The ketogenic diet for Dravet syndrome: A multicenter retrospective study.

Objective: The ketogenic diet (KD) is one of the main treatments for drug-resistant epilepsy. However, there have been few multicenter reports on the use of the KD for the treatment of Dravet syndrome (DS). The aim of this study was to analyze the efficacy and safety of this approach based on a large number of multicenter cases.

Prenatal, perinatal, and postnatal factors associated with autism spectrum disorder cases in Xuzhou, China.

Background: The aim of the present study was to explore the prenatal, perinatal, and postnatal risk factors in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) from Xuzhou, China by comparing them with healthy children.

Methods: Children with ASD who received rehabilitation training at special education schools and rehabilitation institutions in Xuzhou were selected as the ASD group, and healthy children during the same period were selected as the healthy non-ASD group. A questionnaire based on the possible causes and susceptibility factors of ASD in children was issued and given to all children in this study.

[Effect of extracts of Ginkgo biloba leaf on learning-memory ability and NMDA receptor 1 expression in the hippocampus in rats with kindling-induced epilepsy].

Objective: To study the effect of extracts of Ginkgo biloba leaf (EGb), a catalyzer of central nervous system, on learning-memory ability and possible mechanism in rats with kindling-induced epilepsy.

Methods: Forty postnatal day 21 (P21) and 40 postnatal day 35 (P35) Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly respectively assigned to five groups: normal sodium (NS) control, kindling epilepsy model, high, middle and low dosage of EGb-treated kindling epilepsy. The kindling epilepsy model was established by an intraperitoneal injection of pentetrazole (PTZ).

[Neurogenesis of hippocampus following pentylenetrazol-induced status epilepticus in developing rats and the effect of MK-801 on neurogenesis].

Objective: This study aimed to determine whether pentylenetetrazol-induced status epilepticus (SE) can induce dentate granule cell neurogenesis in the developing rat and the effect of MK-801, a noncompetitive antagonism of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR), on neurogenesis.

Methods: Two hundred and sixteen postnatal days 7, 14, 21 or 28 Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were involved in this study. Each age group consisted of 54 rats which were randomly assigned into a SE group, a SE + MK-801 group and a Normal control group (n=18 each).