Minimally Invasive Skin Transcriptome Extraction Using a Dermal Biomarker Patch.

Introduction: Advances in the scientific understanding of the skin and characteristic genomic dermal signatures continue to develop rapidly. Nonetheless, skin diagnosis remains predicated on a subjective visual examination, frequently followed by biopsy and histology. These procedures often are not sufficiently sensitive, and in the case of many inflammatory diseases, biopsies are not justified, creating a situation where high-quality samples can be difficult to obtain.

Spectrum of Ictal-Interictal Continuum: The Significance of 2HELPS2B Score and Background Suppression.

Purpose: The aims of this study were to identify (1) the spectrum of ictal-interictal continuum (IIC) using the two dimensions of 2HELPS2B score and background suppression and (2) the response to subsequent anti-seizure drugs depends on the spectrum of IIC.

Methods: The study prospectively enrolled 62 patients with IIC on EEG. The diagnosis of nonconvulsive status epilepticus was attempted with Salzburg criteria as well as clinical and neuroimaging data.

Alterations in the metabolic networks of temporal lobe epilepsy patients: A graph theoretical analysis using FDG-PET.

Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate changes in metabolic networks based on fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) in patients with drug-resistant temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) (with and without hippocampal sclerosis [HS]) when compared with healthy controls.

Methods: We retrospectively enrolled 30 patients with drug-resistant temporal lobe epilepsy (17 patients with HS and 13 patients without HS) and 39 healthy controls. All subjects underwent interictal FDG-PET scans, which were analyzed to obtain metabolic connectivity using graph theoretical analysis.

A case of a 'rude' but not to be missed manifestation of epilepsy: ictal swearing.

Swearing is described in various neurological conditions such as Tourette syndrome, Lesch-Nyhan syndrome and post stroke or encephalitis. However, swearing as an ictal manifestation or automatism has rarely been reported. We herein describe a case with swearing as a predominant manifestation in focal epilepsy.

Characteristics of Perfusion Computed Tomography Imaging in Patients with Seizures Mimicking Acute Stroke.

Introduction: Seizures as acute stroke mimics are a diagnostic challenge.

Objective: The aim of the study was to characterize the perfusion patterns on perfusion computed tomography (PCT) in patients with seizures masquerading as acute stroke.

Methods: We conducted a study on patients with acute seizures as stroke mimics.

Cognitive Intervention with Musical Stimuli Using Digital Devices on Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Pilot Study.

The effect of music therapy on cognitive function has been widely reported; however, its clinical implications remain controversial. Performing therapeutic musical activities in groups using individualized instruments can help overcome the issues of engagement and compliance. We aimed to evaluate the effect of a cognitive intervention with musical stimuli using digital devices on mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

Development of a predictive scale for cardioembolic stroke using extracted thrombi and angiographic findings.

We analyzed the histopathological findings of the clots obtained from patients with acute ischemic stroke by mechanical thrombectomy. We then developed a clinical scoring system for predicting pathogenic causes in patients with undetermined ischemic stroke using these histopathological and the angiographic findings during endovascular treatment. Only cases with the occlusion of the intracranial internal carotid artery or the proximal part of the middle cerebral artery were included in this study.

Predicting the antiepileptic drug response by brain connectivity in newly diagnosed focal epilepsy.

Objective: Growing evidence has suggested that epilepsy is a disease with alterations in brain connectivity. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the changes in brain connectivity can predict the response to an antiepileptic drug (AED) in patients with a newly diagnosed focal epilepsy of unknown etiology.

Methods: This observational study was independently performed at two tertiary hospitals (Group A and B).

A rare but treatable cause of recurrent chest pain - Ictal chest pain.

Background: Chest pain as the primary manifestation of epilepsy is extremely rare and has only been reported once to date.

Case Presentation: We herein describe a 47-year-old woman with recurrent chest pain for 3 years. The cause of her chest pain remained elusive despite extensive investigations including comprehensive cardiac work-up.

Thalamic nuclei volumes and network in juvenile myoclonic epilepsy.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the alterations of thalamic nuclei volumes and intrinsic thalamic networks in patients with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME) compared to healthy controls.

Methods: We enrolled 50 patients with JME and 42 healthy controls. We obtained structural volumes of the individual thalamic nuclei based on T1-weighted imaging and performed intrinsic thalamic network analysis using graph theoretical analysis.

Antiepileptic Drug Therapy in Patients with Drug-Resistant Epilepsy.

Antiepileptic drug (AED) therapy starts with an accurate diagnosis of epilepsy and is followed by sequential drug trials. Seizure freedom is largely achieved by the first two drug trials; thus, epilepsy that cannot be controlled after appropriately conducted trials of the first two drugs is defined as drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE). It is still unclear which mode of pharmacotherapy, among monotherapy and polytherapy, shows better outcomes in cases of DRE.

Sex-specific relationship of cardiometabolic syndrome with lower cortical thickness.

Objective: To investigate whether cardiometabolic factors were associated with age-related differences in cortical thickness in relation to sex.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we enrolled 1,322 cognitively normal elderly (≥65 years old) individuals (774 [58.5%] men, 548 [41.

Clinical opinion: Earlier employment of polytherapy in sequential pharmacotherapy of epilepsy.

