Acta Epileptologica
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Published By Springer Science And Business Media LLC

2524-4434

2022 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dabilgou Alfred Anselme ◽  
Dravé Alassane ◽  
Kyelem Julie Marie Adeline ◽  
Eklou Lorrainda Emérance ◽  
Napon Christian ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Epilepsy is the most common neurological disease in the world. The objective of the study was to determine the knowledge, attitude and practice of driver’s license applicants and instructors in driving schools on epilepsy in Burkina Faso. Method This cross-sectional study was carried out from January 7th to March 7th 2020 in 21 driving schools approved by the National Driver License Authority in the city of Ouagadougou. Fifteen driver applicants and one instructor were selected in each driving school, resulting in a total of 315 driver applicants and 21 instructors in the study. Results The mean age of participants was 29.91 ± 7.63 years. One of the driver applicants included in the study was once experienced a seizure attack. All respondents had heard of epilepsy. The main source of epilepsy information was from family (42.5%). Two hundred and twenty-six respondents (67.3%) had witnessed an epileptic seizure. A majority of participants (55.9%) believed that persons with epilepsy be not permitted to drive a motor vehicle. About 44.0% of participants thought that people with epilepsy should be permitted to drive under certain conditions. One hundred and four (30.9%) participants suggested that people with epilepsy be permitted to drive a light vehicle. One hundred and forty-one (42.0%) suggest to withdraw the driving license for lifetime if a driver had an epileptic seizure attack; while twenty-three (6.8%) participants recommended suspension of driver license for 12 months. Conclusion Efforts should be made to improve awareness and education among license applicants and instructors on the driving by people with epilepsy.


2022 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pan Gong ◽  
Xianru Jiao ◽  
Zhixian Yang

Abstract Background Landau-Kleffner syndrome (LKS) is an acquired aphasia and electroencephalogram (EEG) abnormalities mainly in temporoparietal areas. SLC26A4 mutations can cause hearing loss associated with enlarged vestibular aqueduct (EVA). Case presentations We report a case of LKS in a 5-year-old boy with non-syndromic EVA due to homozygous mutations of c.919-2A>G (IVS7-2A>G) in SLC26A4. He had normal language development before 2 years old. At the age of 2.5 years, he was admitted to the hospital due to remarkable language delay, and diagnosed with hearing loss with EVA. The seizures started at 4.4 years of age and EEG recording showed electrical status epilepticus during sleep (ESES) with a posterior-temporal predominance. He received cochlear implantation in the right ear at 4.7 years of age, which improved his hearing and language skills. The nocturnal focal motor seizures recurred at 4.9 years of age. Then a remarkable inability to respond to calls and reduction in spontaneous speech were noticed. He was treated with methylprednisolone at 5 years old, which controlled the seizures, suppressed ESES, and remarkably improved the language ability. The absence of seizures maintained until the last follow-up at 5.3 years of age, with further improvements in EEG recording and language ability. Conclusions The co-existence of LKS and hearing loss caused by SLC26A4 mutations increases the difficulty of LKS diagnosis, especially in the presence of hearing loss and impaired language skills. EEG discharges predominantly in temporoparietal areas, the occurrence of ESES, and language improvement after antiepileptic medications are potential indicators for LKS diagnosis.


2022 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiayu Chen ◽  
Haijiao Ye ◽  
Jie Zhang ◽  
Aihong Li ◽  
Yaohui Ni

AbstractStroke is the most frequent cause of secondary epilepsy in the elderly. The incidence of cerebral stroke is increasing with the extension of life expectancy, and the prevalence of post-stroke epilepsy (PSE) is rising. There are various seizure types after stroke, and the occurrence of epilepsy is closely related to the type and location of stroke. Moreover, the clinical treatment of post-stroke epilepsy is difficult, which increases the risk of disability and death, and affects the prognosis and quality of life of patients. Now seizure and epilepsy after stroke is more and more get the attention of the medical profession, has been more and more researchers have devoted to seizures after stroke and PSE clinical and basic research, and hope to get a scientific and unified guideline, to give timely and effective treatment, but the exact pathophysiologic mechanism has not yet formed a unified conclusion. It has been found that ion channels, neurotransmitters, proliferation of glial cells, genetics and other factors are involved in the occurrence and development of PSE. In this review, we discuss the pathogenesis of early-onset epileptic seizures and late-onset epilepsy after stroke, in order to provide a basis for clinicians to understand the disease, and expect to provide ideas for future exploration.


2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lu Lu ◽  
Weixi Xiong ◽  
Yingying Zhang ◽  
Yingfeng Xiao ◽  
Dong Zhou

AbstractPosterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) is a rare clinical disease that refers to the subcortical vasogenic edema involving bilateral parieto-occipital regions, with a usually reversible syndrome when causes are eliminated or controlled. Hypertension or blood pressure fluctuations are most common causes of PRES, but other contributors like chemotherapy and autoimmune disorders have also been reported. PRES has rapid onset of symptoms. Therefore, it is of major importance to determine whether blood pressure management plays an important role in prognosis. We presented two PRES patients who developed non-convulsive seizure but had normal baseline blood pressure at the time of presence of cause. The diagnosis of PRES was made by neurologists. The patients had no history of seizure or hypertension, but during the disease course they presented with temporal elevation of blood pressure with different durations. The second patients without instant blood pressure control developed residual symptoms of seizure at 90- and 120-day follow-up. Although the exact pathophysiology of PRES remains to be fully understood, primary and secondary prolonged blood pressure fluctuations may be associated with the prognosis of this syndrome. Early blood pressure management would be critical to favorable outcome.


