Association of Polymorphisms rs3812718 and rs2298771 with Epilepsy.

Epilepsy is a brain disease with both environmental and genetic inputs. Ion channel dysfunction seems to be of great significance for abnormal neuronal behavior during epileptic seizures. Within neurons, the voltage-gated sodium channels are crucial proteins contributing to the initiation and propagation of action potentials.

Circulating miR-146a and miR-134 in predicting drug-resistant epilepsy in patients with focal impaired awareness seizures.

Objective: Epilepsy is one of the most prevalent neurologic disorders, causing serious psychological problems and reducing quality of life. Although 20 different antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), 30% of patients have drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE). Considering the role of miR-146a and miR-134 in neuroinflammation and dendritic functionality, respectively, the aim of this study was the clinical evaluation of circulating miR-146a and miR-134 as novel noninvasive molecular markers for the prognosis of refractory epilepsy.

Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic modeling of levetiracetam: investigation of factors affecting the clinical outcome.

This study aimed to evaluate the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of oral levetiracetam therapy in drug refractory adult epileptic outpatients, as well as factors affecting them. Concentration-time data were collected at steady state, while seizure recurrence was monitored for 13 months. Non-linear mixed effects modeling was applied, and covariates assessed included weight, height, age, daily dose and creatinine clearance.

Epidemiology of First Epileptic Seizures in the Northern Aegean Island of Lesvos, Greece.

We aimed at establishing the epidemiologic profile of first epileptic seizures (FES) in the Greek island of Lesvos. During a 1-year period (01/06/2010 to 31/05/2011), cases of FES admitted to the Lesvos General Hospital/addressed by general practitioners/private neurologists were prospectively identified. A total of 45 cases (30 males and 15 females; mean age ± SD of 59.

Verbal and Figural Fluency in Temporal Lobe Epilepsy: Does Hippocampal Sclerosis Affect Performance?

Background And Objectives: Clinicians commonly use verbal and nonverbal measures to test fluency in patients with epilepsy, either during routine cognitive assessment or as part of pre- and postsurgical evaluation. We hypothesized that patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) with hippocampal sclerosis would perform worse than patients with lateral TLE in both verbal and design fluency.

Methods: We assessed semantic, phonemic, and nonverbal fluency in 49 patients with TLE: 31 with lateral TLE and 18 with mesial TLE plus hippocampal sclerosis.

Potential implications of Luria's work for the neuropsychology of epilepsy and epilepsy surgery: A perspective for re-examination.

The pioneeristic work of Alexander Romanovic Luria into the field of human neuropsychology offered eminent contributions to clinical praxis by providing theory guided methods and instruments for the study of higher cortical functions. However, lots of this knowledge corpus either remains untranslated and thus inaccessible, or in some cases selectively overlooked by academic authorities and consequently not passed to the future generations of experts. Although Luria was not exclusively devoted to the study of epilepsy, his theories and clinical approaches actually penetrate the whole neuropathology spectrum.

The challenges that parents of children with epilepsy face: A qualitative study.

Objective: This qualitative study explored the challenges that Greek parents/caregivers of children with controlled epilepsy (CwE) face regarding the disorder.

Methods: Interviews were conducted based on open-ended questions guided by a review of the literature. A total of 91 parents/caregivers were recruited by neurologists at the neurology clinics of two Athens public hospitals.

Brand-to-generic levetiracetam switch in patients with epilepsy in a routine clinical setting.

Purpose: The therapeutic equivalence of generic and brand antiepileptic drugs, based on studies performed on healthy volunteers, has been questioned. We compare, in a routine clinical setting, brand versus generic levetiracetam (LEV) bioequivalence in patients with epilepsy and also the clinical efficacy and tolerability of the substitution.

Methods: A prospective, open-label, non-randomized, steady-state, multiple-dose, bioequivalence study was conducted in 12 patients with epilepsy (5 females), with a mean age of 38.

Oromandibular Dystonia: A Case Report of the Lateral Pterygoid Muscle Involvement and Treatment with Botulinum Toxin A.

The objective of the present case report is to punctuate the importance of individualized therapy procedures and the accurate diagnosis of the muscles involved in oromandibular dystonia and underline the role of electromyography (EMG). We report a woman who presented sustained jaw movement towards the left, severe difficulty in jaw opening and jaw protrusion. The patient was treated with injections of botulinum A toxin in lateral pterygoid, masseter, platysma, sternoclidomastoid, temporalis muscles with EMG guidance.

Cerebrospinal fluid analysis after unprovoked first seizure.

The aim of this study was to determine cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) characteristics after an unprovoked first seizure (UFS). We reviewed the medical records of 71 patients with UFS who underwent lumbar puncture, and examined the CSF parameters. Each CSF parameter was evaluated separately for potential correlations with the other study variables.

Teachers' knowledge about epilepsy in Greece: Information sources and attitudes towards children with epilepsy during school time.

Aim: The aim of this study was to explore the sources of information for the educators in Greek primary and secondary schools with regard to epilepsy, first aid to seizures, and pupils' health conditions.

Method: A semistructured anonymous 52-item questionnaire was sent to 100 public primary and secondary Greek schools from all districts. Two thousand thirty-seven teachers were approached; 446 questionnaires returned.