Modern pharmacotherapy for epilepsy consists of orderly, sequential drug trials, in which antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) are chosen under the concept of individual patient-oriented (or - tailored) pharmacotherapy. Although monotherapy has been established as the preferred mode of AEDs therapy in both newly diagnosed and drug resistant epilepsies, there are still lack of evidence to favor either monotherapy or polytherapy in epilepsy, which has generated continuing controversies on the preferred mode of pharmacotherapy. However, each mode of pharmacotherapy may have both advantages and disadvantages, which are different and variable related to individual case scenario.

Effect of 12-week home-based cognitive training on cognitive function and brain metabolism in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment.

Purpose: We assessed the effect of home-based cognitive intervention (HCI) on cognitive function along with brain metabolism by 18F-FDG PET in patients with amnestic MCI (aMCI).

Patients And Methods: Fifty-seven patients with aMCI from three hospitals were randomized (30 HCI, 27 control). For 12 weeks, subjects received HCI.

Is Transient Global Amnesia a Network Disease?

Background: We evaluated a brain network using graph theoretical analysis and microstructural abnormalities of the white matter in patients with transient global amnesia (TGA).

Methods: Twenty patients with TGA and healthy control subjects were recruited, and they underwent diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) scans. Graph theory was applied to obtain network measures based on DTI data.

Brain Morphology in Patients with Genetic Generalized Epilepsy: Its Heterogeneity among Subsyndromes.

Background: We aimed to evaluate the brain morphology of patients with genetic generalized epilepsy (GGE) compared to healthy subjects. In addition, we investigated whether there are differences in brain morphology among different GGE syndromes.

Methods: We enrolled 100 patients with a clinical diagnosis of GGE.

Pivotal Role of Subcortical Structures as a Network Hub in Focal Epilepsy: Evidence from Graph Theoretical Analysis Based on Diffusion-Tensor Imaging.

Background And Purpose: There is accumulating evidence that epilepsy is caused by network dysfunction. We evaluated the hub reorganization of subcortical structures in patients with focal epilepsy using graph theoretical analysis based on diffusion-tensor imaging (DTI). In addition, we investigated differences in the values of diffusion tensors and scalars, fractional anisotropy (FA), and mean diffusivity (MD) of subcortical structures between patients with focal epilepsy and healthy subjects.

Efficacy, tolerability, and blood concentration of zonisamide in daily clinical practice.

We aimed to evaluate the efficacy, tolerability, and blood concentration of zonisamide (ZNS) used in daily clinical practice. This was a retrospective study performed at a single epilepsy center and included 149 patients with epilepsy. The efficacy and retention of ZNS for 52 weeks, percentage of patients who were seizure free for 26 weeks, and the 5-year retention rate were analyzed.

Vascular factors and neuropathy in lower limb of diabetic patients.

Asymmetric clinical presentation in some patients with diabetic polyneuropathy may result from the different vascular environments in both lower limbs. The aim of the study is to determine the association of neuropathy with vascular factors in each lower limb of diabetic patients. A total of 102 patients (204 lower limbs) given a diagnosis of diabetic polyneuropathy were enrolled.

A Nomogram for Predicting Amyloid PET Positivity in Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment.

Background: Most clinical trials focus on amyloid-β positive (Aβ+) amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), but screening failures are high because only a half of patients with aMCI are positive on Aβ PET. Therefore, it becomes necessary for clinicians to predict which patients will have Aβ biomarker.

Objective: We aimed to compare clinical factors, neuropsychological (NP) profiles, and apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype between Aβ+ aMCI and Aβ-aMCI and to develop a clinically useful prediction model of Aβ positivity on PET (PET-Aβ+) in aMCI using a nomogram.

Alterations of the brain network in idiopathic rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder: structural connectivity analysis.

Purpose: To evaluate and compare structural connectivity using graph theoretical analysis in patients with idiopathic rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (iRBD) and healthy subjects.

Methods: Ten consecutive patients with iRBD were recruited from a single tertiary hospital. All patients had normal brain magnetic resonance imaging results on visual inspection.

Reduction of ipsilateral thalamic volume in temporal lobe epilepsy with hippocampal sclerosis.

The thalamus plays an important role in the modulation of both focal and generalized seizures, but the mechanisms related to seizures may be different among epilepsy syndromes. The aim of this study is to investigate the thalamic atrophy in different epilepsy syndromes. We enrolled a total of 72 patients with epilepsy (22 patients with temporal lobe epilepsy with hippocampal sclerosis, 21 patients with extra-temporal lobe epilepsy, and 29 patients with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy).

Epilepsy in Asia: Disease burden, management barriers, and challenges.

This article reviews the burden of epilepsy in Asia, the challenges faced by people with epilepsy, and the management of epilepsy. Comparison is made with other parts of the world. For this narrative review, data were collected using specified search criteria.

Increased Superoxide Dismutase 2 by Allopregnanolone Ameliorates ROS-Mediated Neuronal Death in Mice with Pilocarpine-Induced Status Epilepticus.

Excessive production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), along with dysfunction of the antioxidant defense system, such as that involving superoxide dismutase (SOD), may play a major role in neuronal death following status epilepticus (SE). Neurosteroids, which are allosteric modulators of the GABA receptor in cerebral metabolism, have been suggested as being neuroprotective in various animal models; however, their effect to preventing ROS has not been examined. Herein, we investigate the neuroprotective role of allopregnanolone, the prototypical neurosteroid in the brain, in relation to the ROS-mediated neuronal injury.