Epilepsy & Behavior : E&B

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to systematically review the published literature evaluating the association between physical activity and cognitive function in people with epilepsy (PWE). METHODS: A comprehensive search of PubMed, Cochrane, Embase, and PsychInfo was performed on June 20, 2022. Studies were excluded if they were not available in the English language, contained animal data only, did not include any original data, were not peer-reviewed, or did not include PWE as a discrete group...

Intensive Short-Term Psychodynamic Therapy (ISTDP) has demonstrated promising evidence for the treatment of Functional Neurological Disorders (FND) including functional seizures. This paper aimed to further examine the therapeutic effects of a 3-session course of this treatment focusing on its potential to maintain reduced healthcare utility within a group of patients with complex difficulties, across an extended time period, post-therapy. The original study followed a mixed methods case series design and recruited 18 patients from secondary adult mental health care and specialist neurology services...

PURPOSE: To quantify sponsor-reported shortages of oral antiseizure medications in Australia, estimate the number of patients impacted, and the association between shortages and brand or formulation switching, and changes in adherence. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study of sponsor-reported shortages (defined as where the supply of a medicine will not or will not be likely to meet the demand over a 6-month period) of antiseizure medications reported to the Medicine Shortages Reports Database (Therapeutic Goods Administration, Australia); cross-referencing shortages to the IQVIA-NostraData Dispensing Data (LRx) database, a deidentified, population-level dataset collecting longitudinal dispensation data on individual patients from ∼75% of Australian community pharmacy scripts...

Alterations to cardiac electrical conduction are some of the most frequently observed systemic complications of seizures, with autonomic dysregulation cited as the principal driver for these alterations. In this prospective study, we use 6-lead continuous ECG monitoring in hospitalized patients with epilepsy to trend heart rate patterns in the postictal period. A total of 117 seizures in 45 patients met the criteria for analysis. There was a postictal heart rate increase of 61% (n = 72 seizures), and a decline in heart rate (deceleration) following 38...

Anxiety and pain hypersensitivity are neurobehavioral comorbidities commonly reported by patients with epilepsies, and preclinical models are suitable to investigate the neurobiology of behavioral and neuropathological alterations associated with these epilepsy-related comorbidities. This work aimed to characterize endogenous alterations in nociceptive threshold and anxiety-like behaviors in the Wistar Audiogenic Rat (WAR) model of genetic epilepsy. We also assessed the effects of acute and chronic seizures on anxiety and nociception...

This is a review of my laboratory's interest in status epilepticus (SE), which spanned five decades. It started with a study of the role of brain mRNAs in memory, and with the use of electroconvulsive seizures to disrupt recently acquired memories. This led to biochemical studies of brain metabolism during seizures, and to the serendipitous development of the first model of self-sustaining SE. The profound inhibition of brain protein synthesis by seizures had implications for brain development, and we showed that severe seizures and SE in the absence of hypoxemia and other metabolic complications can disrupt brain and behavioral development, a concept that was not widely accepted at that time...

OBJECTIVE: Epidiolex® (CBD) is FDA-approved for seizures associated with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS), Dravet syndrome (DS), and tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC). Phase III studies suggest that certain adverse effects (AEs), possibly linked to pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) interactions may be therapy-limiting. We sought to identify these factors that contribute to treatment success and retention of therapy. METHODS: A single-center, retrospective review of patients with refractory epilepsy taking Epidiolex® was performed...

PURPOSE: Persons with epilepsy (PWE) report memory deficits as one of the most distressing aspects of their disorder. Recently, a long-term memory deficit known as Accelerated Long-Term Forgetting (ALF) has been described in PWE. ALF is characterized by the initial retention of learned information, followed by an accelerated rate of memory decay. However, the rate of ALF varies widely across literature and it is unclear how it impacts different memory retrieval types. The current study aimed to capture the time course of ALF on both free recall and recognition memory using a movie-based task in PWE...

OBJECTIVE: People with epilepsy have long reported reduced quality of life (QoL) compared to healthy peers. This initial study seeks to broaden our understanding of QoL in adults with epilepsy, by examining the adverse impact of body image dissatisfaction for the first time. This aim stems from the observation that both seizures and their medical treatment can cause unwanted changes to physical appearances, such as weight change, hirsutism, and acne. METHOD: Sixty-three adults with epilepsy and 48 age- and gender-matched healthy controls were recruited from a tertiary epilepsy program and targeted social media...