Simple Partial Status Epilepticus Manifested as Homonymous Hemianopsia: A Rare Intracranial Recording.

A 30-year-old woman with intractable seizures evaluated as surgical candidate. During presurgical evaluation an invasive electroencephalogram was recommended to define the location and extent of epileptogenic zone and relationship to epileptogenic lesion. On third monitoring night the patient complained of persistent homonymous hemianopsia following a habitual seizure.

Preoperative neuropsychological presentation of patients with refractory frontal lobe epilepsy.

Background: This study investigated whether certain cognitive deficits are associated with frontal lobe epilepsy (FLE) aiming to contribute with localization data to the preoperative assessment of epilepsy surgery candidates.

Methods: We evaluated 34 patients with refractory FLE, 37 patients with refractory medial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE), and 22 healthy individuals in attention, psychomotor speed, motor function, verbal memory span, verbal fluency, response inhibition/interference, concept formation and set shifting, anticipation and planning, global memory.

Results: Neuropsychological performances of FLE and MTLE were similar, with the only exception the WCST-number of categories index, measuring mental flexibility, in which MTLE patients performed significantly worse than FLE patients.

Vertebrobasilar Dolichoectasia Induced Hydrocephalus: the Water-Hammer Effect.

Vertebrobasilar dolichoectasia is a clinical entity associated rarely with obstructive hydrocephalus. We present a 48-year old male with a profound dilatation of the ventricular system due to a dolichoectatic basilar artery, as appeared in imaging studies. The patient suffered from longstanding hydrocephalus and presenile dementia.

Disobedience and driving in patients with epilepsy in Greece.

Objective: Regulations and guidelines regarding driving privileges of patients with epilepsy vary greatly worldwide. The aim of our study was twofold: firstly, to evaluate disobedient drivers in Greece and to elucidate their awareness of the law, emotional responses, and seizure profile and, secondly, to identify determinants of disobedience regarding driving among patients with epilepsy.

Methods: All consecutive patients with epilepsy who visited the epilepsy outpatient clinic of two tertiary epilepsy centers were invited to participate in the study.

Intrathecal baclofen therapy for the symptomatic treatment of hereditary spastic paraplegia.

Objective: We study the effectiveness and safety of intrathecal baclofen therapy for the treatment of spasticity and gait improvement in patients suffering from hereditary spastic paraplegia.

Methods: Sixteen patients diagnosed with hereditary spastic paraplegia (mean age: 43 years) were enrolled in this open prospective study. The main inclusion criteria were: spastic paraparesis with a negative laboratory and imaging work-up (apart from spinal cord atrophy), unsuccessful trial of oral anti-spasticity drugs.

Intrathecal baclofen improves psychiatric symptoms in spasticity patients.

Symptoms of psychological distress are relatively common in spasticity patients as a result either of the primary central nervous system insult or as a reaction to the ensuing impairment. Intrathecal baclofen (ITB) is an established treatment for the spasticity with an unknown effect on the psychiatric symptoms. In this study, we evaluate the role of ITB in the amelioration of psychological distress symptoms in 15 patients who were not mentally disabled or psychotic.

Determinants of depression among patients with epilepsy in Athens, Greece.

Objective: Depression is common among patients with epilepsy. The aim of our study was twofold: to estimate the prevalence of a major depressive episode and to identify its determinants among patients with epilepsy treated in the largest Greek hospital in Athens.

Methods: All consecutive patients with epilepsy that visited the epilepsy outpatient clinic of Evangelismos General Hospital were invited to participate in the study.

Dynamics of regional brain activity in epilepsy: a cross-disciplinary study on both intracranial and scalp-recorded epileptic seizures.

Objective: Recent cross-disciplinary literature suggests a dynamical analogy between earthquakes and epileptic seizures. This study extends the focus of inquiry for the applicability of models for earthquake dynamics to examine both scalp-recorded and intracranial electroencephalogram recordings related to epileptic seizures.

Approach: First, we provide an updated definition of the electric event in terms of magnitude and we focus on the applicability of (i) a model for earthquake dynamics, rooted in a nonextensive Tsallis framework, (ii) the traditional Gutenberg and Richter law and (iii) an alternative method for the magnitude-frequency relation for earthquakes.

Validation of the Greek version of the Neurological Disorders Depression Inventory for Epilepsy (NDDI-E).

The Neurological Disorders Depression Inventory for Epilepsy (NDDI-E) was developed as a screening tool for symptoms of major depressive episodes in people with epilepsy. Our study describes the development, validation, and psychometric properties of the Greek version of the NDDI-E. A consecutive sample of 101 patients with epilepsy, eligible to participate in the study, has been assessed using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview version 5.

Extensive bilateral intracranial calcifications: a case of iatrogenic hypoparathyroidism.

This is a case of a 69-year-old male patient with long-standing iatrogenic hypoparathyroidism after total thyroidectomy. The clinical evaluation revealed mild neurological symptoms and excessive brain calcinosis. Intracranial calcification that affects structures other than the basal ganglia and the cerebellum is a rare manifestation of postoperative hypoparathyroidism.