All-cause mortality and SUDEP in a surgical epilepsy population.

Epilepsy surgery is considered to reduce the risk of epilepsy-related mortality, including sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP), though data from existing surgical series are conflicting. We retrospectively examined all-cause mortality and SUDEP in a population of 590 epilepsy surgery patients and a comparison group of 122 patients with pharmacoresistant focal epilepsy who did not undergo surgery, treated at Columbia University Medical Center between 1977 and 2014. There were 34 deaths in the surgery group, including 14 cases of SUDEP.

Laser ablation is effective for temporal lobe epilepsy with and without mesial temporal sclerosis if hippocampal seizure onsets are localized by stereoelectroencephalography.

Objective: Selective laser amygdalohippocampotomy (SLAH) using magnetic resonance-guided laser interstitial thermal therapy (MRgLITT) is emerging as a treatment option for drug-resistant mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE). SLAH is less invasive than open resection, but there are limited series reporting its safety and efficacy, particularly in patients without clear evidence of mesial temporal sclerosis (MTS).

Methods: We report seizure outcomes and complications in our first 30 patients who underwent SLAH for drug-resistant MTLE between January 2013 and December 2016.

External Trigeminal Nerve Stimulation for the Acute Treatment of Migraine: Open-Label Trial on Safety and Efficacy.

Objective: The aim of the current study is to assess the safety and efficacy of external trigeminal nerve stimulation (e-TNS) via a transcutaneous supraorbital stimulator as an acute treatment for migraine attacks.

Materials And Methods: This was a prospective, open-labeled clinical trial conducted at the Columbia University Headache Center (NY, USA). Thirty patients who were experiencing an acute migraine attack with or without aura were treated with a one-hour session of e-TNS (CEFALY Technology) at the clinic.