An Evaluation of Whether Routine QTc Interval Screening Is Necessary Prior to Starting ADHD Medications: Experience from a Large Retrospective Study.

Background/objectives: Routine screening electrocardiograms (ECGs) prior to starting medications for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) remain controversial. This real-world study assessed corrected QT (QTc) interval data from pediatric patients who had a baseline ECG performed prior to initiating treatment with ADHD medications and ≥6 months of clinical follow-up.

Methods: A retrospective chart review of children aged 2-18 years diagnosed with ADHD with/without autism spectrum disorder (ASD) at child neurology clinics in Jordan (June 2019 and June 2021) was performed, and children were prescribed with ADHD medications to manage symptoms.

Atomoxetine Treatment of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms in 3-6-Year-Old Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Atomoxetine is indicated for the management of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children and adolescents aged 6 to 18 years. Few studies have assessed the safety and tolerability of atomoxetine in younger patients. This retrospective cohort study included 133 children aged 3-6 years who were diagnosed with ADHD comorbid with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Association between polymorphisms of the DBH and DAT1 genes and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children from Jordan.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common neuropsychiatric disorders in children. In this study, the association between 10-repeats in the DAT1 gene and the (GT)n repeat in the DBH gene and ADHD was examined in children from Jordan. In addition, the levels of dopamine-β-hydroxylase enzyme activity in the plasma of ADHD children were evaluated.

A homozygous mutation in human PRICKLE1 causes an autosomal-recessive progressive myoclonus epilepsy-ataxia syndrome.

Progressive myoclonus epilepsy (PME) is a syndrome characterized by myoclonic seizures (lightning-like jerks), generalized convulsive seizures, and varying degrees of neurological decline, especially ataxia and dementia. Previously, we characterized three pedigrees of individuals with PME and ataxia, where either clinical features or linkage mapping excluded known PME loci. This report identifies a mutation in PRICKLE1 (also known as RILP for REST/NRSF interacting LIM domain protein) in all three of these pedigrees.

Public knowledge and attitudes towards epilepsy in Jordan.

Background: Social acceptances of people with epilepsy very often constitute a considerable problem for patients and their family. Nationwide opinion polls on the public knowledge and attitudes towards epilepsy have been reported from several countries. The purpose of this study is to assess the knowledge and attitudes of the Jordanian public towards epilepsy, which have not been verified before.

A distinct autosomal recessive ataxia maps to chromosome 12 in an inbred family from Jordan.

Autosomal recessive ataxias are a heterogeneous group of rare disorders characterized by early onset ataxia associated with neurologic, ophthalmologic or systemic signs. The ataxias associated with myoclonus, epilepsy and progressive neurological degeneration are usually included with the progressive myoclonus epilepsies, one of which is Unverricht-Lundborg disease. We identified four siblings with ataxia, juvenile onset progressive action tremor and atonic seizures from a Jordanian family.

Effects of long-term use Topiramate on fertility and growth parameter in adult male rats.

Purpose: A case control study was conducted to assess the effects of long-term ingestion of Topiramate on fertility, body and reproductive organ weight and level of sex hormones in Sprague-Dawley male rats.

Methods: Ten adult male rats were exposed to Topiramate diets at a concentration of 100 mg /kg for 60 days. Another ten control male rats received vehicle (distilled water).

Guanosine 3`,5`-monophosphate is not a marker of the proepileptic activity of valproic acid in hippocampal brain tissues.

Objective: Guanosine 3`,5` monophosphate (cGMP) can be used as a marker of the epileptogenicity of proconvulsant drugs. As valproic acid (VPA), at certain concentrations, acts as a proconvulsant agent in hippocampal pyramidal neurons when tested in the veratridine model, this investigation was conducted to study the effect of proconvulsant concentrations of VPA on the basal level of cGMP in hippocampal tissue.

Methods: Experiments were performed using standard radioimmuonassay techniques in hippocampal tissues from rats.

New antiepileptic drugs. A clinical overview.

After a gap of approximately 20 years, a new generation of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) has recently been developed. More than 8 drugs have been licensed in at least one country during the 1990s. While lamotrigine, gabapentin, vigabatrin and oxcarbazepine are widely used in some countries, felbamate, topiramate, tiagabine, levetiracetam, and zonisamide are still used on a narrow scale.

Iron status: a possible risk factor for the first febrile seizure.

Purpose: We conducted a controlled study to investigate the relation of iron status and first febrile seizure (FFS).

Methods: Measures of iron sufficiency including hemoglobin concentration (HB), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), and plasma ferritin (PF) were prospectively measured in 75 children with FFS and compared with 75 controls matched for age and sex with febrile illnesses without convulsions.

Results: Mean ferritin level was significantly lower in cases with FFS (29.