Publications by authors named "Chrastina J"

Vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) is a therapeutical option for the treatment of drug-resistant epileptic patients. The response to VNS varies from patient to patient and is difficult to predict. The proposed study is based on our previous work, identifying relative mean power in pre-implantation EEG as a reliable marker for VNS efficacy prediction in adult patients.

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Beta hypersynchrony was recently introduced into clinical practice in Parkinson's disease (PD) to identify the best stimulation contacts and for adaptive deep brain stimulation (aDBS) sensing. However, many other oscillopathies accompany the disease, and beta power sensing may not be optimal for all patients. The aim of this work was to study the potential clinical usefulness of beta power phase-amplitude coupling (PAC) with high frequency oscillations (HFOs).

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Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is a therapeutic option in drug-resistant epilepsy. VNS leads to ≥ 50% seizure reduction in 50 to 60% of patients, termed "responders". The remaining 40 to 50% of patients, "non-responders", exhibit seizure reduction < 50%.

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Understanding the perceptions and experiences related to the end of life (EoL) of boys and men with Duchenne muscular dystrophy from their own and/or family perspective is limited based on the available qualitative empirical studies. This systematic review was done with a thematic synthesis of qualitative evidence according to the PRISMA Statement Guidelines and the SPIDER search tool. The review included empirical, qualitative, and relevant full-text studies published in 2000-2023 in the EBSCO Discovery Service, ISI Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, and ProQuest databases.

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Background: Bilateral deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the globus pallidus internus (GPi) is an effective treatment for refractory dystonia. Neuroradiological target and stimulation electrode trajectory planning with intraoperative microelectrode recordings (MER) and stimulation are used. With improving neuroradiological techniques, the need for MER is in dispute mainly because of the suspected risk of hemorrhage and the impact on clinical post DBS outcome.

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Objective: We analyzed trends in patients' characteristics, outcomes, and waiting times over the last 25 years at our epilepsy surgery center situated in Central Europe to highlight possible areas of improvement in our care for patients with drug-resistant epilepsy.

Methods: A total of 704 patients who underwent surgery at the Brno Epilepsy Center were included in the study, 71 of those were children. Patients were separated into three time periods, 1996-2000 (n = 95), 2001-2010 (n = 295) and 2011-2022 (n = 314) based on first evaluation at the center.

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Purpose: A retrospective study, based on a prospectively built database, presents the results of long-term follow-up care of pediatric vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) patients in terms of seizure outcome, surgical aspects, the potential impact of maturation, and medication changes.

Methods: From a prospectively built database, 16 VNS patients (median age 12.0 years, range 6.

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Mechanisms of deep brain stimulation (DBS) on cortical networks were explored mainly by fMRI. Advanced analysis of high-density EEG is a source of additional information and may provide clinically useful biomarkers. The presented study evaluates EEG microstates in Parkinson's disease and the effect of DBS of the subthalamic nucleus (STN).

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Article Synopsis
  • Glioblastoma (GBM) is a highly aggressive brain tumor that typically does not spread outside the brain, but this case study presents a rare instance of spinal metastasis in a 43-year-old woman following surgery and chemotherapy.
  • The analysis through next-generation sequencing revealed that the metastatic tumor had more than double the number of genetic mutations compared to the original tumor, indicating significant molecular changes.
  • Key mutations associated with the mesenchymal molecular subtype of GBM were identified, which may contribute to the tumor's increased invasiveness and metastatic capability.
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Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is an established method in the treatment of not only Parkinson's disease motor complications but also dystonia and tremor, and there are data supporting the efficacy of DBS in epilepsy and some psychiatric problems. The alleviation of the neurologic problems may enable females of childbearing age to consider pregnancy because of being able to take care of their child. The aim of the study is to provide a review of the data available on the effect of DBS on the course of pregnancy and delivery in patients suffering from diseases amenable for DBS treatment (Parkinson's disease, dystonia, obsessive compulsive disorder, Tourette's syndrome, epilepsy).

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Since its approval as an adjunct treatment for refractory partial epilepsy, the positive effects of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) on seizure frequency and severity have been supported by many studies. Seizure reduction of more than 50 % can be expected in at least 50 % of patients. However, a complete post-VNS seizure freedom is rarely achieved and 25 % of patients do not benefit from VNS.

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Background: Vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) can be indicated in patients with drug-resistant epilepsy, who are not eligible for resective epilepsy surgery. In VNS therapy, the responder rate (i.e.