PURPOSE: To understand the experiences of bereaved relatives of individuals who passed due to sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) and to explore the impacts of death in their lives. METHODS: The principles of fundamental qualitative description informed all design decisions. Stratified purposeful sampling included 21 bereaved relatives (parent, sibling, or spouse/partner), aged at least 18 years, of persons who passed away because of SUDEP. In-depth one-to-one interviews were conducted...

BACKGROUND: Differences in sense of control, cognitive inhibition, and selective attention in pediatric functional seizures (FS) versus matched controls implicate these as potential novel treatment targets. Retraining and Control Therapy (ReACT), which targets these factors, has been shown in a randomized controlled trial to be effective in improving pediatric FS with 82% of patients having complete symptom remission at 60 days following treatment. However, post-intervention data on sense of control, cognitive inhibition, and selective attention are not yet available...

BACKGROUND: Epilepsy and sleep have a close, complex, and reciprocal relationship. Sleep may also be adversely affected by epilepsy and anti-seizure medication (ASM). This study sought to determine sleep-related problems before and after six months of treatment with ASMs follow-up in children with epilepsy, to reveal changes in sleep habits, and to determine the effect of ASMs on sleep in different types of epilepsy. METHODS: This is a prospective study that included 61 children, aged 4-18 years with newly diagnosed epilepsy, who regularly had follow-up checks and used ASM for six months, and completed the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ)...

INTRODUCTION: Discrimination and stigma associated with epilepsy in schools impact the academic and mental aptitude of children with epilepsy. Teachers pre-sensitized to seizures exhibit a positive attitude along with better knowledge about epilepsy. The aim was to assess the impact of an interactive one-day educational workshop regarding epilepsy on the prevalent knowledge, attitude, and practices toward epilepsy among school teachers. METHODS: Conducted in December 2021 in a tertiary care teaching hospital of rural background in Northern India, this cross-sectional study included school teachers from government schools of Faridkot district of Punjab...

OBJECTIVE: To construct a tool for non-experts to calculate the probability of epilepsy based on easily obtained clinical information combined with an artificial intelligence readout of the electroencephalogram (AI-EEG). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a chart review of 205 consecutive patients aged 18 years or older who underwent routine EEG. We created a point system to calculate the pre-EEG probability of epilepsy in a pilot study cohort. We also computed a post-test probability based on AI-EEG results...

OBJECTIVE: Self-management is an important strategy for helping people with epilepsy (PWE) control their seizures and improve their quality of life. To date, there are scarce standard measurement tools for assessing self-management practices. This study aimed to develop and validate a Thai version of the Epilepsy Self-Management Scale (Thai-ESMS) for Thai people with epilepsy. METHODS: The translation of the Thai-ESMS was created using the adaptation of Brislin's translation model...

Status epilepticus is one of the most frequent pediatric neurological emergencies. While etiology is often influencing the outcome, more easily modifiable risk factors of outcome include detection of prolonged convulsive seizures and status epilepticus and appropriately dosed and timely applied medication treatment. Unpredictability and delayed or incomplete treatment may at times lead to longer seizures, thereby affecting outcomes. Barriers in the care of acute seizures and status epilepticus include the identification of patients at greatest risk of convulsive status epilepticus, potential stigma, distrust, and uncertainties in acute seizure care, including caregivers, physicians, and patients...

OBJECTIVE: Refractory temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) with recurring seizures causing continuing pathological changes in neural reorganization. There is an incomplete understanding of how spatiotemporal electrophysiological characteristics changes during the development of TLE. Long-term multi-site epilepsy patients' data is hard to obtain. Thus, our study relied on animal models to reveal the changes in electrophysiological and epileptic network characteristics systematically. METHODS: Long-term local field potentials (LFPs) were recorded over a period of 1 to 4 months from 6 pilocarpine-treated TLE rats...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

OBJECTIVES: To highlight the importance of routine electroencephalogram (rEEG) in detecting non-convulsive status epilepticus (NCSE), describing the electroclinical spectrum and effect on outcome in critically ill patients with altered mental status (CIPAMS). METHODS: This retrospective study was conducted at King Fahd University Hospital. Clinical data and EEG recordings of CIPAMS to rule out NCSE were reviewed. All patients had at least 30 minutes of EEG recording...

INTRODUCTION: Caregivers of adults with epilepsy face unique challenges, yet most studies focus on the impact of epilepsy on those living with the condition, rather than the impact on caregivers. Our objective was to evaluate whether caregivers' pandemic-related changes and experiences - namely those related to their health, healthcare access, and well-being - were associated with their caregiving burden. METHODS: Caregivers of adults with epilepsy (n = 261) were recruited through Qualtrics Panels to participate in an online survey examining health, well-being, COVID-19 experiences, and caregiver burden from October-December, 2020...