2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Qi Zhang ◽  
Wenjing Li ◽  
Enzhi Li ◽  
Xiao Yang ◽  
Nanya Hao ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The optimal management of epilepsy includes engaging patients through education on knowledge of the disease, its treatment and diet control. Methods This was a cross-sectional survey-based cohort study, aimed to investigate the awareness of epilepsy in Chinese patients and to understand their dietary habits. Participants were consecutively enrolled from epileptic patients treated in a single epilepsy center from October 1, 2019 to February 29, 2020. A self-reported questionnaire (Cronbach’s α = 0.758) consisting of 3 parts was sent to 407 patients with epilepsy. The questionnaire included items on demographic information, epilepsy features, awareness of epilepsy treatment and dietary habits. Results About half of the patients (53.8%, 219/407) thought epilepsy was curable and only 80% knew that the first choice of treatment is medication. While 58.6% of the patients with low educational level preferred the use of antiepileptic drugs (p = 0.014), 52.7% believed that the medication should not be stopped immediately after seizure control (p = 0.026), especially after surgery (40.5%, p = 0.011). Patients with lower household monthly incomes had less awareness of the use of antiepileptic drugs than patients with higher incomes: only 39.2 and 49.8% of patients with lower incomes thought that the drugs could be stopped after epilepsy surgery or seizure control, respectively, compared to 51.6 and 66.1% with higher incomes. Alcohol (86.2%), caffeine (56.8%) and strong tea (49.1%) were top three foods considered by the patients to be avoided to prevent seizures. Approximately 30.2% of patients identified at least one food that made them susceptible to seizures. Conclusions Patient education on epilepsy, antiepileptic drugs and diet for management of seizures should be provided especially to patients with less education, lower income or inaccurate beliefs of epilepsy in Western China.


2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yueqian Sun ◽  
Guoping Ren ◽  
Jiechuan Ren ◽  
Qun Wang

AbstractHigh-frequency oscillations (HFOs) in the electroencephalography (EEG) have been extensively investigated as a potential biomarker of epileptogenic zones. The understanding of the role of HFOs in epilepsy has been advanced considerably over the past decade, and the use of scalp EEG facilitates recordings of HFOs. HFOs were initially applied in large scale in epilepsy surgery and are now being utilized in other applications. In this review, we summarize applications of HFOs in 3 subtopics: (1) HFOs as biomarkers to evaluate epilepsy treatment outcome; (2) HFOs as biomarkers to measure seizure propensity; (3) HFOs as biomarkers to reflect the pathological severity of epilepsy. Nevertheless, knowledge regarding the above clinical applications of HFOs remains limited at present. Further validation through prospective studies is required for its reliable application in the clinical management of individual epileptic patients.


2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wanlin Lai ◽  
Shixu He ◽  
Dong Zhou ◽  
Lei Chen

AbstractGirls and women constitute nearly 50% of all epilepsy cases. Apart from the disease symptoms, epilepsy and antiseizure medications (ASMs) may also affect the reproductive function, pregnancy and even the health of their offspring. Therefore, it is very important to identify and summarize the problems and risks for women with epilepsy (WWE) of childbearing age, and offer internationally recognized methods through multidisciplinary collaboration. In this review, we summarize the reproduction-related problems with WWE and propose multidisciplinary management by epileptologists, gynecologists and obstetricians, as well as other experts, from preconception to delivery. Large, multicenter registries are needed to advance our knowledge on new ASMs and their effects on WWE and their offspring.


2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdelaati El Khiat ◽  
Najib Kissani ◽  
Abdellatif Abbaoui ◽  
Mohamed Chraa ◽  
Mohamed Loukid ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Epilepsy is a chronic, universal disorder with various etiologies and prognoses. It is still laden with myths in the majority of the Moroccan population. Despite the existence of well-established medicinal treatments and increasingly comprehensive care, access to antiepileptic care is still limited, especially for rural populations. We aim herein to identify the therapeutic itinerary of patients with epilepsy (or epileptic disorders) as well as the behaviour of patients and their families towards this disease in Marrakech and the surrounding region of Marrakech-Safi. Methods We carried out a retrospective study Questionnaire filled by 110 patients data was analysed with SPSS version 18. Results Our results showed that 69.96% of the patients believed in a supernatural origin of the disease and 76.4% attended for professional medical care after their first seizure. In addition, more than half of our patients (51.8%) consulted a religious leader for the initial consultation, 51.0% of whom were women and 49.0% were male. The low socioeconomic status of patients with epilepsy, 74.5% of whom were unemployed, impeded the effective management of this disease. Conclusions These results suggest that the management of patients with epilepsy (or epileptic disorders) in Africa, and particularly in Morocco requires, in addition to the reinforcement of human and material resources, an effort to educate and positively influence the family and the social environment as a whole.


2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rui Chen ◽  
Guofang Xue ◽  
Christian Hölscher

AbstractEpilepsy is a common disease  in the central nervous system. There is growing evidence that epilepsy is associated with glial cells, including astrocytes. Tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) is a “master regulator” of proinflammatory cytokine production and is secreted by microglia and astrocytes. TNFα secreted by microglia can activate astrocytes. Additionally, TNFα can regulate neuron activity and induce epilepsy by increasing the glutamate release, reducing the expression of γ-aminobutyric acid, inducing neuroinflammation and affecting the synaptic function in astrocytes. This review summarizes the signaling pathways and receptors of TNFα acting on astrocytes that are related to epilepsy and provides insights into the potential therapeutic strategies of epilepsy for clinical practice.


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