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Vagal Nerve Stimulation (VNS) is used to treat patients with pharmacoresistant epilepsy. However, generally accepted tools to predict VNS response do not exist. Here we examined two heart activity measures - mean RR and pNN50 and their complex behavior during activation in pre-implant measurements.

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Background: As a step towards clinical use of AAV-mediated gene therapy, brains of large animals are used to settle delivery parameters as most brain connections, and relative sizes in large animals and primates, are reasonably common. Prior to application in the clinic, approaches that have shown to be successful in rodent models are tested in larger animal species, such as dogs, non-human primates, and in this case, minipigs.

New Method: We evaluated alternate delivery routes to target the basal ganglia by injections into the more superficial corona radiata, and, deeper into the brain, the thalamus.

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Background And Study Aims:  Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) has been employed worldwide as an adjunctive therapy in drug-resistant epilepsy patients. However, the mechanisms of VNS action potentially increase the risk of obstetric complications. The study presents the long-term single-center experience with pregnancies and childbirth in women with VNS for refractory epilepsy based on prospectively collected epileptologic data and a retrospective analysis of pregnancy, childbirth, and data about long-term child development.

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Identifying patients with intractable epilepsy who would benefit from therapeutic chronic vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) preoperatively remains a major clinical challenge. We have developed a statistical model for predicting VNS efficacy using only routine preimplantation electroencephalogram (EEG) recorded with the TruScan EEG device (Brazdil et al., 2019).

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Objective: It is assumed that temporal lobe resection in older people is associated with worse seizure outcomes and potential postsurgical memory decline. We studied postsurgical memory development and surgical efficacy in patients over 45 years of age compared with younger patients.

Methods: We studied 88 patients (51 male and 37 female) after temporal lobe surgery, which involved hippocampal resection.

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Background And Purpose: We aimed to confirm the Mozart effect in epileptic patients using intracerebral electroencephalography recordings and the hypothesis that the reduction of epileptiform discharges (EDs) can be explained by the music's acoustic properties.

Methods: Eighteen epilepsy surgery candidates were implanted with depth electrodes in the temporal medial and lateral cortex. Patients listened to the first movement of Mozart's Sonata for Two Pianos K.

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Purpose: Despite the best efforts of neurologists, the results of pharmacotherapy in the late stages of Parkinson's disease are often disappointing and accompanied by debilitating side effects. Under these circumstances, deep brain stimulation is a viable treatment option. The aim of the meticulous pre-surgical planning is not only precise electrode implantation, but also the avoidance of intraoperative vascular conflicts potentially causing intracerebral bleeding.

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Hippocampal high-frequency electrographic activity (HFOs) represents one of the major discoveries not only in epilepsy research but also in cognitive science over the past few decades. A fundamental challenge, however, has been the fact that physiological HFOs associated with normal brain function overlap in frequency with pathological HFOs. We investigated the impact of a cognitive task on HFOs with the aim of improving differentiation between epileptic and non-epileptic hippocampi in humans.

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Vagal Nerve Stimulation (VNS) is an option in the treatment of drug-resistant epilepsy. However, approximately a quarter of VNS subjects does not respond to the therapy. In this retrospective study, we introduce heart-rate features to distinguish VNS responders and non-responders.

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The scoping review is one of the alternatives of producing a literature review. However, this approach still lacks a clearly accepted definition, and the scoping terminology is also somewhat fuzzy. Although the methodology of scoping review processing is relatively uniform, terminological chaos appears in the titles of studies with scoping review methodology.

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We report a case of a patient with drug-resistant epilepsy treated with deep brain stimulation of the anterior nucleus of the thalamus (ANT-DBS). The patient developed psychiatric side effects (PSEs), namely irritability, hostility, aggressiveness, and paranoia, after implantation and stimulation initiation. The stimulation was discontinued and the PSEs were mitigated, but the patient did not return to her pre-implantation state, as documented by repeated psychiatric reports and hospitalizations.

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Chronic vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) is a well-established non-pharmacological treatment option for drug-resistant epilepsy. This study sought to develop a statistical model for prediction of VNS efficacy. We hypothesized that reactivity of the electroencephalogram (EEG) to external stimuli measured during routine preoperative evaluation differs between VNS responders and non-responders.

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Objective: The main aim of this study was to investigate the potential differences in terms of interictal high frequency oscillations (HFOs) between both hippocampi in unilateral (U-MTLE) and bilateral mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (B-MTLE).

Methods: Sixteen patients with MTLE underwent bilateral hippocampal depth electrode implantation as part of epilepsy surgery evaluation. Interictal HFOs were detected automatically.

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