specific frequency distributed in [6, 12 Hz]. Additionally, we found that the higher the energy per second in this frequency band, the faster ictal spikes could induce seizures.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>The SDSA metric offered precise SOZ localization with robustness and low computational cost, making it suitable for clinical practice. By studying the propagation patterns of ictal spikes between the SOZ and non-SOZ, we suggest that ictal spikes from SOZ need to accumulate energy at a specific central frequency to induce epileptic spikes in non-SOZ, which may have significant implications for understanding the seizure onset pattern.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11914,"journal":{"name":"Epilepsy Research","volume":"208 ","pages":"Article 107475"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2024-11-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142593409","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}